IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3639 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2009 

Received 

DECEMBER 23, 2009 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and 

Disclosure Act of 2009 to establish an earlier effective 

date for various consumer protections, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expedited CARD Re3 form for Consumers Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. EARLIER EFFECTIVE DATE FOR CREDIT CARD PRO5 VISIONS OF THE CREDIT CARD ACT OF 2009. 

6 Section 3 of the Credit Card Accountability Responsi7 bility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (15 U.S.C. 1602 note) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘This Act’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

10 IN GENERAL.—This Act’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 sections: 

13 ‘‘(b) CERTAIN CREDIT CARD PROVISIONS.—Except 

14 as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, titles I, II, 

15 and III, and the amendments made by such titles, shall 

16 take effect on the date of the enactment of the Expedited 

17 CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009. 

18 ‘‘(c) CERTAIN CREDIT CARD ISSUERS.—Except as 

19 otherwise specifically provided in this Act and notwith20 standing subsection (b), the effective date established 

21 under subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the appli22 cation of titles I, II, and III, and the amendments made 

23 by such titles, to any credit card issuer which is a deposi24 tory institution (as defined in section 19(b)(1)(A) of the 

25 Federal Reserve Act) with fewer than 2,000,000 credit 


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1 cards in circulation as of the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. EARLIER EFFECTIVE DATES FOR SPECIFIC PROVI4 SIONS TO PREVENT FURTHER ABUSES. 

5 (a) REVIEW OF PAST CONSUMER INTEREST RATE

6 INCREASES.—Section 148(d) of the Truth in Lending Act 

7 (15 U.S.C. 1665c(d)) (as added by section 101(c) of the 

8 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure 

9 Act of 2009) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘9 months after the date of en11 actment of this section’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of 

12 the enactment of the Expedited CARD Reform for 

13 Consumers Act of 2009, except that for a depository 

14 institution, as defined in section 19(b)(1)(A) of the 

15 Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 461(b)(1)(A)), with 

16 fewer than 2 million credit cards in circulation on 

17 the date of the enactment of the Expedited CARD 

18 Reform for Consumers Act of 2009, the effective 

19 date shall be February 22, 2010,’’; and 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘become effective 15 months 

21 after that date of enactment’’ and inserting ‘‘take 

22 effect on the date of the enactment of the Expedited 

23 CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009, except 

24 that for a depository institution, as defined in sec25 tion 19(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 


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1 U.S.C. 461(b)(1)(A)), with fewer than 2 million 

2 credit cards in circulation on the date of the enact3 ment of the Expedited CARD Reform for Con4 sumers Act of 2009, the effective date shall be Au5 gust 22, 2010’’. 

6 (b) REQUIREMENT THAT PENALTY FEES BE REA7 SONABLE AND PROPORTIONAL TO THE VIOLATION.—Sec8 tion 149(b) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 1665d(b)) (as added by section 102(b) of the Credit Card 

10 Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘9 months after the date of en13 actment of this section,’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of 

14 the enactment of the Expedited CARD Reform for 

15 Consumers Act of 2009, except that for a depository 

16 institution, as defined in section 19(b)(1)(A) of the 

17 Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 461(b)(1)(A)), with 

18 fewer than 2 million credit cards in circulation on 

19 the date of the enactment of the Expedited CARD 

20 Reform for Consumers Act of 2009, the effective 

21 date shall be February 22, 2010,’’; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘become effective 15 months 

23 after the date of enactment of the section’’ and in24 serting ‘‘take effect on the date of the enactment of 

25 the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 


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1 2009, except that for a depository institution, as de2 fined in section 19(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Reserve 

3 Act (12 U.S.C. 461(b)(1)(A)), with fewer than 2 

4 million credit cards in circulation on the date of the 

5 enactment of the Expedited CARD Reform for Con6 sumers Act of 2009, the effective date shall be Au7 gust 22, 2010’’. 

8 SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION THAT 45-DAY DELAY DOES NOT 

9 APPLY TO REDUCTIONS IN INTEREST RATES 

10 AND FEES. 

11 Subsection (i) of section 127 of the Truth in Lending 

12 Act (15 U.S.C. 1637) (as added by section 101(a)(1) of 

13 the Credit CARD Act of 2009) is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(5) CLARIFICATION.—No provision of this 

16 subsection shall be construed as preventing any 

17 creditor from putting any reduction in an annual 

18 percentage rate, any decrease or elimination of any 

19 fee imposed on any consumer, or any significant 

20 change in terms solely or primarily for the benefit of 

21 the consumer into effect immediately.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. MORATORIUM ON INCREASES IN RATES AND FEES 

2 AND CHANGES IN TERMS TO THE DETRIMENT 

3 OF THE CONSUMER. 

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or 

5 any amendment made by this Act, subsection (b) of sec6 tion 164 of the Truth in Lending Act (as added by section 

7 104(4) of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility 

8 and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–24)) shall 

9 not take effect until February 22, 2010, for any creditor 

10 with respect to an existing credit card account under an 

11 open end credit plan, or such a plan issued on or after 

12 the date of enactment, as long as the creditor does not— 

13 (1) increase any annual percentage rate, fee, or 

14 finance charge applicable to any existing or future 

15 balance, except as permitted under subsection 

16 171(b) of the Truth in Lending Act (as added by 

17 Public Law 111–24); or 

18 (2) change the terms to the detriment of a con19 sumer, including terms governing the repayment of 

20 any outstanding balance, except as provided in sec21 tion 171(c) of the Truth in Lending Act (as added 

22 by Public Law 111–24). 

23 SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ESTABLISHED. 

24 Section 127 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

25 1637) is amended by inserting after subsection (r) (as 


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1 added by the Credit CARD Act of 2009) the following new 

2 subsection: 

3 ‘‘(s) CANCELLATION OF ACCOUNT WITHOUT DETRI4 MENTAL EFFECT.—If, in the case of a credit card account 

5 under an open end consumer credit plan, the consumer 

6 receives notice of the imposition of a new fee, and within 

7 the 45-day period beginning on receipt of such notice, pays 

8 off any outstanding balance on the account, no creditor 

9 and no consumer reporting agency (as defined in section 

10 603) may use such pay off or closure of the consumer 

11 credit account to negatively impact the consumer’s credit 

12 score or consumer report (as such terms are defined in 

13 sections 609 and 603, respectively).’’. 

14 SEC. 7. MORATORIUM ON RATE INCREASES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning on 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act and ending 9 months 

17 after the date of the enactment of the Credit Card Ac18 countability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, in 

19 the case of any credit card account under an open end 

20 consumer credit plan— 

21 (1) no creditor may increase any annual per22 centage rate, fee, or finance charge applicable to any 

23 outstanding balance, except as permitted under sub24 section 171(b) of the Truth in Lending Act (as 

25 added by Public Law 111–24); and 


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1 (2) no creditor may change the terms governing 

2 the repayment of any outstanding balance, except as 

3 set forth in section 171(c) of the Truth in Lending 

4 Act (as added by Public Law 111–24). 

5 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

6 following definitions shall apply: 

7 (1) ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE.—The term 

8 ‘‘annual percentage rate’’ means an annual percent9 age rate, as determined under section 107 of the 

10 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1606). 

11 (2) FINANCE CHARGE.—The term ‘‘finance 

12 charge’’ means a finance charge, as determined 

13 under section 106 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

14 U.S.C. 1605). 

15 (3) OUTSTANDING BALANCE.—The term ‘‘out16 standing balance’’ has the same meaning as in sec17 tion 171(d) of the Truth in Lending Act (as added 

18 by Public Law 111–24). 

19 (4) OTHER TERMS.—Any term used in this sec20 tion that is defined in section 103 of the Truth in 

21 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1602) and is not otherwise 

22 defined in this section shall have the same meanings 

23 as in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act. 

24 (c) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Governors of 

2 the Federal Reserve System may prescribe such reg3 ulations as may be necessary to carry out this sec4 tion. 

5 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this 

6 section shall take effect upon the date of the enact7 ment of this title, regardless of whether rules are 

8 issued under subsection (a). 

Passed the House of Representatives November 4, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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