Kissell Amends Credit Card Bill to Help Military and Veteran

Statement

Congressman Larry Kissell (NC-08) joined 252 Democrats and 107 Republicans in passing the Credit Card Bill of Rights Thursday afternoon. The bill, H.R. 627, gives consumers more protection against unfair practices by credit card issuers.

The bill requires credit card companies to notify consumers of interest rate increases, except in cases of default, 45 days prior to the increase. The bill strengthens guidelines on subprime cards which are targeted toward lower income consumers with weak credit histories. It also requires tougher regulatory reports from the Federal Reserve on the credit card industry.

Kissell joined with Congressmen Harry Teague of New Mexico, Glenn Nye of Virginia and John Boccieri of Ohio to add an amendment to the Credit Card Bill of Rights. The amendment will prohibit credit card issuers from making negative credit reports about military, Reservists and National Guard personnel while they are deployed. The amendment also gives the same protection to disabled veterans for two years following their injuries.

"This is a common-sense bill to protect our consumers from deceptive practices by the credit card companies. These companies have always used fine print, but in this economy, the fine print can devastate a family's credit, " Kissell said. "I'm proud my amendment passed and will offer our brave men and women in uniform a little piece of mind while they are sacrificing so much for our country. They shouldn't have to worry about their credit rating while on patrol in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The bill also regulates the amount of fees, the way payments over the minimum due are applied and places restrictions on issuing cards to minors.

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