Congressman Lincoln Davis Authors Legislation to Protect Consumers from Unfair Credit Practices February 15, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. Congressman Lincoln Davis has introduced H.R. 5280, the "Stop Unfair Practices in Credit Cards Act of 2007," to prohibit and restrict a number of credit card lending abuses. Congressman Davis's bill is a companion bill for an identical piece of legislation introduced in the Senate by Senator Carl Levin. This bill's provisions include:

• Prohibiting interest charges on any portion of a credit card debt which the card holder paid on time during a grace period.
• Prohibiting added interest charges on credit card debt which the card holder paid on time and in full.
• Requiring increased interest rates to apply only to future credit card debt, and not to debt incurred prior to the increase.
• Prohibiting the charging of interest on credit card transaction fees, such as late fees and over-the-limit fees.
• Imposing restrictions on Over-Limit Fees.

"Credit card companies provide an invaluable service to this country, helping people pay for everything from gasoline to their mortgage, and nothing that we do should deter them from responsibly lending to individuals and businesses making their way in this uncertain economy," Congressman Davis said. "However, we need to do all we can to ensure that this is being done in a way that is neither deceitful nor predatory, and my legislation takes strides to see this become a reality."

In addition to his authorship of H.R. 5280, Congressman Davis is the co-sponsor of similar legislation by Congresswoman Maloney (D-NY), "The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights." He spoke today at a press conference today on both bills. Members of Congress at the conference presented as evidence some 120,000 letters to Congress calling for reform in the credit card industry and responding to the 8 billion credit card solicitations received by Americans last year. This accounts for 26 solicitations for every person in America.