Van Hollen Statement on Passage of the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act
Washington,
Nov 4, 2009 -
Today Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) issued the following statement on House passage of the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act:
“Last spring, President Obama signed into law the Credit Card Act of 2009. This important legislation outlawed predatory and exploitative behavior, such as targeting college students regardless of their ability to make payments, shifting due dates so as to trigger penalties, and other deceptive practices. I was proud to be a cosponsor of the bill, but even then I argued that the bill should take effect immediately.
“The bill passed today moves up the Credit Card Act’s implementation date. Accelerating the implementation of this legislation is necessary because too many card issuers are taking advantage of the Act’s February implementation date, increasing fees and the interest rates of their customers. According to a recently released report by the Pew Charitable Trust that studied credit card activity in the wake of the Credit Card Act, many credit card companies continued to use practices deemed ‘unfair and deceptive’ under Federal Reserve guidelines and in some cases these practices increased.
“I am proud to have joined my colleagues in passing the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act. It is another common sense measure this Congress is taking to make the economy work for middle class families and part of our continued effort to protect American consumers.”
Congressman Chris Van Hollen
