Monday, November 02, 2009

Stopping Credit Card Rate Increases

Both U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15th), Democrats, are working on legislation to hold up any further credit card interest rate increases.

Dispatch:

Sen. Sherrod Brown has signed on to a bill unveiled last week in his Senate Banking Committee that would freeze credit-card interest rates and other fees until a credit-reform law goes into effect next year...
...Similar measures are being looked at in the House, where Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, D-Columbus, a member of the House Financial Services panel, and other lawmakers have been urging credit-card companies not to raise rates. The House committee has passed a bill, which awaits action in the full House, moving the effective date on limiting rate hikes to Dec. 1.

Hmmm. I wonder if our U.S. Representative had been a former bank lobbyist if he would be working on similar legislation. I'm not mentioning any names, but you know the Republican that I mean. A bank lobbyist works to protect banks, not consumers.