For more than three decades, all but the wealthiest Americans have seen their wages stagnate while education, health, and energy costs continue to grow at a rate well above inflation. To maintain the middle-class lifestyle they deserve, many hard working Americans have turned to credit cards to finance a greater and greater share of their expenses.

As the personal debt of Americans has risen, so too have interest rates on that debt. Many sign up for cards with much lower rates, only to see their rates hiked with the flimsiest of excuses. Even those who pay off their balance every month can have their rates raised. High credit card interest rates trap Americans in a vicious cycle; a single late payment can lead to skyrocketing rates, which make balances and future payments out of reach.

Out of control interest rates hurt all Americans, not just those with high rate cards. As more and more of Americans earnings go into the financial industry, less and less go to buy goods and services whose production employs most Americans. It also limits our ability to stimulate a slowing economy, since millions of credit card holders use tax rebates to pay down their personal debt rather than act as consumers.

Our bill will cap annual credit card interest rates at 16%, and include in this calculated rate the fees that many issuers use to hide the true cost of their cards. This cap will bring immediate relief to those who are struggling to make ends meet while burdened by the weight of credit card debt. We of course also have a provision in there to grandfather lower interest card holders so that card companies don’t react to the law by immediately raising everyone’s rate up to 16 percent. Now we need the Senate to step up and match our legislation, as we continue to build support for it here in the House.

The last thing Americans suffering from job losses and declining wages need is to worry about being trapped under a growing mountain of debt. It is time we acted to protect them.

For the latest updates, you can always visit http://www.louise.house.gov. If you're interested in my take on the Senate, I recently wrote about the Senate obstacle course at Politico.