When the House and Senate passed the Credit Card Holders’ Bill of Rights Act this past spring and President Obama signed it into law, it was widely seen as a signal that Congress was prepared to buck the financial services industry and support consumers across America. But an amendment added to the bill by Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez made the reforms much more palatable for the credit card companies. Gutierrez ensured that the banks -- whose business models are designed to exploit average Americans -- would not be forced to change their practices until one full year after passage. (In the Senate, this was bargained down to nine months.) On its surface, this provision seemed innocuous enough; the industry claimed they needed the delay to adjust their systems to the new rules. But since the bill's passage, they've actually used the grace period to raise interest rates and fees on existing customers in an attempt to turn a quick profit before regulators clamp down.

Some of the Democrats who originally opposed the timeline have now had enough. Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Barney Frank (D-MA) have introduced legislation (H.R. 3639) to speed up implementation for most of the reforms by three months. This change would be hugely important for consumers stretching their budgets to cover holiday gifts and family travel. On Thursday, Frank's House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on the proposal. We'll be doubling back to see what Gutierrez and his Illinois colleagues Reps. Melissa Bean, Bill Foster, Donald Manzullo, and Judy Biggert make of the change.

(H/T Mike Lillis)

Image used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user pladys.