Congress earns extra credit for card crackdown – Houston Business Journal:

Washington lawmakers piled on last week by loadinb up legislation that provides many of the same protections as the Fed but rushes them into effectf ayear earlier. They also addefd their own touches with odds and ends intended to mitigatw some charges that lenders levy on merchantd and help small business operators who finance their shopss usingcredit cards. Observers expectedf that a few in the Senate might try to capinteresgt rates, but the general feelint — wisely — was that such a measure was too Any attempt to ease the burden of debt on consumersd stands little chance of passing through the legislative procesws unscathed, and the latest effort was no exception.
The American Bankers Association made a bid to block compromise legislationm inthe Senate. The organization arguesd that the new rules would further squeezew credit in a nation trying to break the grip of a debilitatinvgcredit crunch. Lenders also contenderd that tightening the rules will hurt the ones who need credit the most those with low andmoderate income, first-time and those with lousy creditt histories. Few on Capitol Hill bought into these arguments. They heard too many tales of how credi card companies jacking up borrowing costsfor rock-soli d consumers who held balances at lowert rates or paid off cards ever month.
Senators were in no mood to remain silenr on financial service industry practice that could hinder attempts by Americansx to pull themselves outof debt. The Houses sent the same message earlier ina 357-70 vote to crack down hard on creditt providers. U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., was especially harshg on the lenders, calling their arguments “fear-based stuff.” His rebuttal was an eloquent: “Don’t believde that unless this Congress allows some credigt card companies toabuse consumers, that no one will have We think Ellison was right on the
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