Consumers Union hails bipartisan agreement on credit card reform, urges Senate passage
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, today hailed a bipartisan agreement on provisions in the Senate credit card reform bill. The agreement was announced by Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Ct.) and the committee’s ranking Republican Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Senators are expected to vote on the bill later this week.
Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union, made the following statement about the Senate bill:
“We’re optimistic that consumers are finally going to get some relief from the most abusive practices of many credit card companies. This issue isn’t about which side of the aisle you are on, but about fairness. With the current state of the economy, people on Main Street need a bill like this that cracks down on unjustified interest rate hikes and curbs aggressive marketing of credit to young consumers. We’re very pleased with the addition of a gift-card provision, which would prohibit unfair fees on gift cards and help ensure that, when you get a gift card, you have a reasonable amount of time to use it. This effort has real momentum behind it, and we’re hopeful that the Senate will approve the bill with overwhelming bipartisan support.”
