U.S. House Passes Credit Card Bill Which Helps You
Posted: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 10:06 am
WASHINGTON, D.C.–The House of Representatives approved a bill that was given the nickname “The Credit Card Holder’s Bill of Rights.”
The bill’s basic functions force credit card companies to eliminate sudden interest-rate hikes, retroactive rate hikes, late fees, and “double-cycle” billing. The bill will also restrict the credit card companies from issuing cards to anyone under the age of 18.
It passed by a bipartisan vote of 357-70, following lobbying efforts by President Barack Obama and members of his administration.
If those aspects of the bill become law, the new provisions will not take effect for at least a year, except for the requirement that customers get 45 days’ notice before their interest rates are increased—which would only take 90 days to start.
“This is a unique opportunity to end abusive practices that afflict millions of families across the nation, to contribute to our economic recovery, and to take a stand for American consumers,” Senator Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and the bill’s primary sponsor, said after the House vote. “Now it is the Senate’s turn to act.”
Some democrats and consumer advocates have unsuccessfully tried for years to bring new rules to the industry. Supporters are eager to have Obama sign off on their long-sought project by the Memorial Day holiday.
“The administration supports Congress’ efforts to … provide additional strong and reliable protections for consumers that ban unfair and abusive practices,” the White House said in a statement following the House vote. “The nation’s credit card system must have more accountability, including more effective oversight and more effective enforcement of credit card issuers who violate the law.”
U.S. credit card debt has jumped 25 percent in the past 10 years, reaching $963 billion in January, according to figures from the White House. The average outstanding credit card debt for households that have a card was $10,679 at the end of 2008, according to CreditCard.com, an online market.
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