I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3457 
To amend the Truth in Lending Act to provide coverage under such Act 
for credit cards issued to small businesses, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 31, 2009 
Mr. ABERCROMBIE (for himself, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MICHAUD, and Mr. 
PERRIELLO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Truth in Lending Act to provide coverage 
under such Act for credit cards issued to small busi-
nesses, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Small Business Credit Card Act of 2009’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) In past recessions, economic recovery has 
frequently been led by the creation of millions of 
new, small businesses. 
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(2) Today, however, small business owners are 
severely limited in their ability to finance new busi-
ness ventures because their access to capital through 
their usual resources has dried up, and the lack of 
access continues to grow. 
(3) Small businesses are being pushed into 
using credit cards as their primary source of work-
ing capital. 
(4) This use of credit card credit is especially 
true for rapidly growing businesses that are not tra-
ditional brick and mortar operations, and lack the 
assets necessary for a traditional loan. 
(5) Yet, 28 percent of businesses surveyed re-
cently said they had been subject to a decrease in 
their line of credit or a credit card limit in the past 
6 months. 
(6) And, this decrease in credit card limits oc-
curred despite the fact that 69 percent of the small 
businesses in the survey cited worsening credit card 
terms. 
(7) In 2008, 44 percent of the small businesses 
surveyed used credit cards to finance their business. 
(8) In 1993, only 16 percent of small busi-
nesses used credit cards as a source of financing. 
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(9) One-third of small businesses using credit 
cards carry a monthly balance in excess of $10,000. 
SEC. 2. EXTENDING CREDIT CARD PROTECTIONS UNDER 
THE TRUTH IN LENDING ACT TO SMALL BUSI-
NESSES. 
(a) DEFINITION OF CONSUMER.—Section 103(h) of 
the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1602(h)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(h) The adjective ‘consumer’, 
used with reference to a credit transaction, charac-
terizes the transaction as one in which the party to 
whom credit is offered or extended is’’ and inserting 
‘‘(h) CONSUMER.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the term ‘consumer’, when used as a ad-
jective to describe or modify a credit transaction or 
credit plan, means a transaction or credit plan under 
which credit is offered or extended to’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) SMALL BUSINESS INCLUDED UNDER CER-
TAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of any 
provision of this title relating to a credit card 
account under an open end credit plan, the 
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term ‘consumer’ includes any qualified small 
business. 
‘‘(B) QUALIFIED
SMALL
BUSINESS.—For 
purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘quali-
fied small business’ means, with respect to any 
credit card account under an open end credit 
plan, any business concern having 50 or fewer 
employees, whether or not— 
‘‘(i) the credit card account is in the 
name of an individual or a business entity; 
and 
‘‘(ii) any credit transaction involving 
such account is for business or personal 
purposes. 
‘‘(C) EXCLUSION
OF
SMALL
BUSINESS 
AFTER ‘OPT OUT’ EFFECTIVE DATE.—The term 
‘qualified small business’ shall not include any 
business concern described in subparagraph (A) 
after the effective date of any election under 
section 135(b) by the individual or business for 
which the credit card account referred to in 
such subparagraph has been established, so 
long as such election remains in effect.’’. 
(b) AMENDMENTS TO EXEMPTIONS.—Section 104 of 
the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘other than a credit 
transaction under an open end consumer credit 
plan in which the consumer is a qualified small 
business’’ after ‘‘agricultural purposes’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘other than qualified 
small businesses’’ after ‘‘organizations’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ 
and inserting ‘‘$50,000’’. 
(c) BUSINESS CREDIT CARD AMENDMENTS.—Sec-
tion 135 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1645) 
is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The exemption provided by’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The exemption 
provided by’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b) QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS OPT OUT FROM 
COVERAGE.— 
‘‘(1) NOTICE OF COVERAGE.—The disclosures 
under section 127(a) before opening a credit card 
account under an open end credit plan for a quali-
fied small business shall include a clear and con-
spicuous disclosure— 
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‘‘(A) that the qualified small business is 
treated as a consumer under this title and is 
subject to the requirements of this title as a 
consumer; 
‘‘(B) that the business may elect, in ac-
cordance with this subsection, to be exempt, 
under section 104(1), from this title to the 
same extent as any business other than a quali-
fied small business; and 
‘‘(C) of the procedures for making the elec-
tion and for subsequently revoking any such 
election. 
‘‘(2) ELECTION.—The Board shall prescribe 
procedures for making an effective election under 
this subsection and for revoking any such election. 
‘‘(3) 
PROHIBITION
ON
DISCRIMINATION 
AGAINST QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS.—No creditor 
may— 
‘‘(A) discriminate against any business 
concern having 50 or fewer employees in con-
nection with any credit card account of, or any 
application for a credit card account by such 
business, under an open end credit plan on any 
basis; or 
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‘‘(B) require any qualified small business 
to make an election under this subsection as a 
condition for opening a credit card account, or 
for providing more advantageous terms for any 
credit card account, under an open end credit 
plan.’’. 
Æ 
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