WASHINGTON — Key congressional backers of a 2009 law that strengthened consumer protections for credit-card users are now concerned that the Federal Reserve Board has gone too far with regulations that could restrict credit to stay-at-home mothers.
In a letter, Democratic Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Louise Slaughter and Barney Frank are asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to conduct a study of a Fed rule that took effect on Oct. 1. The letter was also signed by Rep. Spencer Bachus, the Republican chairman of the House Financial Services
The rule requires that all credit-card customers demonstrate an independent ability to pay.
According to the lawmakers, the Fed rule runs counter to the 2009 Credit CARD Act, which established two standards on the ability to pay — one for young consumers, such as college students, and another for everyone else.
The lawmakers said that some card issuers are reporting that the new Fed rule may be having a negative impact on the ability of stay-at-home mothers, who do not have their own incomes, to access credit.
“We need to make sure that women are not subject to credit denials because of a misreading of the law,” Maloney, the 2009 law’s House sponsor, said in a press release. “Non-working spouses must continue to have access to credit using household income, and the CFPB has the tools to tell if that is happening."
The lawmakers said the Fed agrees that a study would be useful to assess any unintended consequences of its new rule. They are asking the CFPB to conduct an extensive review of the potential impact the rule is having on access to credit.
