WASHINGTON – In what may be considered unusual timing, Congress reintroduced a new credit card reform bill last week, just days after the Federal Reserve approved new card rules that would do many of the same things.
While the so-called Credit Card Bill of Rights would ban practices like universal default, double-billing cycles and retroactive rate hikes–just like the Fed’s new rules–it would take effect in 90 days, a year before the Fed’s rules.
The new bill would also go further than the Fed by stretching out payment dates and barring solicitations to minors, among other things.
The new cards bill, similar to the one that died in the final days of the last Congress, was introduced last week in the House Financial Services Committee. A similar bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate.
