Acting on information discovered during an investigation into unfair and abusive credit card industry practices by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., today introduced legislation to stop credit card practices that unfairly deepen or prolong credit card debt held by consumers.
“Credit card issuers too often sock consumers with sky-high interest rates and excessive fees, making it harder and harder for families to climb out of debt,” Levin said. “The goal of this legislation is to put an end to unfair and abusive credit card practices that outrage so many American families. I’m afraid these practices have become too entrenched and too profitable to the credit card companies for the companies to change them on their own. Congress needs to enact pro-consumer legislation to put an end to these unfair practices.”

Levin added: “Credit card companies are so profitable that they can afford to give up unfair practices like charging interest on debt that is paid on time, charging consumers a fee to pay their bills, doubling or tripling interest rates to penalize late payments or over-the-limit charges, imposing repeated over-the-limit fees for a single over-the-limit purchase; and applying consumers’ payments to the parts of their accounts with the lowest interest rates first. It’s past time for Congress to protect consumers from such unfair and abusive credit card practices.”

Endorsed by Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, National Consumer Law Center, U.S. PIRG, and the Center for Responsible Lending, the act is expected to face stiff opposition from the credit industry lobbyists.

A complete statement read by Senator Levin on the Senate Floor on May 15, 2007 is available at allamericanpatriots