ReiKo
05-20-2009, 11:37 AM
If all goes as planned, the House today will accept a credit card reform bill that was approved by the Senate on Tuesday, with a gun rights amendment added last week.
The vote in the Senate on the credit card bill was 90-5, yet another demonstration of how popular this bill has become, and how the banking and credit card industries have really taken one on the chin on this measure.
By my tally, not one Senator spoke against this bill during over a week's worth of floor debate. No one was willing to publicly carry the water for an industry that usually has some pretty good lobbyists working the halls.
For those who haven't been paying attention, this bill will set new rules in place that would block sudden interest rate and late fee increases, and end a series of billing practices that consumer groups said were blatantly unfair.
The banking and credit card industry meanwhile warns that the bill will actually have the effect of causing less credit to be offered to consumers during a time of economic trouble.
Some note that's not the worst idea, considering how many Americans are already up to their eyeballs in credit card debt.
The changes would not come immediately, as the industry would have nine months to get ready for the new rules.
The bill also includes new limits on the ability of those under 21 years of age to get a credit card.
It seems likely that the House will just accept the Senate version, even though it has a provision pushed by Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, which would allow people to carry loaded firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges.
There will be a separate vote in the House on the issue, but a vote against that provision would most likely keep the entire bill from being approved by the end of this week, not what the White House wants.
Originally, I figured the Coburn gun plan would be dropped by Congressional negotiators. But with the White House urging action this week on the bill, Democrats decided to leave the gun provision alone, since gun rights supporters have a working majority in both the House and Senate.
As for the credit card rules, the big question is, will they work? Or will the credit card industry just figure out new ways to squeeze money out of their customers?
What's clear is that this is a huge win for consumer groups - and both parties want to take credit for that.
Sneaky Sneaky...
The vote in the Senate on the credit card bill was 90-5, yet another demonstration of how popular this bill has become, and how the banking and credit card industries have really taken one on the chin on this measure.
By my tally, not one Senator spoke against this bill during over a week's worth of floor debate. No one was willing to publicly carry the water for an industry that usually has some pretty good lobbyists working the halls.
For those who haven't been paying attention, this bill will set new rules in place that would block sudden interest rate and late fee increases, and end a series of billing practices that consumer groups said were blatantly unfair.
The banking and credit card industry meanwhile warns that the bill will actually have the effect of causing less credit to be offered to consumers during a time of economic trouble.
Some note that's not the worst idea, considering how many Americans are already up to their eyeballs in credit card debt.
The changes would not come immediately, as the industry would have nine months to get ready for the new rules.
The bill also includes new limits on the ability of those under 21 years of age to get a credit card.
It seems likely that the House will just accept the Senate version, even though it has a provision pushed by Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, which would allow people to carry loaded firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges.
There will be a separate vote in the House on the issue, but a vote against that provision would most likely keep the entire bill from being approved by the end of this week, not what the White House wants.
Originally, I figured the Coburn gun plan would be dropped by Congressional negotiators. But with the White House urging action this week on the bill, Democrats decided to leave the gun provision alone, since gun rights supporters have a working majority in both the House and Senate.
As for the credit card rules, the big question is, will they work? Or will the credit card industry just figure out new ways to squeeze money out of their customers?
What's clear is that this is a huge win for consumer groups - and both parties want to take credit for that.
Sneaky Sneaky...