Reuters: Credit Card Usury Bill Coming Soon in the House [View All]

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Credit card usury bill coming soon in House

By Kevin Drawbaugh
Reuters

Wednesday, November 25, 2009; 6:13 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several congressional Democrats said on Wednesday they plan to introduce legislation next week to cap credit card interest rates.

With unemployment and Wall Street bonuses incongruously rising together, the chairman of the House Rules Committee said she will offer a bill to cap rates at 16 percent, a proposal that could catch a wave of Populist sentiment in the House.

"Things were a lot better for the average person in this country when we had usury caps," Representative Louise Slaughter, head of the rules panel, said in a statement.

"Watching how credit card companies have exploited people by increasing rates up to 30 percent and more is criminal and this bill will allow us to put an end to this," she said.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/25/AR2009112503628.html