Expedited Card Reform For Consumers Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. ELLISON. I thank the chairman and Congresswoman Maloney, who have been champions for consumers.

I rise today to strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 3639, the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009.

Earlier this year, the Congress voted overwhelmingly to pass comprehensive credit card reform legislation that was subsequently signed into law by President Obama. Unfortunately, the credit card companies have used the past few months to push through last-minute rate hikes and other unfair practices before the law kicks into gear. To address this problem, this bill simply moves up the effective date for the remaining credit card reforms from February 22, 2010, to December 1 of this year.

I want to thank Congresswoman Maloney and Chairman Frank for their leadership in expeditiously bringing this bill to the floor.

The actions of the credit card companies over the past few months have amply demonstrated that the American consumer needs quick relief from punitive and unfair credit card practices. The time to act on these important reforms is now. For too long, the credit card industry has been subject to too few regulations and far too little oversight.

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