Wednesday May 20, 08:16 PM
US Congress sends credit card reform to Obama
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday aimed at protecting credit card consumers from shock interest rate increases and fees in a country where plastic has long been king.
Lawmakers voted 361-64 for a sweeping bill that cleared the Senate 90-5 on Tuesday, sending the measure to President Barack Obama to sign into law shortly over stiff objections from the banking industry.
The White House's Democratic allies have cast the legislation as a central piece of their effort to re-write the rules of the US economy to help consumers battered by the global financial meltdown.
It forbids rate increases on existing balances unless consumers are at least 60 days late paying their bill or the initial rate was a promotional rate that has expired, and requires 45 days' notice to raise rates.
The measure bans fees for payment processing -- such as surcharges for paying by telephone; imposes steep restrictions on issuing cards to people under 21 years of age, and requires that promotional interest rates on new cards stay valid for six months.
In a separate vote, the House approved a Republican amendment to the Senate bill that allows US citizens to carry firearms in US national parks and wildlife refuges as allowed by state law.
Obama had pushed last week for lawmakers to send him the credit card measure by the May 25 Memorial Day holiday.
"There is not time to delay. Time to get it done," he said at a town-hall meeting in New Mexico last week. "Enough is enough, it?s time for strong and reliable protections for our consumers."
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