House clears CARD Act acceleration bill

WASHINGTON (11/6/09)--The House this week passed H.R. 3639, the "Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009," by a 331 to 92 vote.

The legislation would accelerate the effective date of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act to Dec. 1 of this year, rather than the Feb. 22, 2010 deadline originally proposed in the bill.

The committee also approved an amendment, offered by Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), that would place a moratorium on raising interest rates between the date of enactment and the original February 22, 2010 deadline.

"We are grateful that the House retained language we were able to secure at mark-up to limit the accelerated effective dates to card issuers with more than 2 million credit cards in circulation. However, we are concerned that an amendment placing a moratorium on raising interest rates on credit cards between the date of enactment and February 22, 2010, was adopted. This proposes an unnecessary restriction where credit unions are concerned and we will be raising this issue with the Senate," Credit Union National Association Vice President of Legislative Affairs Ryan Donovan said.

The Associated Press on Thursday reported that the legislation's Senate prospects are "dim," as many lawmakers are concerned by the negative effects that the bill could have on the industry and credit availability for consumers.

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