In the Senate of the United States, 

May 19, 2009. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 627) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend the Truth in 

Lending Act to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer 

credit plan, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 

following: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure 

4 Act of 2009’’ or the ‘‘Credit CARD Act of 2009’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

6 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Regulatory authority. 

Sec. 3. Effective date. 
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TITLE I—CONSUMER PROTECTION 

Sec. 101. Protection of credit cardholders. 

Sec. 102. Limits on fees and interest charges. 

Sec. 103. Use of terms clarified. 

Sec. 104. Application of card payments. 

Sec. 105. Standards applicable to initial issuance of subprime or ‘‘fee harvester’’ 

cards. 

Sec. 106. Rules regarding periodic statements. 

Sec. 107. Enhanced penalties. 

Sec. 108. Clerical amendments. 

Sec. 109. Consideration of Ability to repay. 

TITLE II—ENHANCED CONSUMER DISCLOSURES 

Sec. 201. Payoff timing disclosures. 

Sec. 202. Requirements relating to late payment deadlines and penalties. 

Sec. 203. Renewal disclosures. 

Sec. 204. Internet posting of credit card agreements. 

Sec. 205. Prevention of deceptive marketing of credit reports. 

TITLE III—PROTECTION OF YOUNG CONSUMERS 

Sec. 301. Extensions of credit to underage consumers. 

Sec. 302. Protection of young consumers from prescreened credit offers. 

Sec. 303. Issuance of credit cards to certain college students. 

Sec. 304. Privacy Protections for college students. 

Sec. 305. College Credit Card Agreements. 

TITLE IV—GIFT CARDS 

Sec. 401. General-use prepaid cards, gift certificates, and store gift cards. 

Sec. 402. Relation to State laws. 

Sec. 403. Effective date. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Study and report on interchange fees. 

Sec. 502. Board review of consumer credit plans and regulations. 

Sec. 503. Stored value. 

Sec. 504 Procedure for timely settlement of estates of decedent obligors. 

Sec. 505. Report to Congress on reductions of consumer credit card limits based 

on certain information as to experience or transactions of the 

consumer. 

Sec. 506. Board review of small business credit plans and recommendations. 

Sec. 507. Small business information security task force. 

Sec. 508. Study and report on emergency pin technology. 

Sec. 509. Study and report on the marketing of products with credit offers. 

Sec. 510. Financial and economic literacy. 

Sec. 511. Federal trade commission rulemaking on mortgage lending. 

Sec. 512. Protecting Americans from violent crime. 

Sec. 513. GAO study and report on fluency in the English language and financial literacy. 
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1 SEC. 2. REGULATORY AUTHORITY. 

2 The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 

3 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) may issue such rules 

4 and publish such model forms as it considers necessary to 

5 carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

6 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

8 become effective 9 months after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act. 

10 TITLE I—CONSUMER 

11 PROTECTION 

12 SEC. 101. PROTECTION OF CREDIT CARDHOLDERS. 

13 (a) ADVANCE NOTICE OF RATE INCREASE AND OTHER

14 CHANGES REQUIRED.— 

15 (1) AMENDMENT TO TILA.—Section 127 of the 

16 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1637) is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) ADVANCE NOTICE OF RATE INCREASE AND OTHER

19 CHANGES REQUIRED.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ADVANCE NOTICE OF INCREASE IN INTER21 EST RATE REQUIRED.—In the case of any credit card 

22 account under an open end consumer credit plan, a 

23 creditor shall provide a written notice of an increase 

24 in an annual percentage rate (except in the case of 

25 an increase described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of 
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1 section 171(b)) not later than 45 days prior to the ef2 fective date of the increase. 

3 ‘‘(2) ADVANCE NOTICE OF OTHER SIGNIFICANT

4 CHANGES REQUIRED.—In the case of any credit card 

5 account under an open end consumer credit plan, a 

6 creditor shall provide a written notice of any signifi7 cant change, as determined by rule of the Board, in 

8 the terms (including an increase in any fee or finance 

9 charge, other than as provided in paragraph (1)) of 

10 the cardholder agreement between the creditor and the 

11 obligor, not later than 45 days prior to the effective 

12 date of the change. 

13 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CANCEL.—Each notice 

14 required by paragraph (1) or (2) shall be made in a 

15 clear and conspicuous manner, and shall contain a 

16 brief statement of the right of the obligor to cancel the 

17 account pursuant to rules established by the Board be18 fore the effective date of the subject rate increase or 

19 other change. 

20 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Closure or can21 cellation of an account by the obligor shall not con22 stitute a default under an existing cardholder agree23 ment, and shall not trigger an obligation to imme24 diately repay the obligation in full or through a 

25 method that is less beneficial to the obligor than one 
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1 of the methods described in section 171(c)(2), or the 

2 imposition of any other penalty or fee.’’. 

3 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Notwithstanding section 

4 3, section 127(i) of the Truth in Lending Act, as 

5 added by this subsection, shall become effective 90 

6 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (b) RETROACTIVE INCREASE AND UNIVERSAL DE8 FAULT PROHIBITED.—Chapter 4 of the Truth in Lending 

9 Act (15 U.S.C. 1666 et seq.) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating section 171 as section 173; 

11 and 

12 (2) by inserting after section 170 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 171. LIMITS ON INTEREST RATE, FEE, AND FINANCE 

14 CHARGE INCREASES APPLICABLE TO OUT15 STANDING BALANCES. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any credit card ac17 count under an open end consumer credit plan, no creditor 

18 may increase any annual percentage rate, fee, or finance 

19 charge applicable to any outstanding balance, except as per20 mitted under subsection (b). 

21 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibition under subsection 

22 (a) shall not apply to— 

23 ‘‘(1) an increase in an annual percentage rate 

24 upon the expiration of a specified period of time, pro25 vided that— 
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1 ‘‘(A) prior to commencement of that period, 

2 the creditor disclosed to the consumer, in a clear 

3 and conspicuous manner, the length of the period 

4 and the annual percentage rate that would apply 

5 after expiration of the period; 

6 ‘‘(B) the increased annual percentage rate 

7 does not exceed the rate disclosed pursuant to 

8 subparagraph (A); and 

9 ‘‘(C) the increased annual percentage rate is 

10 not applied to transactions that occurred prior 

11 to commencement of the period; 

12 ‘‘(2) an increase in a variable annual percentage 

13 rate in accordance with a credit card agreement that 

14 provides for changes in the rate according to oper15 ation of an index that is not under the control of the 

16 creditor and is available to the general public; 

17 ‘‘(3) an increase due to the completion of a work18 out or temporary hardship arrangement by the obli19 gor or the failure of the obligor to comply with the 

20 terms of a workout or temporary hardship arrange21 ment, provided that— 

22 ‘‘(A) the annual percentage rate, fee, or fi23 nance charge applicable to a category of trans24 actions following any such increase does not ex25 ceed the rate, fee, or finance charge that applied 
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1 to that category of transactions prior to com2 mencement of the arrangement; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the creditor has provided the obligor, 

4 prior to the commencement of such arrangement, 

5 with clear and conspicuous disclosure of the 

6 terms of the arrangement (including any in7 creases due to such completion or failure); or 

8 ‘‘(4) an increase due solely to the fact that a 

9 minimum payment by the obligor has not been re10 ceived by the creditor within 60 days after the due 

11 date for such payment, provided that the creditor 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) include, together with the notice of 

14 such increase required under section 127(i), a 

15 clear and conspicuous written statement of the 

16 reason for the increase and that the increase will 

17 terminate not later than 6 months after the date 

18 on which it is imposed, if the creditor receives 

19 the required minimum payments on time from 

20 the obligor during that period; and 

21 ‘‘(B) terminate such increase not later than 

22 6 months after the date on which it is imposed, 

23 if the creditor receives the required minimum 

24 payments on time during that period. 

25 ‘‘(c) REPAYMENT OF OUTSTANDING BALANCE.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The creditor shall not change 

2 the terms governing the repayment of any out3 standing balance, except that the creditor may pro4 vide the obligor with one of the methods described in 

5 paragraph (2) of repaying any outstanding balance, 

6 or a method that is no less beneficial to the obligor 

7 than one of those methods. 

8 ‘‘(2) METHODS.—The methods described in this 

9 paragraph are— 

10 ‘‘(A) an amortization period of not less 

11 than 5 years, beginning on the effective date of 

12 the increase set forth in the notice required under 

13 section 127(i); or 

14 ‘‘(B) a required minimum periodic pay15 ment that includes a percentage of the out16 standing balance that is equal to not more than 

17 twice the percentage required before the effective 

18 date of the increase set forth in the notice re19 quired under section 127(i). 

20 ‘‘(d) OUTSTANDING BALANCE DEFINED.—For pur21 poses of this section, the term ‘outstanding balance’ means 

22 the amount owed on a credit card account under an open 

23 end consumer credit plan as of the end of the 14th day after 

24 the date on which the creditor provides notice of an increase 
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1 in the annual percentage rate, fee, or finance charge in ac2 cordance with section 127(i).’’. 

3 (c) INTEREST RATE REDUCTION ON OPEN END CON4 SUMER CREDIT PLANS.—Chapter 3 of the Truth in Lending 

5 Act (15 U.S.C. 1661 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 148. INTEREST RATE REDUCTION ON OPEN END CON8 SUMER CREDIT PLANS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If a creditor increases the annual 

10 percentage rate applicable to a credit card account under 

11 an open end consumer credit plan, based on factors includ12 ing the credit risk of the obligor, market conditions, or other 

13 factors, the creditor shall consider changes in such factors 

14 in subsequently determining whether to reduce the annual 

15 percentage rate for such obligor. 

16 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to any credit card 

17 account under an open end consumer credit plan, the cred18 itor shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) maintain reasonable methodologies for as20 sessing the factors described in subsection (a); 

21 ‘‘(2) not less frequently than once every 6 

22 months, review accounts as to which the annual per23 centage rate has been increased since January 1, 

24 2009, to assess whether such factors have changed (in25 cluding whether any risk has declined); 
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1 ‘‘(3) reduce the annual percentage rate pre2 viously increased when a reduction is indicated by 

3 the review; and 

4 ‘‘(4) in the event of an increase in the annual 

5 percentage rate, provide in the written notice required 

6 under section 127(i) a statement of the reasons for the 

7 increase. 

8 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall not 

9 be construed to require a reduction in any specific amount. 

10 ‘‘(d) RULEMAKING.—The Board shall issue final rules 

11 not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this 

12 section to implement the requirements of and evaluate com13 pliance with this section, and subsections (a), (b), and (c) 

14 shall become effective 15 months after that date of enact15 ment.’’. 

16 (d) INTRODUCTORY AND PROMOTIONAL RATES.— 

17 Chapter 4 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1666 

18 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 171, as amend19 ed by this Act, the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 172. ADDITIONAL LIMITS ON INTEREST RATE IN21 CREASES. 

22 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON INCREASES WITHIN FIRST

23 YEAR.—Except in the case of an increase described in para24 graph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of section 171(b), no increase in 

25 any annual percentage rate, fee, or finance charge on any 
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1 credit card account under an open end consumer credit 

2 plan shall be effective before the end of the 1-year period 

3 beginning on the date on which the account is opened. 

4 ‘‘(b) PROMOTIONAL RATE MINIMUM TERM.—No in5 crease in any annual percentage rate applicable to a credit 

6 card account under an open end consumer credit plan that 

7 is a promotional rate (as that term is defined by the Board) 

8 shall be effective before the end of the 6-month period begin9 ning on the date on which the promotional rate takes effect, 

10 subject to such reasonable exceptions as the Board may es11 tablish, by rule.’’. 

12 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for 

13 chapter 4 of the Truth in Lending Act is amended by strik14 ing the item relating to section 171 and inserting the fol15 lowing: 

‘‘171. Limits on interest rate, fee, and finance charge increases applicable to outstanding balances. 

‘‘172. Additional limits on interest rate increases. 

‘‘173. Applicability of State laws.’’. 

16 SEC. 102. LIMITS ON FEES AND INTEREST CHARGES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 127 of the Truth in Lend18 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1637) is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITION ON PENALTIES FOR ON-TIME PAY21 MENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON DOUBLE-CYCLE BILLING

23 AND PENALTIES FOR ON-TIME PAYMENTS.—Except as 
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1 provided in paragraph (2), a creditor may not im2 pose any finance charge on a credit card account 

3 under an open end consumer credit plan as a result 

4 of the loss of any time period provided by the creditor 

5 within which the obligor may repay any portion of 

6 the credit extended without incurring a finance 

7 charge, with respect to— 

8 ‘‘(A) any balances for days in billing cycles 

9 that precede the most recent billing cycle; or 

10 ‘‘(B) any balances or portions thereof in the 

11 current billing cycle that were repaid within 

12 such time period. 

13 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) does not 

14 apply to— 

15 ‘‘(A) any adjustment to a finance charge as 

16 a result of the resolution of a dispute; or 

17 ‘‘(B) any adjustment to a finance charge as 

18 a result of the return of a payment for insuffi19 cient funds. 

20 ‘‘(k) OPT-IN REQUIRED FOR OVER-THE-LIMIT TRANS21 ACTIONS IF FEES ARE IMPOSED.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any credit 

23 card account under an open end consumer credit plan 

24 under which an over-the-limit fee may be imposed by 

25 the creditor for any extension of credit in excess of the 
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1 amount of credit authorized to be extended under such 

2 account, no such fee shall be charged, unless the con3 sumer has expressly elected to permit the creditor, 

4 with respect to such account, to complete transactions 

5 involving the extension of credit under such account 

6 in excess of the amount of credit authorized. 

7 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE BY CREDITOR.—No election by 

8 a consumer under paragraph (1) shall take effect un9 less the consumer, before making such election, re10 ceived a notice from the creditor of any over-the-limit 

11 fee in the form and manner, and at the time, deter12 mined by the Board. If the consumer makes the elec13 tion referred to in paragraph (1), the creditor shall 

14 provide notice to the consumer of the right to revoke 

15 the election, in the form prescribed by the Board, in 

16 any periodic statement that includes notice of the im17 position of an over-the-limit fee during the period 

18 covered by the statement. 

19 ‘‘(3) FORM OF ELECTION.—A consumer may 

20 make or revoke the election referred to in paragraph 

21 (1) orally, electronically, or in writing, pursuant to 

22 regulations prescribed by the Board. The Board shall 

23 prescribe regulations to ensure that the same options 

24 are available for both making and revoking such elec25 tion. 
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1 ‘‘(4) TIME OF ELECTION.—A consumer may 

2 make the election referred to in paragraph (1) at any 

3 time, and such election shall be effective until the elec4 tion is revoked in the manner prescribed under para5 graph (3). 

6 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.—The Board shall prescribe 

7 regulations— 

8 ‘‘(A) governing disclosures under this sub9 section; and 

10 ‘‘(B) that prevent unfair or deceptive acts 

11 or practices in connection with the manipulation 

12 of credit limits designed to increase over-the13 limit fees or other penalty fees. 

14 ‘‘(6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

15 subsection shall be construed to prohibit a creditor 

16 from completing an over-the-limit transaction, pro17 vided that a consumer who has not made a valid elec18 tion under paragraph (1) is not charged an over-the19 limit fee for such transaction. 

20 ‘‘(7) RESTRICTION ON FEES CHARGED FOR AN

21 OVER-THE-LIMIT TRANSACTION.—With respect to a 

22 credit card account under an open end consumer 

23 credit plan, an over-the-limit fee may be imposed 

24 only once during a billing cycle if the credit limit on 

25 the account is exceeded, and an over-the-limit fee, 
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1 with respect to such excess credit, may be imposed 

2 only once in each of the 2 subsequent billing cycles, 

3 unless the consumer has obtained an additional exten4 sion of credit in excess of such credit limit during 

5 any such subsequent cycle or the consumer reduces the 

6 outstanding balance below the credit limit as of the 

7 end of such billing cycle. 

8 ‘‘(l) LIMIT ON FEES RELATED TO METHOD OF PAY9 MENT.—With respect to a credit card account under an 

10 open end consumer credit plan, the creditor may not impose 

11 a separate fee to allow the obligor to repay an extension 

12 of credit or finance charge, whether such repayment is made 

13 by mail, electronic transfer, telephone authorization, or 

14 other means, unless such payment involves an expedited 

15 service by a service representative of the creditor.’’. 

16 (b) REASONABLE PENALTY FEES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of the Truth in 

18 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1661 et seq.), as amended by 

19 this Act, is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 149. REASONABLE PENALTY FEES ON OPEN END CON22 SUMER CREDIT PLANS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The amount of any penalty fee or 

24 charge that a card issuer may impose with respect to a cred25 it card account under an open end consumer credit plan 
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1 in connection with any omission with respect to, or viola2 tion of, the cardholder agreement, including any late pay3 ment fee, over-the-limit fee, or any other penalty fee or 

4 charge, shall be reasonable and proportional to such omis5 sion or violation. 

6 ‘‘(b) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—The Board, in con7 sultation with the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board 

8 of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 

9 the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Na10 tional Credit Union Administration Board, shall issue final 

11 rules not later than 9 months after the date of enactment 

12 of this section, to establish standards for assessing whether 

13 the amount of any penalty fee or charge described under 

14 subsection (a) is reasonable and proportional to the omis15 sion or violation to which the fee or charge relates. Sub16 section (a) shall become effective 15 months after the date 

17 of enactment of this section. 

18 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing rules required by 

19 this section, the Board shall consider— 

20 ‘‘(1) the cost incurred by the creditor from such 

21 omission or violation; 

22 ‘‘(2) the deterrence of such omission or violation 

23 by the cardholder; 

24 ‘‘(3) the conduct of the cardholder; and 
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1 ‘‘(4) such other factors as the Board may deem 

2 necessary or appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(d) DIFFERENTIATION PERMITTED.—In issuing rules 

4 required by this subsection, the Board may establish dif5 ferent standards for different types of fees and charges, as 

6 appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(e) SAFE HARBOR RULE AUTHORIZED.—The Board, 

8 in consultation with the Comptroller of the Currency, the 

9 Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Cor10 poration, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, 

11 and the National Credit Union Administration Board, may 

12 issue rules to provide an amount for any penalty fee or 

13 charge described under subsection (a) that is presumed to 

14 be reasonable and proportional to the omission or violation 

15 to which the fee or charge relates.’’. 

16 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 3 of the 

17 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1661 et seq.) is 

18 amended— 

19 (A) in the chapter heading, by inserting 

20 ‘‘AND LIMITS ON CREDIT CARD 

21 FEES’’ after ‘‘ADVERTISING’’; and 

22 (B) in the table of sections for the chapter, 

23 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘148. Interest rate reduction on open end consumer credit plans. 

‘‘149. Reasonable penalty fees on open end consumer credit plans.’’. 
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1 SEC. 103. USE OF TERMS CLARIFIED. 

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

3 1637) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(m) USE OF TERM ‘FIXED RATE’.—With respect to 

5 the terms of any credit card account under an open end 

6 consumer credit plan, the term ‘fixed’, when appearing in 

7 conjunction with a reference to the annual percentage rate 

8 or interest rate applicable with respect to such account, may 

9 only be used to refer to an annual percentage rate or inter10 est rate that will not change or vary for any reason over 

11 the period specified clearly and conspicuously in the terms 

12 of the account.’’. 

13 SEC. 104. APPLICATION OF CARD PAYMENTS. 

14 Section 164 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 1666c) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking the section heading and all that 

17 follows through ‘‘Payments’’ and inserting the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘§ 164. Prompt and fair crediting of payments 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Payments’’; 

21 (2) by inserting ‘‘, by 5:00 p.m. on the date on 

22 which such payment is due,’’ after ‘‘in readily identi23 fiable form’’; 

24 (3) by striking ‘‘manner, location, and time’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘manner, and location’’; and 

26 (4) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF PAYMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of a payment 

3 from a cardholder, the card issuer shall apply 

4 amounts in excess of the minimum payment amount 

5 first to the card balance bearing the highest rate of 

6 interest, and then to each successive balance bearing 

7 the next highest rate of interest, until the payment is 

8 exhausted. 

9 ‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION RELATING TO CERTAIN DE10 FERRED INTEREST ARRANGEMENTS.—A creditor shall 

11 allocate the entire amount paid by the consumer in 

12 excess of the minimum payment amount to a balance 

13 on which interest is deferred during the last 2 billing 

14 cycles immediately preceding the expiration of the pe15 riod during which interest is deferred. 

16 ‘‘(c) CHANGES BY CARD ISSUER.—If a card issuer 

17 makes a material change in the mailing address, office, or 

18 procedures for handling cardholder payments, and such 

19 change causes a material delay in the crediting of a card20 holder payment made during the 60-day period following 

21 the date on which such change took effect, the card issuer 

22 may not impose any late fee or finance charge for a late 

23 payment on the credit card account to which such payment 

24 was credited.’’. 
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1 SEC. 105. STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO INITIAL ISSUANCE 

2 OF SUBPRIME OR ‘‘FEE HARVESTER’’ CARDS. 

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

4 1637), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(n) STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO INITIAL ISSUANCE

7 OF SUBPRIME OR ‘FEE HARVESTER’ CARDS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the terms of a credit card 

9 account under an open end consumer credit plan re10 quire the payment of any fees (other than any late 

11 fee, over-the-limit fee, or fee for a payment returned 

12 for insufficient funds) by the consumer in the first 

13 year during which the account is opened in an aggre14 gate amount in excess of 25 percent of the total 

15 amount of credit authorized under the account when 

16 the account is opened, no payment of any fees (other 

17 than any late fee, over-the-limit fee, or fee for a pay18 ment returned for insufficient funds) may be made 

19 from the credit made available under the terms of the 

20 account. 

21 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provision of 

22 this subsection may be construed as authorizing any 

23 imposition or payment of advance fees otherwise pro24 hibited by any provision of law.’’. 
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1 SEC. 106. RULES REGARDING PERIODIC STATEMENTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 127 of the Truth in Lend3 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1637) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(o) DUE DATES FOR CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The payment due date for a 

7 credit card account under an open end consumer 

8 credit plan shall be the same day each month. 

9 ‘‘(2) WEEKEND OR HOLIDAY DUE DATES.—If the 

10 payment due date for a credit card account under an 

11 open end consumer credit plan is a day on which the 

12 creditor does not receive or accept payments by mail 

13 (including weekends and holidays), the creditor may 

14 not treat a payment received on the next business day 

15 as late for any purpose.’’. 

16 (b) LENGTH OF BILLING PERIOD.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 163 of the Truth in 

18 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1666b) is amended to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 163. TIMING OF PAYMENTS. 

21 ‘‘(a) TIME TO MAKE PAYMENTS.—A creditor may not 

22 treat a payment on an open end consumer credit plan as 

23 late for any purpose, unless the creditor has adopted reason24 able procedures designed to ensure that each periodic state25 ment including the information required by section 127(b) 
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1 is mailed or delivered to the consumer not later than 21 

2 days before the payment due date. 

3 ‘‘(b) GRACE PERIOD.—If an open end consumer credit 

4 plan provides a time period within which an obligor may 

5 repay any portion of the credit extended without incurring 

6 an additional finance charge, such additional finance 

7 charge may not be imposed with respect to such portion 

8 of the credit extended for the billing cycle of which such 

9 period is a part, unless a statement which includes the 

10 amount upon which the finance charge for the period is 

11 based was mailed or delivered to the consumer not later 

12 than 21 days before the date specified in the statement by 

13 which payment must be made in order to avoid imposition 

14 of that finance charge.’’. 

15 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Notwithstanding section 

16 3, section 163 of the Truth in Lending Act, as amend17 ed by this subsection, shall become effective 90 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections for 

20 chapter 4 of the Truth in Lending Act is amended— 

21 (1) by striking the item relating to section 163 

22 and inserting the following: 

‘‘163. Timing of payments.’’; and 

23 (2) by striking the item relating to section 171 

24 and inserting the following: 

‘‘171. Universal defaults prohibited. 
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‘‘172. Unilateral changes in credit card agreement prohibited. 

‘‘173. Applicability of State laws.’’. 

1 SEC. 107. ENHANCED PENALTIES. 

2 Section 130(a)(2)(A) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 1640(a)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘or (iii) in 

4 the’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘(iii) in the case of an 

5 individual action relating to an open end consumer credit 

6 plan that is not secured by real property or a dwelling, 

7 twice the amount of any finance charge in connection with 

8 the transaction, with a minimum of $500 and a maximum 

9 of $5,000, or such higher amount as may be appropriate 

10 in the case of an established pattern or practice of such fail11 ures; or (iv) in the’’. 

12 SEC. 108. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 

13 Section 103(i) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

14 1602(i)) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘term’’ and all that follows 

16 through ‘‘means’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘terms 

17 ‘open end credit plan’ and ‘open end consumer credit 

18 plan’ mean’’; and 

19 (2) in the second sentence, by inserting ‘‘or open 

20 end consumer credit plan’’ after ‘‘credit plan’’ each 

21 place that term appears. 
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† HR 627 EAS 

1 SEC. 109. CONSIDERATION OF ABILITY TO REPAY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of the Truth in Lending 

3 Act (15 U.S.C. 1666 et seq.), as amended by this title, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 150. CONSIDERATION OF ABILITY TO REPAY. 

6 ‘‘A card issuer may not open any credit card account 

7 for any consumer under an open end consumer credit plan, 

8 or increase any credit limit applicable to such account, un9 less the card issuer considers the ability of the consumer 

10 to make the required payments under the terms of such ac11 count.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Chapter 3 of the Truth 

13 in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1661 et seq.) is amended in the 

14 table of sections for the chapter, by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

‘‘150. Consideration of ability to repay.’’. 

16 TITLE II—ENHANCED 

17 CONSUMER DISCLOSURES 

18 SEC. 201. PAYOFF TIMING DISCLOSURES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 127(b)(11) of the Truth in 

20 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1637(b)(11)) is amended to read 

21 as follows: 

22 ‘‘(11)(A) A written statement in the following 

23 form: ‘Minimum Payment Warning: Making only the 

24 minimum payment will increase the amount of inter25 est you pay and the time it takes to repay your bal-
25 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 ance.’, or such similar statement as is established by 

2 the Board pursuant to consumer testing. 

3 ‘‘(B) Repayment information that would apply 

4 to the outstanding balance of the consumer under the 

5 credit plan, including— 

6 ‘‘(i) the number of months (rounded to the 

7 nearest month) that it would take to pay the en8 tire amount of that balance, if the consumer 

9 pays only the required minimum monthly pay10 ments and if no further advances are made; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the total cost to the consumer, includ12 ing interest and principal payments, of paying 

13 that balance in full, if the consumer pays only 

14 the required minimum monthly payments and if 

15 no further advances are made; 

16 ‘‘(iii) the monthly payment amount that 

17 would be required for the consumer to eliminate 

18 the outstanding balance in 36 months, if no fur19 ther advances are made, and the total cost to the 

20 consumer, including interest and principal pay21 ments, of paying that balance in full if the con22 sumer pays the balance over 36 months; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) a toll-free telephone number at which 

24 the consumer may receive information about ac-
26 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 cessing credit counseling and debt management 

2 services. 

3 ‘‘(C)(i) Subject to clause (ii), in making the dis4 closures under subparagraph (B), the creditor shall 

5 apply the interest rate or rates in effect on the date 

6 on which the disclosure is made until the date on 

7 which the balance would be paid in full. 

8 ‘‘(ii) If the interest rate in effect on the date on 

9 which the disclosure is made is a temporary rate that 

10 will change under a contractual provision applying 

11 an index or formula for subsequent interest rate ad12 justment, the creditor shall apply the interest rate in 

13 effect on the date on which the disclosure is made for 

14 as long as that interest rate will apply under that 

15 contractual provision, and then apply an interest rate 

16 based on the index or formula in effect on the appli17 cable billing date. 

18 ‘‘(D) All of the information described in sub19 paragraph (B) shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) be disclosed in the form and manner 

21 which the Board shall prescribe, by regulation, 

22 and in a manner that avoids duplication; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) be placed in a conspicuous and promi24 nent location on the billing statement. 
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† HR 627 EAS 

1 ‘‘(E) In the regulations prescribed under sub2 paragraph (D), the Board shall require that the dis3 closure of such information shall be in the form of a 

4 table that— 

5 ‘‘(i) contains clear and concise headings for 

6 each item of such information; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) provides a clear and concise form stat8 ing each item of information required to be dis9 closed under each such heading. 

10 ‘‘(F) In prescribing the form of the table under 

11 subparagraph (E), the Board shall require that— 

12 ‘‘(i) all of the information in the table, and 

13 not just a reference to the table, be placed on the 

14 billing statement, as required by this paragraph; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the items required to be included in 

17 the table shall be listed in the order in which 

18 such items are set forth in subparagraph (B). 

19 ‘‘(G) In prescribing the form of the table under 

20 subparagraph (D), the Board shall employ termi21 nology which is different than the terminology which 

22 is employed in subparagraph (B), if such terminology 

23 is more easily understood and conveys substantially 

24 the same meaning.’’. 
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† HR 627 EAS 

1 (b) CIVIL LIABILITY.—Section 130(a) of the Truth in 

2 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1640(a)) is amended, in the undes3 ignated paragraph following paragraph (4), by striking the 

4 second sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘In connection 

5 with the disclosures referred to in subsections (a) and (b) 

6 of section 127, a creditor shall have a liability determined 

7 under paragraph (2) only for failing to comply with the 

8 requirements of section 125, 127(a), or any of paragraphs 

9 (4) through (13) of section 127(b), or for failing to comply 

10 with disclosure requirements under State law for any term 

11 or item that the Board has determined to be substantially 

12 the same in meaning under section 111(a)(2) as any of the 

13 terms or items referred to in section 127(a), or any of para14 graphs (4) through (13) of section 127(b).’’. 

15 (c) GUIDELINES REQUIRED.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Board shall 

18 issue guidelines, by rule, in consultation with the Sec19 retary of the Treasury, for the establishment and 

20 maintenance by creditors of a toll-free telephone num21 ber for purposes of providing information about ac22 cessing credit counseling and debt management serv23 ices, as required under section 127(b)(11)(B)(iv) of 

24 the Truth in Lending Act, as added by this section. 
29 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 (2) APPROVED AGENCIES.—Guidelines issued 

2 under this subsection shall ensure that referrals pro3 vided by the toll-free number referred to in paragraph 

4 (1) include only those nonprofit budget and credit 

5 counseling agencies approved by a United States 

6 bankruptcy trustee pursuant to section 111(a) of title 

7 11, United States Code. 

8 SEC. 202. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO LATE PAYMENT 

9 DEADLINES AND PENALTIES. 

10 Section 127(b)(12) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 1637(b)(12)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(12) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO LATE PAY13 MENT DEADLINES AND PENALTIES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) LATE PAYMENT DEADLINE REQUIRED

15 TO BE DISCLOSED.—In the case of a credit card 

16 account under an open end consumer credit plan 

17 under which a late fee or charge may be imposed 

18 due to the failure of the obligor to make payment 

19 on or before the due date for such payment, the 

20 periodic statement required under subsection (b) 

21 with respect to the account shall include, in a 

22 conspicuous location on the billing statement, the 

23 date on which the payment is due or, if different, 

24 the date on which a late payment fee will be 

25 charged, together with the amount of the fee or 
30 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 charge to be imposed if payment is made after 

2 that date. 

3 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE OF INCREASE IN INTER4 EST RATES FOR LATE PAYMENTS.—If 1 or more 

5 late payments under an open end consumer cred6 it plan may result in an increase in the annual 

7 percentage rate applicable to the account, the 

8 statement required under subsection (b) with re9 spect to the account shall include conspicuous 

10 notice of such fact, together with the applicable 

11 penalty annual percentage rate, in close prox12 imity to the disclosure required under subpara13 graph (A) of the date on which payment is due 

14 under the terms of the account. 

15 ‘‘(C) PAYMENTS AT LOCAL BRANCHES.—If 

16 the creditor, in the case of a credit card account 

17 referred to in subparagraph (A), is a financial 

18 institution which maintains branches or offices 

19 at which payments on any such account are ac20 cepted from the obligor in person, the date on 

21 which the obligor makes a payment on the ac22 count at such branch or office shall be considered 

23 to be the date on which the payment is made for 

24 purposes of determining whether a late fee or 

25 charge may be imposed due to the failure of the 
31 

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1 obligor to make payment on or before the due 

2 date for such payment.’’. 

3 SEC. 203. RENEWAL DISCLOSURES. 

4 Section 127(d) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

5 1637(d)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para8 graph (2); and 

9 (3) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Except as 

10 provided in paragraph (2), a card issuer’’ and insert11 ing the following: ‘‘A card issuer that has changed or 

12 amended any term of the account since the last re13 newal that has not been previously disclosed or’’. 

14 SEC. 204. INTERNET POSTING OF CREDIT CARD AGREE15 MENTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 122 of the Truth and Lend17 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1632) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) POSTING AGREEMENTS.—Each creditor 

21 shall establish and maintain an Internet site on 

22 which the creditor shall post the written agreement 

23 between the creditor and the consumer for each credit 

24 card account under an open-end consumer credit 

25 plan. 
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† HR 627 EAS 

1 ‘‘(2) CREDITOR TO PROVIDE CONTRACTS TO THE

2 BOARD.—Each creditor shall provide to the Board, in 

3 electronic format, the consumer credit card agree4 ments that it publishes on its Internet site. 

5 ‘‘(3) RECORD REPOSITORY.—The Board shall es6 tablish and maintain on its publicly available Inter7 net site a central repository of the consumer credit 

8 card agreements received from creditors pursuant to 

9 this subsection, and such agreements shall be easily 

10 accessible and retrievable by the public. 

11 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION.—This subsection shall not 

12 apply to individually negotiated changes to contrac13 tual terms, such as individually modified workouts or 

14 renegotiations of amounts owed by a consumer under 

15 an open end consumer credit plan. 

16 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.—The Board, in consultation 

17 with the other Federal banking agencies (as that term 

18 is defined in section 603) and the Federal Trade 

19 Commission, may promulgate regulations to imple20 ment this subsection, including specifying the format 

21 for posting the agreements on the Internet sites of 

22 creditors and establishing exceptions to paragraphs 

23 (1) and (2), in any case in which the administrative 

24 burden outweighs the benefit of increased trans-
33 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 parency, such as where a credit card plan has a de 

2 minimis number of consumer account holders.’’. 

3 SEC. 205. PREVENTION OF DECEPTIVE MARKETING OF 

4 CREDIT REPORTS. 

5 (a) PREVENTING DECEPTIVE MARKETING.—Section 

6 612 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681j) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(g) PREVENTION OF DECEPTIVE MARKETING OF

9 CREDIT REPORTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to rulemaking pur11 suant to section 205(b) of the Credit CARD Act of 

12 2009, any advertisement for a free credit report in 

13 any medium shall prominently disclose in such adver14 tisement that free credit reports are available under 

15 Federal law at: ‘AnnualCreditReport.com’ (or such 

16 other source as may be authorized under Federal 

17 law). 

18 ‘‘(2) TELEVISION AND RADIO ADVERTISEMENT.— 

19 In the case of an advertisement broadcast by tele20 vision, the disclosures required under paragraph (1) 

21 shall be included in the audio and visual part of such 

22 advertisement. In the case of an advertisement broad23 cast by televison or radio, the disclosure required 

24 under paragraph (1) shall consist only of the fol-
34 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 lowing: ‘This is not the free credit report provided for 

2 by Federal law’.’’. 

3 (b) RULEMAKING.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 months after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade 

6 Commission shall issue a final rule to carry out this 

7 section. 

8 (2) CONTENT.—The rule required by this sub9 section— 

10 (A) shall include specific wording to be used 

11 in advertisements in accordance with this sec12 tion; and 

13 (B) for advertisements on the Internet, shall 

14 include whether the disclosure required under 

15 section 612(g)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

16 Act (as added by this section) shall appear on 

17 the advertisement or the website on which the 

18 free credit report is made available. 

19 (3) INTERIM DISCLOSURES.—If an advertisement 

20 subject to section 612(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

21 Act, as added by this section, is made public after the 

22 9-month deadline specified in paragraph (1), but be23 fore the rule required by paragraph (1) is finalized, 

24 such advertisement shall include the disclosure: ‘‘Free 
35 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 credit reports are available under Federal law at: 

2 ‘AnnualCreditReport.com’.’’. 

3 TITLE III—PROTECTION OF 

4 YOUNG CONSUMERS 

5 SEC. 301. EXTENSIONS OF CREDIT TO UNDERAGE CON6 SUMERS. 

7 Section 127(c) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 1637(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(8) APPLICATIONS FROM UNDERAGE CON10 SUMERS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION ON ISSUANCE.—No cred12 it card may be issued to, or open end consumer 

13 credit plan established by or on behalf of, a con14 sumer who has not attained the age of 21, unless 

15 the consumer has submitted a written applica16 tion to the card issuer that meets the require17 ments of subparagraph (B). 

18 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An 

19 application to open a credit card account by a 

20 consumer who has not attained the age of 21 as 

21 of the date of submission of the application shall 

22 require— 

23 ‘‘(i) the signature of a cosigner, includ24 ing the parent, legal guardian, spouse, or 

25 any other individual who has attained the 
36 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 age of 21 having a means to repay debts in2 curred by the consumer in connection with 

3 the account, indicating joint liability for 

4 debts incurred by the consumer in connec5 tion with the account before the consumer 

6 has attained the age of 21; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) submission by the consumer of fi8 nancial information, including through an 

9 application, indicating an independent 

10 means of repaying any obligation arising 

11 from the proposed extension of credit in 

12 connection with the account. 

13 ‘‘(C) SAFE HARBOR.—The Board shall pro14 mulgate regulations providing standards that, if 

15 met, would satisfy the requirements of subpara16 graph (B)(ii).’’. 

17 SEC. 302. PROTECTION OF YOUNG CONSUMERS FROM 

18 PRESCREENED CREDIT OFFERS. 

19 Section 604(c)(1)(B) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

20 (15 U.S.C. 1681b(c)(1)(B)) is amended— 

21 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

22 and 

23 (2) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 

24 end and inserting the following: ‘‘; and 
37 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 ‘‘(iv) the consumer report does not contain 

2 a date of birth that shows that the consumer has 

3 not attained the age of 21, or, if the date of birth 

4 on the consumer report shows that the consumer 

5 has not attained the age of 21, such consumer 

6 consents to the consumer reporting agency to 

7 such furnishing.’’. 

8 SEC. 303. ISSUANCE OF CREDIT CARDS TO CERTAIN COL9 LEGE STUDENTS. 

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

11 1637) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

12 subsection: 

13 ‘‘(p) PARENTAL APPROVAL REQUIRED TO INCREASE

14 CREDIT LINES FOR ACCOUNTS FOR WHICH PARENT IS

15 JOINTLY LIABLE.—No increase may be made in the amount 

16 of credit authorized to be extended under a credit card ac17 count for which a parent, legal guardian, or spouse of the 

18 consumer, or any other individual has assumed joint liabil19 ity for debts incurred by the consumer in connection with 

20 the account before the consumer attains the age of 21, unless 

21 that parent, guardian, or spouse approves in writing, and 

22 assumes joint liability for, such increase.’’. 

23 SEC. 304. PRIVACY PROTECTIONS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS. 

24 Section 140 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

25 1650) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
38 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 ‘‘(f) CREDIT CARD PROTECTIONS FOR COLLEGE STU2 DENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) DISCLOSURE REQUIRED.—An institution of 

4 higher education shall publicly disclose any contract 

5 or other agreement made with a card issuer or cred6 itor for the purpose of marketing a credit card. 

7 ‘‘(2) INDUCEMENTS PROHIBITED.—No card 

8 issuer or creditor may offer to a student at an insti9 tution of higher education any tangible item to in10 duce such student to apply for or participate in an 

11 open end consumer credit plan offered by such card 

12 issuer or creditor, if such offer is made— 

13 ‘‘(A) on the campus of an institution of 

14 higher education; 

15 ‘‘(B) near the campus of an institution of 

16 higher education, as determined by rule of the 

17 Board; or 

18 ‘‘(C) at an event sponsored by or related to 

19 an institution of higher education. 

20 ‘‘(3) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

21 of the Congress that each institution of higher edu22 cation should consider adopting the following policies 

23 relating to credit cards: 

24 ‘‘(A) That any card issuer that markets a 

25 credit card on the campus of such institution no-
39 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 tify the institution of the location at which such 

2 marketing will take place. 

3 ‘‘(B) That the number of locations on the 

4 campus of such institution at which the mar5 keting of credit cards takes place be limited. 

6 ‘‘(C) That credit card and debt education 

7 and counseling sessions be offered as a regular 

8 part of any orientation program for new stu9 dents of such institution.’’. 

10 SEC. 305. COLLEGE CREDIT CARD AGREEMENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 127 of the Truth in Lend12 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1637), as otherwise amended by this 

13 Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(r) COLLEGE CARD AGREEMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub16 section, the following definitions shall apply: 

17 ‘‘(A) COLLEGE AFFINITY CARD.—The term 

18 ‘college affinity card’ means a credit card issued 

19 by a credit card issuer under an open end con20 sumer credit plan in conjunction with an agree21 ment between the issuer and an institution of 

22 higher education, or an alumni organization or 

23 foundation affiliated with or related to such in24 stitution, under which such cards are issued to 
40 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 college students who have an affinity with such 

2 institution, organization and— 

3 ‘‘(i) the creditor has agreed to donate 

4 a portion of the proceeds of the credit card 

5 to the institution, organization, or founda6 tion (including a lump sum or 1-time pay7 ment of money for access); 

8 ‘‘(ii) the creditor has agreed to offer 

9 discounted terms to the consumer; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) the credit card bears the name, 

11 emblem, mascot, or logo of such institution, 

12 organization, or foundation, or other words, 

13 pictures, or symbols readily identified with 

14 such institution, organization, or founda15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(B) COLLEGE STUDENT CREDIT CARD AC17 COUNT.—The term ‘college student credit card 

18 account’ means a credit card account under an 

19 open end consumer credit plan established or 

20 maintained for or on behalf of any college stu21 dent. 

22 ‘‘(C) COLLEGE STUDENT.—The term ‘college 

23 student’ means an individual who is a full-time 

24 or a part-time student attending an institution 

25 of higher education. 
41 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 ‘‘(D) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU2 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu3 cation’ has the same meaning as in section 101 

4 and 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

5 (20 U.S.C. 1001 and 1002). 

6 ‘‘(2) REPORTS BY CREDITORS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each creditor shall sub8 mit an annual report to the Board containing 

9 the terms and conditions of all business, mar10 keting, and promotional agreements and college 

11 affinity card agreements with an institution of 

12 higher education, or an alumni organization or 

13 foundation affiliated with or related to such in14 stitution, with respect to any college student 

15 credit card issued to a college student at such in16 stitution. 

17 ‘‘(B) DETAILS OF REPORT.—The informa18 tion required to be reported under subparagraph 

19 (A) includes— 

20 ‘‘(i) any memorandum of under21 standing between or among a creditor, an 

22 institution of higher education, an alumni 

23 association, or foundation that directly or 

24 indirectly relates to any aspect of any 

25 agreement referred to in such subparagraph 
42 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 or controls or directs any obligations or dis2 tribution of benefits between or among any 

3 such entities; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the amount of any payments from 

5 the creditor to the institution, organization, 

6 or foundation during the period covered by 

7 the report, and the precise terms of any 

8 agreement under which such amounts are 

9 determined; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the number of credit card ac11 counts covered by any such agreement that 

12 were opened during the period covered by 

13 the report, and the total number of credit 

14 card accounts covered by the agreement that 

15 were outstanding at the end of such period. 

16 ‘‘(C) AGGREGATION BY INSTITUTION.—The 

17 information required to be reported under sub18 paragraph (A) shall be aggregated with respect 

19 to each institution of higher education or alumni 

20 organization or foundation affiliated with or re21 lated to such institution. 

22 ‘‘(D) INITIAL REPORT.—The initial report 

23 required under subparagraph (A) shall be sub24 mitted to the Board before the end of the 9-month 
43 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 period beginning on the date of enactment of this 

2 subsection. 

3 ‘‘(3) REPORTS BY BOARD.—The Board shall sub4 mit to the Congress, and make available to the public, 

5 an annual report that lists the information con6 cerning credit card agreements submitted to the 

7 Board under paragraph (2) by each institution of 

8 higher education, alumni organization, or founda9 tion.’’. 

10 (b) STUDY AND REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER GEN11 ERAL.— 

12 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 

13 United States shall, from time to time, review the re14 ports submitted by creditors under section 127(r) of 

15 the Truth in Lending Act, as added by this section, 

16 and the marketing practices of creditors to determine 

17 the impact that college affinity card agreements and 

18 college student card agreements have on credit card 

19 debt. 

20 (2) REPORT.—Upon completion of any study 

21 under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall 

22 periodically submit a report to the Congress on the 

23 findings and conclusions of the study, together with 

24 such recommendations for administrative or legisla-
44 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 tive action as the Comptroller General determines to 

2 be appropriate. 

3 TITLE IV—GIFT CARDS 

4 SEC. 401. GENERAL-USE PREPAID CARDS, GIFT CERTIFI5 CATES, AND STORE GIFT CARDS. 

6 The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693 et 

7 seq.) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating sections 915 through 921 as 

9 sections 916 through 922, respectively; and 

10 (2) by inserting after section 914 the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 915. GENERAL-USE PREPAID CARDS, GIFT CERTIFI12 CATES, AND STORE GIFT CARDS. 

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi14 nitions shall apply: 

15 ‘‘(1) DORMANCY FEE; INACTIVITY CHARGE OR

16 FEE.—The terms ‘dormancy fee’ and ‘inactivity 

17 charge or fee’ mean a fee, charge, or penalty for non18 use or inactivity of a gift certificate, store gift card, 

19 or general-use prepaid card. 

20 ‘‘(2) GENERAL USE PREPAID CARD, GIFT CER21 TIFICATE, AND STORE GIFT CARD.— 

22 ‘‘(A) GENERAL-USE PREPAID CARD.—The 

23 term ‘general-use prepaid card’ means a card or 

24 other payment code or device issued by any per25 son that is— 
45 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 ‘‘(i) redeemable at multiple, unaffili2 ated merchants or service providers, or 

3 automated teller machines; 

4 ‘‘(ii) issued in a requested amount, 

5 whether or not that amount may, at the op6 tion of the issuer, be increased in value or 

7 reloaded if requested by the holder; 

8 ‘‘(iii) purchased or loaded on a pre9 paid basis; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) honored, upon presentation, by 

11 merchants for goods or services, or at auto12 mated teller machines. 

13 ‘‘(B) GIFT CERTIFICATE.—The term ‘gift 

14 certificate’ means an electronic promise that is— 

15 ‘‘(i) redeemable at a single merchant or 

16 an affiliated group of merchants that share 

17 the same name, mark, or logo; 

18 ‘‘(ii) issued in a specified amount that 

19 may not be increased or reloaded; 

20 ‘‘(iii) purchased on a prepaid basis in 

21 exchange for payment; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) honored upon presentation by 

23 such single merchant or affiliated group of 

24 merchants for goods or services. 
46 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 ‘‘(C) STORE GIFT CARD.—The term ‘store 

2 gift card’ means an electronic promise, plastic 

3 card, or other payment code or device that is— 

4 ‘‘(i) redeemable at a single merchant or 

5 an affiliated group of merchants that share 

6 the same name, mark, or logo; 

7 ‘‘(ii) issued in a specified amount, 

8 whether or not that amount may be in9 creased in value or reloaded at the request 

10 of the holder; 

11 ‘‘(iii) purchased on a prepaid basis in 

12 exchange for payment; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) honored upon presentation by 

14 such single merchant or affiliated group of 

15 merchants for goods or services. 

16 ‘‘(D) EXCLUSIONS.—The terms ‘general-use 

17 prepaid card’, ‘gift certificate’, and ‘store gift 

18 card’ do not include an electronic promise, plas19 tic card, or payment code or device that is— 

20 ‘‘(i) used solely for telephone services; 

21 ‘‘(ii) reloadable and not marketed or 

22 labeled as a gift card or gift certificate; 

23 ‘‘(iii) a loyalty, award, or promotional 

24 gift card, as defined by the Board; 
47 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 ‘‘(iv) not marketed to the general pub2 lic; 

3 ‘‘(v) issued in paper form only (includ4 ing for tickets and events); or 

5 ‘‘(vi) redeemable solely for admission 

6 to events or venues at a particular location 

7 or group of affiliated locations, which may 

8 also include services or goods obtainable— 

9 ‘‘(I) at the event or venue after 

10 admission; or 

11 ‘‘(II) in conjunction with admis12 sion to such events or venues, at spe13 cific locations affiliated with and in 

14 geographic proximity to the event or 

15 venue. 

16 ‘‘(3) SERVICE FEE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘service fee’ 

18 means a periodic fee, charge, or penalty for hold19 ing or use of a gift certificate, store gift card, or 

20 general-use prepaid card. 

21 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—With respect to a gen22 eral-use prepaid card, the term ‘service fee’ does 

23 not include a one-time initial issuance fee. 

24 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON IMPOSITION OF FEES OR

25 CHARGES.— 
48 

† HR 627 EAS 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

2 paragraphs (2) through (4), it shall be unlawful for 

3 any person to impose a dormancy fee, an inactivity 

4 charge or fee, or a service fee with respect to a gift 

5 certificate, store gift card, or general-use prepaid 

6 card. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—A dormancy fee, inactivity 

8 charge or fee, or service fee may be charged with re9 spect to a gift certificate, store gift card, or general10 use prepaid card, if— 

11 ‘‘(A) there has been no activity with respect 

12 to the certificate or card in the 12-month period 

13 ending on the date on which the charge or fee is 

14 imposed; 

15 ‘‘(B) the disclosure requirements of para16 graph (3) have been met; 

17 ‘‘(C) not more than one fee may be charged 

18 in any given month; and 

19 ‘‘(D) any additional requirements that the 

20 Board may establish through rulemaking under 

21 subsection (d) have been met. 

22 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.—The disclo23 sure requirements of this paragraph are met if— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the gift certificate, store gift card, or 

2 general-use prepaid card clearly and conspicu3 ously states— 

4 ‘‘(i) that a dormancy fee, inactivity 

5 charge or fee, or service fee may be charged; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the amount of such fee or charge; 

7 ‘‘(iii) how often such fee or charge may 

8 be assessed; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) that such fee or charge may be 

10 assessed for inactivity; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the issuer or vendor of such certificate 

12 or card informs the purchaser of such charge or 

13 fee before such certificate or card is purchased, 

14 regardless of whether the certificate or card is 

15 purchased in person, over the Internet, or by 

16 telephone. 

17 ‘‘(4) EXCLUSION.—The prohibition under para18 graph (1) shall not apply to any gift certificate— 

19 ‘‘(A) that is distributed pursuant to an 

20 award, loyalty, or promotional program, as de21 fined by the Board; and 

22 ‘‘(B) with respect to which, there is no 

23 money or other value exchanged. 

24 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON SALE OF GIFT CARDS WITH EX25 PIRATION DATES.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

2 paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to 

3 sell or issue a gift certificate, store gift card, or gen4 eral-use prepaid card that is subject to an expiration 

5 date. 

6 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—A gift certificate, store gift 

7 card, or general-use prepaid card may contain an ex8 piration date if— 

9 ‘‘(A) the expiration date is not earlier than 

10 5 years after the date on which the gift certifi11 cate was issued, or the date on which card funds 

12 were last loaded to a store gift card or general13 use prepaid card; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the terms of expiration are clearly and 

15 conspicuously stated. 

16 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL RULEMAKING.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) prescribe regulations to carry out this 

19 section, in addition to any other rules or regula20 tions required by this title, including such addi21 tional requirements as appropriate relating to 

22 the amount of dormancy fees, inactivity charges 

23 or fees, or service fees that may be assessed and 

24 the amount of remaining value of a gift certifi25 cate, store gift card, or general-use prepaid card 
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1 below which such charges or fees may be assessed; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) shall determine the extent to which the 

4 individual definitions and provisions of the Elec5 tronic Fund Transfer Act or Regulation E 

6 should apply to general-use prepaid cards, gift 

7 certificates, and store gift cards. 

8 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In prescribing regulations 

9 under this subsection, the Board shall consult with the 

10 Federal Trade Commission. 

11 ‘‘(3) TIMING; EFFECTIVE DATE.—The regulations 

12 required by this subsection shall be issued in final 

13 form not later than 9 months after the date of enact14 ment of the Credit CARD Act of 2009.’’. 

15 SEC. 402. RELATION TO STATE LAWS. 

16 Section 920 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (as 

17 redesignated by this title) is amended by inserting ‘‘dor18 mancy fees, inactivity charges or fees, service fees, or expira19 tion dates of gift certificates, store gift cards, or general20 use prepaid cards,’’ after ‘‘electronic fund transfers,’’. 

21 SEC. 403. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

22 This title and the amendments made by this title shall 

23 become effective 15 months after the date of enactment of 

24 this Act. 
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1 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 501. STUDY AND REPORT ON INTERCHANGE FEES. 

4 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of 

5 the United States (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Comp6 troller’’) shall conduct a study on use of credit by con7 sumers, interchange fees, and their effects on consumers and 

8 merchants. 

9 (b) SUBJECTS FOR REVIEW.—In conducting the study 

10 required by this section, the Comptroller shall review— 

11 (1) the extent to which interchange fees are re12 quired to be disclosed to consumers and merchants, 

13 whether merchants are restricted from disclosing 

14 interchange or merchant discount fees, and how such 

15 fees are overseen by the Federal banking agencies or 

16 other regulators; 

17 (2) the ways in which the interchange system af18 fects the ability of merchants of varying size to nego19 tiate pricing with card associations and banks; 

20 (3) the costs and factors incorporated into inter21 change fees, such as advertising, bonus miles, and re22 wards, how such costs and factors vary among cards; 

23 (4) the consequences of the undisclosed nature of 

24 interchange fees on merchants and consumers with re25 gard to prices charged for goods and services; 
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1 (5) how merchant discount fees compare to the 

2 credit losses and other costs that merchants incur to 

3 operate their own credit networks or store cards; 

4 (6) the extent to which the rules of payment card 

5 networks and their policies regarding interchange fees 

6 are accessible to merchants; 

7 (7) other jurisdictions where the central bank has 

8 regulated interchange fees and the impact on retail 

9 prices to consumers in such jurisdictions; 

10 (8) whether and to what extent merchants are 

11 permitted to discount for cash; and 

12 (9) the extent to which interchange fees allow 

13 smaller financial institutions and credit unions to 

14 offer payment cards and compete against larger fi15 nancial institutions. 

16 (c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller shall 

18 submit a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

19 and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Fi20 nancial Services of the House of Representatives containing 

21 a detailed summary of the findings and conclusions of the 

22 study required by this section, together with such rec23 ommendations for legislative or administrative actions as 

24 may be appropriate. 
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1 SEC. 502. BOARD REVIEW OF CONSUMER CREDIT PLANS 

2 AND REGULATIONS. 

3 (a) REQUIRED REVIEW.—Not later than 2 years after 

4 the effective date of this Act and every 2 years thereafter, 

5 except as provided in subsection (c)(2), the Board shall con6 duct a review, within the limits of its existing resources 

7 available for reporting purposes, of the consumer credit card 

8 market, including— 

9 (1) the terms of credit card agreements and the 

10 practices of credit card issuers; 

11 (2) the effectiveness of disclosure of terms, fees, 

12 and other expenses of credit card plans; 

13 (3) the adequacy of protections against unfair or 

14 deceptive acts or practices relating to credit card 

15 plans; and 

16 (4) whether or not, and to what extent, the im17 plementation of this Act and the amendments made 

18 by this Act has affected— 

19 (A) cost and availability of credit, particu20 larly with respect to non-prime borrowers; 

21 (B) the safety and soundness of credit card 

22 issuers; 

23 (C) the use of risk-based pricing; or 

24 (D) credit card product innovation. 

25 (b) SOLICITATION OF PUBLIC COMMENT.—In connec26 tion with conducting the review required by subsection (a), 
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1 the Board shall solicit comment from consumers, credit card 

2 issuers, and other interested parties, such as through hear3 ings or written comments. 

4 (c) REGULATIONS.— 

5 (1) NOTICE.—Following the review required by 

6 subsection (a), the Board shall publish a notice in the 

7 Federal Register that— 

8 (A) summarizes the review, the comments 

9 received from the public solicitation, and other 

10 evidence gathered by the Board, such as through 

11 consumer testing or other research; and 

12 (B) either— 

13 (i) proposes new or revised regulations 

14 or interpretations to update or revise disclo15 sures and protections for consumer credit 

16 cards, as appropriate; or 

17 (ii) states the reason for the determina18 tion of the Board that new or revised regu19 lations are not necessary. 

20 (2) REVISION OF REVIEW PERIOD FOLLOWING

21 MATERIAL REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—In the event 

22 that the Board materially revises regulations on con23 sumer credit card plans, a review need not be con24 ducted until 2 years after the effective date of the re25 vised regulations, which thereafter shall be treated as 
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1 the new date for the biennial review required by sub2 section (a). 

3 (d) BOARD REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The Board 

4 shall report to Congress not less frequently than every 2 

5 years, except as provided in subsection (c)(2), on the status 

6 of its most recent review, its efforts to address any issues 

7 identified from the review, and any recommendations for 

8 legislation. 

9 (e) ADDITIONAL REPORTING.—The Federal banking 

10 agencies (as that term is defined in section 3 of the Federal 

11 Deposit Insurance Act) and the Federal Trade Commission 

12 shall provide annually to the Board, and the Board shall 

13 include in its annual report to Congress under section 10 

14 of the Federal Reserve Act, information about the super15 visory and enforcement activities of the agencies with re16 spect to compliance by credit card issuers with applicable 

17 Federal consumer protection statutes and regulations, in18 cluding— 

19 (1) this Act, the amendments made by this Act, 

20 and regulations prescribed under this Act and such 

21 amendments; and 

22 (2) section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission 

23 Act, and regulations prescribed under the Federal 

24 Trade Commission Act, including part 227 of title 12 
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1 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as prescribed by 

2 the Board (referred to as ‘‘Regulation AA’’). 

3 SEC. 503. STORED VALUE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, 

6 in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

7 shall issue regulations in final form implementing the Bank 

8 Secrecy Act, regarding the sale, issuance, redemption, or 

9 international transport of stored value, including stored 

10 value cards. 

11 (b) CONSIDERATION OF INTERNATIONAL TRANS12 PORT.—Regulations under this section regarding inter13 national transport of stored value may include reporting 

14 requirements pursuant to section 5316 of title 31, United 

15 States Code. 

16 (c) EMERGING METHODS FOR TRANSMITTAL AND

17 STORAGE IN ELECTRONIC FORM.—Regulations under this 

18 section shall take into consideration current and future 

19 needs and methodologies for transmitting and storing value 

20 in electronic form. 

21 SEC. 504. PROCEDURE FOR TIMELY SETTLEMENT OF ES22 TATES OF DECEDENT OBLIGORS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending 

24 Act ( U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

25 end the following new section: 
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1 ‘‘§ 140A Procedure for timely settlement of estates of 

2 decedent obligors 

3 ‘‘The Board, in consultation with the Federal Trade 

4 Commission and each other agency referred to in section 

5 108(a), shall prescribe regulations to require any creditor, 

6 with respect to any credit card account under an open end 

7 consumer credit plan, to establish procedures to ensure that 

8 any administrator of an estate of any deceased obligor with 

9 respect to such account can resolve outstanding credit bal10 ances in a timely manner.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for 

12 chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending Act is amended by insert13 ing after the item relating to section 140 the following new 

14 item: 

‘‘140A. Procedure for timely settlement of estates of decedent obligors’.’’. 

15 SEC. 505. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON REDUCTIONS OF CON16 SUMER CREDIT CARD LIMITS BASED ON CER17 TAIN INFORMATION AS TO EXPERIENCE OR 

18 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CONSUMER. 

19 (a) REPORT ON CREDITOR PRACTICES REQUIRED.— 

20 Before the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Board, in consultation with 

22 the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office 

23 of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Cor24 poration, the National Credit Union Administration 

25 Board, and the Federal Trade Commission, shall submit a 
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1 report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House 

2 of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Hous3 ing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate on the extent to which, 

4 during the 3-year period ending on such date of enactment, 

5 creditors have reduced credit limits or raised interest rates 

6 applicable to credit card accounts under open end consumer 

7 credit plans based on— 

8 (1) the geographic location where a credit trans9 action with the consumer took place, or the identity 

10 of the merchant involved in the transaction; 

11 (2) the credit transactions of the consumer, in12 cluding the type of credit transaction, the type of 

13 items purchased in such transaction, the price of 

14 items purchased in such transaction, any change in 

15 the type or price of items purchased in such trans16 actions, and other data pertaining to the use of such 

17 credit card account by the consumer; and 

18 (3) the identity of the mortgage creditor which 

19 extended or holds the mortgage loan secured by the 

20 primary residence of the consumer. 

21 (b) OTHER INFORMATION.—The report required under 

22 subsection (a) shall also include— 

23 (1) the number of creditors that have engaged in 

24 the practices described in subsection (a); 
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1 (2) the extent to which the practices described in 

2 subsection (a) have an adverse impact on minority or 

3 low-income consumers; 

4 (3) any other relevant information regarding 

5 such practices; and 

6 (4) recommendations to the Congress on any reg7 ulatory or statutory changes that may be needed to 

8 restrict or prevent such practices. 

9 SEC. 506. BOARD REVIEW OF SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT 

10 PLANS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

11 (a) REQUIRED REVIEW.—Not later than 9 months 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Board shall con13 duct a review of the use of credit cards by businesses with 

14 not more than 50 employees (in this section referred to as 

15 ‘‘small businesses’’) and the credit card market for small 

16 businesses, including— 

17 (1) the terms of credit card agreements for small 

18 businesses and the practices of credit card issuers re19 lating to small businesses; 

20 (2) the adequacy of disclosures of terms, fees, and 

21 other expenses of credit card plans for small busi22 nesses; 

23 (3) the adequacy of protections against unfair or 

24 deceptive acts or practices relating to credit card 

25 plans for small businesses; 
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1 (4) the cost and availability of credit for small 

2 businesses, particularly with respect to non-prime 

3 borrowers; 

4 (5) the use of risk-based pricing for small busi5 nesses; 

6 (6) credit card product innovation relating to 

7 small businesses; and 

8 (7) the extent to which small business owners use 

9 personal credit cards to fund their business oper10 ations. 

11 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Following the review re12 quired by subsection (a), the Board shall, not later than 

13 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act— 

14 (1) provide a report to Congress that summarizes 

15 the review and other evidence gathered by the Board, 

16 such as through consumer testing or other research, 

17 and 

18 (2) make recommendations for administrative or 

19 legislative initiatives to provide protections for credit 

20 card plans for small businesses, as appropriate. 

21 SEC. 507. SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION SECURITY TASK 

22 FORCE. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
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1 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration and 

3 the Administrator thereof, respectively; 

4 (2) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

5 same meaning as in section 3 of the Small Business 

6 Act (15 U.S.C. 632); and 

7 (3) the term ‘‘task force’’ means the task force es8 tablished under subsection (b). 

9 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall, in 

10 conjunction with the Secretary of Homeland Security, es11 tablish a task force, to be known as the ‘‘Small Business 

12 Information Security Task Force’’, to address the informa13 tion technology security needs of small business concerns 

14 and to help small business concerns prevent the loss of credit 

15 card data. 

16 (c) DUTIES.—The task force shall— 

17 (1) identify— 

18 (A) the information technology security 

19 needs of small business concerns; and 

20 (B) the programs and services provided by 

21 the Federal Government, State Governments, and 

22 nongovernment organizations that serve those 

23 needs; 
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1 (2) assess the extent to which the programs and 

2 services identified under paragraph (1)(B) serve the 

3 needs identified under paragraph (1)(A); 

4 (3) make recommendations to the Administrator 

5 on how to more effectively serve the needs identified 

6 under paragraph (1)(A) through— 

7 (A) programs and services identified under 

8 paragraph (1)(B); and 

9 (B) new programs and services promoted by 

10 the task force; 

11 (4) make recommendations on how the Adminis12 trator may promote— 

13 (A) new programs and services that the task 

14 force recommends under paragraph (3)(B); and 

15 (B) programs and services identified under 

16 paragraph (1)(B); 

17 (5) make recommendations on how the Adminis18 trator may inform and educate with respect to— 

19 (A) the needs identified under paragraph 

20 (1)(A); 

21 (B) new programs and services that the task 

22 force recommends under paragraph (3)(B); and 

23 (C) programs and services identified under 

24 paragraph (1)(B); 
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1 (6) make recommendations on how the Adminis2 trator may more effectively work with public and pri3 vate interests to address the information technology 

4 security needs of small business concerns; and 

5 (7) make recommendations on the creation of a 

6 permanent advisory board that would make rec7 ommendations to the Administrator on how to ad8 dress the information technology security needs of 

9 small business concerns. 

10 (d) INTERNET WEBSITE RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

11 task force shall make recommendations to the Administrator 

12 relating to the establishment of an Internet website to be 

13 used by the Administration to receive and dispense infor14 mation and resources with respect to the needs identified 

15 under subsection (c)(1)(A) and the programs and services 

16 identified under subsection (c)(1)(B). As part of the rec17 ommendations, the task force shall identify the Internet sites 

18 of appropriate programs, services, and organizations, both 

19 public and private, to which the Internet website should 

20 link. 

21 (e) EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—The task force shall make 

22 recommendations to the Administrator relating to devel23 oping additional education materials and programs with 

24 respect to the needs identified under subsection (c)(1)(A). 
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1 (f) EXISTING MATERIALS.—The task force shall orga2 nize and distribute existing materials that inform and edu3 cate with respect to the needs identified under subsection 

4 (c)(1)(A) and the programs and services identified under 

5 subsection (c)(1)(B). 

6 (g) COORDINATION WITH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SEC7 TOR.—In carrying out its responsibilities under this sec8 tion, the task force shall coordinate with, and may accept 

9 materials and assistance as it determines appropriate from, 

10 public and private entities, including— 

11 (1) any subordinate officer of the Administrator; 

12 (2) any organization authorized by the Small 

13 Business Act to provide assistance and advice to 

14 small business concerns; 

15 (3) other Federal agencies, their officers, or em16 ployees; and 

17 (4) any other organization, entity, or person not 

18 described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3). 

19 (h) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.— 

20 (1) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE-CHAIRPERSON.—The 

21 task force shall have— 

22 (A) a Chairperson, appointed by the Ad23 ministrator; and 

24 (B) a Vice-Chairperson, appointed by the 

25 Administrator, in consultation with appropriate 
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1 nongovernmental organizations, entities, or per2 sons. 

3 (2) MEMBERS.— 

4 (A) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE-CHAIR5 PERSON.—The Chairperson and the Vice-Chair6 person shall serve as members of the task force. 

7 (B) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The task force shall 

9 have additional members, each of whom 

10 shall be appointed by the Chairperson, with 

11 the approval of the Administrator. 

12 (ii) NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—The num13 ber of additional members shall be deter14 mined by the Chairperson, in consultation 

15 with the Administrator, except that— 

16 (I) the additional members shall 

17 include, for each of the groups specified 

18 in paragraph (3), at least 1 member 

19 appointed from within that group; and 

20 (II) the number of additional 

21 members shall not exceed 13. 

22 (3) GROUPS REPRESENTED.—The groups speci23 fied in this paragraph are— 

24 (A) subject matter experts; 
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1 (B) users of information technologies within 

2 small business concerns; 

3 (C) vendors of information technologies to 

4 small business concerns; 

5 (D) academics with expertise in the use of 

6 information technologies to support business; 

7 (E) small business trade associations; 

8 (F) Federal, State, or local agencies, includ9 ing the Department of Homeland Security, en10 gaged in securing cyberspace; and 

11 (G) information technology training pro12 viders with expertise in the use of information 

13 technologies to support business. 

14 (4) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—The appointments 

15 under this subsection shall be made without regard to 

16 political affiliation. 

17 (i) MEETINGS.— 

18 (1) FREQUENCY.—The task force shall meet at 

19 least 2 times per year, and more frequently if nec20 essary to perform its duties. 

21 (2) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

22 task force shall constitute a quorum. 

23 (3) LOCATION.—The Administrator shall des24 ignate, and make available to the task force, a loca-
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1 tion at a facility under the control of the Adminis2 trator for use by the task force for its meetings. 

3 (4) MINUTES.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

5 after the date of each meeting, the task force shall 

6 publish the minutes of the meeting in the Federal 

7 Register and shall submit to the Administrator 

8 any findings or recommendations approved at 

9 the meeting. 

10 (B) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

11 than 60 days after the date that the Adminis12 trator receives minutes under subparagraph (A), 

13 the Administrator shall submit to the Committee 

14 on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 

15 Senate and the Committee on Small Business of 

16 the House of Representatives such minutes, to17 gether with any comments the Administrator 

18 considers appropriate. 

19 (5) FINDINGS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date 

21 on which the task force terminates under sub22 section (m), the task force shall submit to the Ad23 ministrator a final report on any findings and 

24 recommendations of the task force approved at a 

25 meeting of the task force. 
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1 (B) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

2 than 90 days after the date on which the Admin3 istrator receives the report under subparagraph 

4 (A), the Administrator shall submit to the Com5 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

6 of the Senate and the Committee on Small Busi7 ness of the House of Representatives the full text 

8 of the report submitted under subparagraph (A), 

9 together with any comments the Administrator 

10 considers appropriate. 

11 (j) PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

12 (1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each mem13 ber of the task force shall serve without pay for their 

14 service on the task force. 

15 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the 

16 task force shall receive travel expenses, including per 

17 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with appli18 cable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of 

19 title 5, United States Code. 

20 (3) DETAIL OF SBA EMPLOYEES.—The Adminis21 trator may detail, without reimbursement, any of the 

22 personnel of the Administration to the task force to 

23 assist it in carrying out the duties of the task force. 

24 Such a detail shall be without interruption or loss of 

25 civil status or privilege. 
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1 (4) SBA SUPPORT OF THE TASK FORCE.—Upon 

2 the request of the task force, the Administrator shall 

3 provide to the task force the administrative support 

4 services that the Administrator and the Chairperson 

5 jointly determine to be necessary for the task force to 

6 carry out its duties. 

7 (k) NOT SUBJECT TO FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

8 ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

9 App.) shall not apply to the task force. 

10 (l) STARTUP DEADLINES.—The initial appointment of 

11 the members of the task force shall be completed not later 

12 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

13 the first meeting of the task force shall be not later than 

14 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 (m) TERMINATION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), the task force shall terminate at the end of 

18 fiscal year 2013. 

19 (2) EXCEPTION.—If, as of the termination date 

20 under paragraph (1), the task force has not complied 

21 with subsection (i)(4) with respect to 1 or more meet22 ings, then the task force shall continue after the termi23 nation date for the sole purpose of achieving compli24 ance with subsection (i)(4) with respect to those meet25 ings. 
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1 (n) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $300,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2013. 

4 SEC. 508. STUDY AND REPORT ON EMERGENCY PIN TECH5 NOLOGY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade Commission, in 

7 consultation with the Attorney General of the United States 

8 and the United States Secret Service, shall conduct a study 

9 on the cost-effectiveness of making available at automated 

10 teller machines technology that enables a consumer that is 

11 under duress to electronically alert a local law enforcement 

12 agency that an incident is taking place at such automated 

13 teller machine, including— 

14 (1) an emergency personal identification number 

15 that would summon a local law enforcement officer to 

16 an automated teller machine when entered into such 

17 automated teller machine; and 

18 (2) a mechanism on the exterior of an automated 

19 teller machine that, when pressed, would summon a 

20 local law enforcement to such automated teller ma21 chine. 

22 (b) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study required under 

23 subsection (a) shall include— 
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1 (1) an analysis of any technology described in 

2 subsection (a) that is currently available or under de3 velopment; 

4 (2) an estimate of the number and severity of 

5 any crimes that could be prevented by the availability 

6 of such technology; 

7 (3) the estimated costs of implementing such 

8 technology; and 

9 (4) a comparison of the costs and benefits of not 

10 fewer than 3 types of such technology. 

11 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 9 months after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission 

13 shall submit to Congress a report on the findings of the 

14 study required under this section that includes such rec15 ommendations for legislative action as the Commission de16 termines appropriate. 

17 SEC. 509. STUDY AND REPORT ON THE MARKETING OF 

18 PRODUCTS WITH CREDIT OFFERS. 

19 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

20 States shall conduct a study on the terms, conditions, mar21 keting, and value to consumers of products marketed in con22 junction with credit card offers, including— 

23 (1) debt suspension agreements; 

24 (2) debt cancellation agreements; and 

25 (3) credit insurance products. 
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1 (b) AREAS OF CONCERN.—The study conducted under 

2 this section shall evaluate— 

3 (1) the suitability of the offer of products de4 scribed in subsection (a) for target customers; 

5 (2) the predatory nature of such offers; and 

6 (3) specifically for debt cancellation or suspen7 sion agreements and credit insurance products, loss 

8 rates compared to more traditional insurance prod9 ucts. 

10 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Comptroller shall 

11 submit a report to Congress on the results of the study re12 quired by this section not later than December 31, 2010. 

13 SEC. 510. FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC LITERACY. 

14 (a) REPORT ON FEDERAL FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC

15 LITERACY EDUCATION PROGRAMS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 months after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

18 Education and the Director of the Office of Financial 

19 Education of the Department of the Treasury shall co20 ordinate with the President’s Advisory Council on Fi21 nancial Literacy— 

22 (A) to evaluate and compile a comprehen23 sive summary of all existing Federal financial 

24 and economic literacy education programs, as of 

25 the time of the report; and 
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1 (B) to prepare and submit a report to Con2 gress on the findings of the evaluations. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by this sub4 section shall address, at a minimum— 

5 (A) the 2008 recommendations of the Presi6 dent’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy; 

7 (B) existing Federal financial and economic 

8 literacy education programs for grades kinder9 garten through grade 12, and annual funding to 

10 support these programs; 

11 (C) existing Federal postsecondary financial 

12 and economic literacy education programs and 

13 annual funding to support these programs; 

14 (D) the current financial and economic lit15 eracy education needs of adults, and in par16 ticular, low- and moderate-income adults; 

17 (E) ways to incorporate and disseminate 

18 best practices and high quality curricula in fi19 nancial and economic literacy education; and 

20 (F) specific recommendations on sources of 

21 revenue to support financial and economic lit22 eracy education activities with a specific anal23 ysis of the potential use of credit card trans24 action fees. 

25 (b) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education 

2 and the Director of the Office of Financial Education 

3 of the Department of the Treasury shall coordinate 

4 with the President’s Advisory Council on Financial 

5 Literacy to develop a strategic plan to improve and 

6 expand financial and economic literacy education. 

7 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan developed under this 

8 subsection shall— 

9 (A) incorporate findings from the report 

10 and evaluations of existing Federal financial 

11 and economic literacy education programs under 

12 subsection (a); and 

13 (B) include proposals to improve, expand, 

14 and support financial and economic literacy 

15 education based on the findings of the report and 

16 evaluations. 

17 (3) PRESENTATION TO CONGRESS.—The plan de18 veloped under this subsection shall be presented to 

19 Congress not later than 6 months after the date on 

20 which the report under subsection (a) is submitted to 

21 Congress. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Notwithstanding section 3, 

23 this section shall become effective on the date of enactment 

24 of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 511. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION RULEMAKING ON 

2 MORTGAGE LENDING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 626 of division D of the 

4 Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (Public Law 111–8) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘Within’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) 

8 Within’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (1), as designated by sub10 paragraph (A), by inserting after the first sen11 tence the following: ‘‘Such rulemaking shall re12 late to unfair or deceptive acts or practices re13 garding mortgage loans, which may include un14 fair or deceptive acts or practices involving loan 

15 modification and foreclosure rescue services.’’; 

16 and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to au19 thorize the Federal Trade Commission to promulgate 

20 a rule with respect to an entity that is not subject to 

21 enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

22 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) by the Commission. 

23 ‘‘(3) Before issuing a final rule pursuant to the 

24 proceeding initiated under paragraph (1), the Federal 

25 Trade Commission shall consult with the Federal Re26 serve Board concerning any portion of the proposed 
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1 rule applicable to acts or practices to which the provi2 sions of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 

3 et seq.) may apply. 

4 ‘‘(4) The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce 

5 the rules issued under paragraph (1) in the same 

6 manner, by the same means, and with the same juris7 diction, powers, and duties as though all applicable 

8 terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commis9 sion Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into 

10 and made part of this section.’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (b)— 

12 (A) by striking so much as precedes para13 graph (2) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (6), in any 

15 case in which the attorney general of a State has reason 

16 to believe that an interest of the residents of that State has 

17 been or is threatened or adversely affected by the engage18 ment of any person subject to a rule prescribed under sub19 section (a) in a practice that violates such rule, the State, 

20 as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of 

21 the residents of the State in an appropriate district court 

22 of the United States or other court of competent jurisdic23 tion— 

24 ‘‘(A) to enjoin that practice; 

25 ‘‘(B) to enforce compliance with the rule; 
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1 ‘‘(C) to obtain damages, restitution, or other 

2 compensation on behalf of residents of the State; or 

3 ‘‘(D) to obtain penalties and relief provided by 

4 the Federal Trade Commission Act and such other re5 lief as the court considers appropriate.’’; and 

6 (B) in paragraphs (2), (3), and (6), by 

7 striking ‘‘Commission’’ each place it appears 

8 and inserting ‘‘primary Federal regulator’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub10 section (a) shall take effect on March 12, 2009. 

11 SEC. 512. PROTECTING AMERICANS FROM VIOLENT CRIME. 

12 (a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—Congress finds the 

13 following: 

14 (1) The Second Amendment to the Constitution 

15 provides that ‘‘the right of the people to keep and bear 

16 Arms, shall not be infringed’’. 

17 (2) Section 2.4(a)(1) of title 36, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations, provides that ‘‘except as otherwise pro19 vided in this section and parts 7 (special regulations) 

20 and 13 (Alaska regulations), the following are prohib21 ited: (i) Possessing a weapon, trap or net (ii) Car22 rying a weapon, trap or net (iii) Using a weapon, 

23 trap or net’’. 

24 (3) Section 27.42 of title 50, Code of Federal 

25 Regulations, provides that, except in special cir-
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1 cumstances, citizens of the United States may not 

2 ‘‘possess, use, or transport firearms on national wild3 life refuges’’ of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

4 Service. 

5 (4) The regulations described in paragraphs (2) 

6 and (3) prevent individuals complying with Federal 

7 and State laws from exercising the second amendment 

8 rights of the individuals while at units of— 

9 (A) the National Park System; and 

10 (B) the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

11 (5) The existence of different laws relating to the 

12 transportation and possession of firearms at different 

13 units of the National Park System and the National 

14 Wildlife Refuge System entrapped law-abiding gun 

15 owners while at units of the National Park System 

16 and the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

17 (6) Although the Bush administration issued 

18 new regulations relating to the Second Amendment 

19 rights of law-abiding citizens in units of the National 

20 Park System and National Wildlife Refuge System 

21 that went into effect on January 9, 2009— 

22 (A) on March 19, 2009, the United States 

23 District Court for the District of Columbia 

24 granted a preliminary injunction with respect to 
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1 the implementation and enforcement of the new 

2 regulations; and 

3 (B) the new regulations— 

4 (i) are under review by the adminis5 tration; and 

6 (ii) may be altered. 

7 (7) Congress needs to weigh in on the new regu8 lations to ensure that unelected bureaucrats and 

9 judges cannot again override the Second Amendment 

10 rights of law-abiding citizens on 83,600,000 acres of 

11 National Park System land and 90,790,000 acres of 

12 land under the jurisdiction of the United States Fish 

13 and Wildlife Service. 

14 (8) The Federal laws should make it clear that 

15 the second amendment rights of an individual at a 

16 unit of the National Park System or the National 

17 Wildlife Refuge System should not be infringed. 

18 (b) PROTECTING THE RIGHT OF INDIVIDUALS TO

19 BEAR ARMS IN UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM

20 AND THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.—The Sec21 retary of the Interior shall not promulgate or enforce any 

22 regulation that prohibits an individual from possessing a 

23 firearm including an assembled or functional firearm in 

24 any unit of the National Park System or the National Wild25 life Refuge System if— 
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1 (1) the individual is not otherwise prohibited by 

2 law from possessing the firearm; and 

3 (2) the possession of the firearm is in compliance 

4 with the law of the State in which the unit of the Na5 tional Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge 

6 System is located. 

7 SEC. 513. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON FLUENCY IN THE 

8 ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND FINANCIAL LIT9 ERACY. 

10 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

11 States shall conduct a study examining— 

12 (1) the relationship between fluency in the 

13 English language and financial literacy; and 

14 (2) the extent, if any, to which individuals whose 

15 native language is a language other than English are 

16 impeded in their conduct of their financial affairs. 

17 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

19 States shall submit a report to the Committee on Banking, 

20 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Com21 mittee on Financial Services of the House of Representa-
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1 tives that contains a detailed summary of the findings and 

2 conclusions of the study required under subsection (a). 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H.R. 627 

AMENDMENT