On May 22, 2009, the President signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act ("Credit CARD Act").
The new law will institute common sense, pro-consumer reform like requiring advance notice of interest-rate increases, banning the practice of universal default, and protecting young people from unscrupulous lending practices.
The Credit CARD Act is set to go into effect in February 2010 to allow the credit card companies time to update their systems and implement the new policies. Sadly, they are using this time to game the system.
In the past few months, millions of consumers have seen their interest rates unfairly hiked by their credit card companies by an average of 20%.
I'm hearing horror stories every day from Coloradans. Even consumers who pay their bills on time have seen their interest rates double.
Families and small businesses are hurting during these tough times, and I find it unconscionable for credit card companies to game the system and jack up already high interest rates even higher.
This has to stop.
I've sponsored two bills to give consumers relief:
- A bill to freeze interest rates immediately and
- A bill that would move up the date for reforms to go into effect by more than two months, to Dec. 1, 2009.
I need your help to try and pass these bills in the U.S. Senate.
On Wednesday, led by the efforts of Representative Betsy Markey (CO-4), the House of Representatives passed a similar bill. It's time for the Senate to act.