A bill to amend the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prohibit the use of the "Rule of 78's" in the computation of the rebate of unearned interest in precomputed consumer credit transactions with terms greater than 36 months.
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to require creditors or assignees to refund promptly any unearned portion of finance charges and insurance premiums above one dollar to consumers who prepay in full a consumer credit transaction. Requires that such refunds for precomputed transactions repayable over a more than 36-month period be computed by a method at least as favorable to the consumer as an actuarial method in accordance with regulations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Permits the creditor to collect or retain a minimum charge not exceeding seven and one-half dollars if provided for by State law and the contract relating to the transaction. Requires creditors or assignees to provide consumers with statements of the amount due on any precomputed consumer credit account after such deductions of the finance charge and insurance premiums, within five days of receipt of an oral or written request from a consumer. Permits oral statements upon oral requests. Requires written statements upon written requests. Entitles consumers to one statement without charge each year. Permits reasonable fees for additional statements, if such fees are disclosed in advance.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on November 13, 1979. 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 November 13, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
- 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 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?
PAUL TSONGAS (D-MA) introduced it on November 13, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 November 13, 1979, 17150 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17150 days ago, on November 13, 1979.
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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers