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Senate Begins Debate On Credit Card Reform Bill; May Pass Measure This Week
May 11, 2009 1:03 p.m. EST
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Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Senate begins debate on Monday on a credit cardholders bill of rights that critics say could raise the cost of credit for consumers. President Barack Obama over the weekend urged lawmakers to pass the legislation, which the House has approved, so he can sign it into law by Memorial Day.
The Senate begins consideration of H.R. 627, which would end what Democrats say are unfair trade practices such as double-cycle billing and retroactive interest rate increases, mid-afternoon and may vote on the bill before the end of the week.
The House had approved the measure on April 30 by a 357-70 vote. All except one of the 70 votes against the bill had come from Republicans, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group of House conservatives.
Nonetheless, 105 Republicans had joined Democrats in supporting the bill.
The Obama administration is seeking to raise consumer confidence and get credit flowing amid a deepening recession and rising unemployment rate, which went from 8.5 percent in March to 8.9 percent in April, the highest since September 1983.
The Federal Reserve said in a report last week that consumer credit fell by 5.2 percent or $11.1 billion in March, the biggest drop since 1990. Revolving credit in the first quarter also declined by 6.5 percent.
In December the Federal Reserve issued new credit card regulations on consumer protections. Those rules are slated to take effect in 2010.
The President, who met with credit company CEOs last month, had issued tough rhetoric in his weekly address on Saturday against "irresponsible" credit practices and asked lawmakers to pass the bill.
"American institutions must act with the same sense of responsibility and fairness that the American people aspire to in their own lives," Obama said. "Americans know that they have a responsibility to live within their means and pay what they owe. But they also have a right to not get ripped off by the sudden rate hikes, unfair penalties, and hidden fees that have become all-too common in our credit card industry."
"I'm calling on Congress to take final action to pass a credit card reform bill that protects American consumers so that I can sign it into law by Memorial Day," he added. "There is no time for delay. We need a durable and successful flow of credit in our economy, but we can't tolerate profits that depend upon misleading working families. Those days are over."
The American Bankers Association has warned that the "new rules may increase the cost of credit and make it less available for consumers and small businesses."
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), a member of the House Financial Services Committee and former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, has also called the legislation an "assault on personal economic freedom.
The bill would only make it more difficult for middle class Americans to use a credit card, according to the him, and ultimately exacerbate the credit crunch plaguing the economy.
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