Stop Unfair Practices in Credit Cards Act of 2007
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S6135-6137)
Stop Unfair Practices in Credit Cards Act of 2007 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act regarding open-end consumer credit plans.
Prohibits imposition of an interest charge upon debt paid on time and in full. Sets restrictions upon interest rate increases.
Limits penalty rate increases to: (1) seven percentage points above the current interest rate; and (2) future credit extensions only.
Prohibits interest charges on fees. Specifies restrictions upon over-the-limit fees.
Requires the primary federal regulator of a card issuer to conduct annual audits of the credit card operations and procedures used by the issuer.
Requires the card issuer to: (1) apply payment first to the card balance bearing the highest rate of interest, and then to each successive balance bearing the next highest rate of interest, until the payment is exhausted; and (2) apply the payment in the most effective way to minimize the imposition of any finance charge.
Requires a card issuer to define and display the term "prime rate" or similar rate or index as the bank prime loan rate posted by a majority of the top 25 U.S. chartered commercial banks, as published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board).
Revises requirements governing credit card information collected by the Board.
Directs the Board to report annually to Congress its assessment of the profitability of credit card operations of depository institutions.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 15, 2007. 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 May 15, 2007: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6135-6137)
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 110th Congress (2007-08), 460 of the 11,228 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.1 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?
CARL LEVIN (D-MI) introduced it on May 15, 2007, and 10 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 9 Democrats, 1 independent.
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 May 15, 2007, 7058 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7058 days ago, on May 15, 2007.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 110th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2009 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
- SenateIntroduced, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers