President Obama has made it clear to the U.S. Senate that he expects the bill to pass there as well, hinting that he wants it done sooner rather than later. The President’s eagerness to see the bill through both the House and Senate could speed up reforms within the credit industry, thus easing the strain on American consumers who are currently struggling under the weight of more than $850 billion in personal debt.

Legislation Planned to Cap Interest Rates

Plans are also in the works for legislation to place a cap on the interest rates credit card issuers can charge. Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd (D- Connecticut), an original advocate for the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights, is spearheading the efforts for this additional legislation. “There used to be a time you’d go to jail for rates like this.” said Dodd. Consumers and government officials have also expressed outrage over interest rate hikes following a missed payment. Several major institutions that received government bailout funds, including Citibank, Bank of America Corp., and Wells Fargo & Co. have raised interest rates to as much as 30% following a single missed payment.

Credit Card Companies Continue to Increase Rates

In the face of pending legislation limiting their ability to charge hidden fees and abruptly raise interest rates, the credit industry is racing to implement rate hikes before the legislation can take effect. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) estimates that more than 10 million Americans have had their interest rates increased in the last six months. In addition, cash advance, transfer payment, and late fees are also on the rise.

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