Daily Whipline

November 4, 2009

Whipline

Printable Format

Floor Schedule and Procedure

• H. Res. 884 – Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 3639 – Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009 (Rep. Perlmutter – Rules):  The structured rule provides for one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Financial Services.  The rule makes in order only those further amendments printed in part B of the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution. It provides that the further amendments made in order may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole.  Those amendments reported from the Committee of the Whole, the question of their adoption shall be put to the House en gros and without demand for division of the question.  The rule provides one motion to recommit the bill with or without instructions.  It provides that the Chair may entertain a motion that the Committee rise only if offered by the chair of the Committee on Financial Services or his designee.  It further provides that that the Chair may not entertain a motion to strike out the enacting words of the bill (as described in clause 9 of rule XVIII).  Debate on the rule will be managed by Rep. Perlmutter, and consideration will proceed as follows: 
  
  
  • One hour of debate on the rule.
  
  
  
  • Possible vote on a Democratic Motion ordering the previous question. Members are urged to vote yes.
  
  
  
  • Vote on adoption of the rule. Members are urged to vote yes.
  
  
  
• H.R. 3639 – Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009 (Rep. Maloney – Financial Services):  Pursuant to H.Res. 884, general debate on the bill will be managed by Financial Services Committee Chair Rep. Barney Frank.  Debate on the bill will proceed as follows:
  
  
  • One hour of general debate on the bill.
  
  
  
  • Debate and possible votes on amendments to the bill.
  
  
  
  • Possible debate and vote on Republican motion to recommit the bill.
  
  
  
  • Vote on final passage of the bill.  Members are urged to VOTE YES.
  
  
  
• Suspension Bills: Today, the House will consider several bills on the Suspension calendar.  Bills considered on the Suspension calendar are debatable for 40 minutes; may not be amended; and require a two-thirds vote for passage.  If a recorded vote is requested, it will be postponed.
  
  
  1. H.Res. 868 - Honoring and recognizing the service and achievements of current and former female members of the Armed Forces (Rep. Davis (CA) - Armed Services)
  
  
  
  2. H.Con.Res. 139 - Congratulating the first graduating class of the United States Air Force Academy on their 50th graduation anniversary and recognizing their contributions to the Nation (Rep. Lamborn - Armed Services)
  
  
  
  3. H.Res. 856 - Recognizing the Commissioning of the USS New York LPD 21 (Rep. Nadler - Armed Services)
  
  
  
  4. H.Res. 880 - Recognizing the efforts of career and technical colleges to educate and train workers for positions in high-demand industries (Rep. Cassidy - Education and Labor)
  
  
  
  5. H.Res. 752 - Recognizing the tragic loss of life that occurred at the Cherry Mine in Cherry, Illinois, on its 100th anniversary and the contributions to worker and mine safety that resulted from this and other disasters (Rep. Halvorson - Education and Labor)
  
  
  
  6. H.Res. 878 - Expressing support for the goals and ideals of National Family Literacy Day (Rep. Platts - Education and Labor)
  
  
  
• Postponed Suspension Votes:
  
  
  1. H.Res. 858 - Congratulating the Inter-American Foundation on its 40th anniversary and recognizing its significant accomplishments and contributions (Rep. Engel - Foreign Affairs)
  
  
  
  2. H.Res. 839 - Condemning the illegal extraction of Madagascar's natural resources (Rep. Blumenauer - Foreign Affairs)
  
  
  
  3. H.Res. 863 - Recognizing the scourge of pneumonia, urging the United States and the world to mobilize cooperation and prioritize resources to fight pneumonia and save children's lives, and recognizing November 2 as World Pneumonia Day (Rep. Shea-Porter - Foreign Affairs)
  
  
  
  4. H.Res. 641 - Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the founding of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen - Foreign Affairs)
  
  
  

Bill Summary & Key Issues

Summary of H.R. 3639 – Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009

H.R. 3639 was introduced on September 24 by Congresswoman Maloney and Chairman Frank to move up certain implementation dates of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (The CARD Act, P.L. 111-24), which was signed into law May 22.  Since that time, many credit card companies have availed themselves of the opportunity to raise interest rates and decrease credit limits on their consumers before the effective date.  During Committee consideration, amendments were adopted which exempted gift card provisions and issuing institutions with fewer than two million cards in circulation from the expedited date provisions. The bill and these amendments were adopted by voice vote.  The CARD Act contains three separate implementation dates, 90 days, 9 months and 15 months after enactment. The break-out below lists when provisions become effective.

The Expedited Card Reform for Consumers Act, H.R. 3639, will move the 9 month (February 20, 2010) and 15 month (August 22, 2010) implementation dates up to December 1, 2009.      

Became effective on August 20, 2009:

• Provide increased written notice to consumers of any increases in the interest rate or otherwise makes a significant change to the terms of a credit card account;
• Inform consumers of their right to cancel the card before the rate hike goes into effect;
• Send statements to consumers 21 days before the due date of any payments.

Will become effective February 22, 2010:

• Prohibits arbitrary interest rate increases and universal default on existing balances;
• Prohibits issuers from charging over-limit fees unless the cardholder elects to allow the issuer to complete over-limit transactions, and also limits over-limit fees on electing cardholders;
• Requires payments in excess of the minimum to be applied first to the credit card balance with the highest rate of interest;
• Prohibits issuers from setting early morning deadlines for credit card payments;
• Prohibits interest charges on debt paid on time (double-cycle billing ban);
• Requires issuers extending credit to young consumers under the age of 21 to obtain an application that contains: the signature of a parent, guardian, or other individual 21 years or older who will take responsibility for the debt; or proof that the applicant has an independent means of repaying any credit extended;
• Protects recipients of gift cards by requiring all gift cards to have at least a five-year life span, and eliminates the practice of declining values and hidden fees for those cards not used within a reasonable period of time.

Will become effective August 22, 2010:

• Requires penalty fees to be reasonable and proportional to the omission or violation;
• Requires that creditors periodically review all interest rate increases since January 2009 and reduce rates when a review indicates that a reduction is warranted.
• Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to limit dormancy, inactivity, and service fees associated with gift cards. 

Quote of the Day