Thank You Senator Franken! (Congressman Chip Craavack, not so much)

I contact my members of Congress from time to time.

And I take very seriously the follow up and response from those elected representatives, Senators Amy Klobuchar, Al Franken and Congressman Chip Cravaack.

Cravaack's office has repeatedly promised to respond to requests for information and clarification and then failed to do so.  I have repeatedly caught Cravaack in misstatements of fact; a characteristic in which he resembles Congresswoman Bachmann.  No surprise, he has former Bachmann employees on his staff, and he espouses the same ideology over reality point of view.

It irritates me that such poor service to Cravaack's constituents is done on the taxpayer's nickel.

In contrast, both Senators Klobuchar and Franken have responsive offices; I have received prompt, accurate, and substantive replies to inquiries, and I have not noted any of the problems with inaccuracies that compare to Congressman Cravaack's.

When and if the above next run for those offices, or some other office, I would consider their service to their constitutents (or lack thereof) as important if not even more important to considering them for my vote.  My fellow Minnesotans should do the same.

Let me note, as context, that I have not been a donor OR a volunteer for any of the above; I am simply an informed and conscientious constituent.

Of the two senators, Al Franken has had the better organized and functioning office for serving constituents, and has accomplished far more in his time in office than the other freshman member of Congress, 'Chip' Cravaack.

It is in that regard that I share here a very prompt email response to my most recent inquiry, from the office of Senator Al Franken:

Thank you for contacting me about credit cards.  I share your concerns about unfair consumer credit practices and appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important matter.

I strongly believe that we must address head-on the unfair and deceptive consumer credit practices used by some unscrupulous companies.  There is no doubt that credit and debit cards are a valuable tool for consumers.  Yet, for too long, the playing field has been unfairly tilted in favor of credit card companies and away from working families.  Minnesotans know this from first-hand experience; just trying to navigate a modern-day credit card agreement is a daunting task.  Even experienced consumers with the time to review these contracts often have little understanding of what signing at the bottom line really means.

Fortunately, in May 2009, Congress passed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act to rein in major industry abuses. This much-needed law protects cardholders against arbitrary interest rate increases and prohibits card companies from imposing excessive fees.  While these are important first steps, we have a long way to go make sure that consumer financial markets are fair and competitive.

Laws are only as good as the regulators who enforce them.  Without proper oversight, credit card companies will continue to find ways to unfairly profit at the expense of consumers and bad actors will be able to get away with breaking the rules.  That's why I pushed hard to include a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the historic Wall Street reform legislation that Congress passed in 2010.  This is the first regulatory agency in American history tasked specifically with overseeing consumer financial products and services.  CFPB enforces federal consumer financial laws and has the power to pull dangerous loans and contracts off the market.  Above all, the mission of the CFPB is to ensure that consumers have the information they need to make informed financial decisions for themselves and their families.

I will continue to push for smart reforms to our nation's credit system and will work to make sure that Minnesotans have access to the credit they need.  Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind should additional legislation affecting consumer credit come before the Senate for consideration.

Thank you again for contacting me, and please don't hesitate to do so in the future regarding this or any other matter of concern to you.

Thank you Senator Franken for your prompt, ACCURATE, and well informed response.  I will be mindful of this and other similarly efficient and effective replies in 2012.  Well done Senator.  Keep up the good work.