A bill to amend the Federal Trade Commission Act to provide that violations, by retail credit card issuers, of certain State laws relating to credit card transactions shall be treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices subject to the remedies established in such Act, and for other purposes.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to provide that the following actions by a credit card issuer which is subject to the authority of the Federal Trade Commission shall be considered an unfair or deceptive act or practice in or affecting commerce: (1) violation of any State law relating to the issuance of credit cards; (2) violation of the terms of any credit transaction agreement; and (3) the attempt to impose or enforce additional or modified terms affecting any outstanding balance pursuant to such an agreement without obtaining the express written consent of the credit card holder.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 16, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 16, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
BOB ECKHARDT (D-TX) introduced it on April 16, 1980, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 16, 1980, 16995 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16995 days ago, on April 16, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers