Bloomberg – Cochran supports credit card rate caps implemented by states
May 18 (Bloomberg) — Credit-card firms caught off-guard by U.S. Senate passage of curbs on debit fees last week may be forced to abide by state limits on interest rates under another amendment to the financial overhaul bill.
Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, told reporters yesterday the U.S. should restore the ability of states to protect their citizens from high interest rates, regardless of where the lender is located. Whitehouse spoke on the Senate floor on behalf of his amendment, which he has said is supported by Richard Durbin of Illinois, the majority whip, and Republican Thad Cochran of Mississippi.
“It has bipartisan appeal,” Whitehouse told reporters before taking his arguments to the Senate floor. “I don’t see any reason why somebody in Mississippi or Idaho is any less screwed by an out-of-state bank gouging them 30-plus percent interest rates than somebody in Rhode Island or Illinois.”
Bloomberg
5/18/10
