The Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights Act (HR 627) passed out of the House Financial Services Committee after markup on a vote of 48-19.  Several amendments that would have made the bill less stringent than the regulations already adopted by the federal regulatory agencies were defeated on smaller margins.  The full House next takes up the bill and when passed, as it surely will be, will be reconciled with the companion, but tougher, Senate bill (S 414), assuming that bill passes, which is apparently more problematic, at least in its current form.  Today credit card executives meet with the Obama administration, which strongly supports the Senate version of the bill, as it implements promises made by Obama during his election campaign.  The Senate Bill also includes a requirement for a study by the OMB of interchange practices that seems a ringer if it ends up being part of any enacted law. 

SEC. 501. STUDY AND REPORT.

    (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Comptroller’’) shall conduct a study on interchange fees and their effects on consumers and merchants. The Comptroller shall review—

(1) the extent to which interchange fees are required to be disclosed to consumers and merchants, and how such fees are overseen by the Federal banking agencies or other regulators;
(2) the ways in which the interchange system affects the ability of merchants of varying size to negotiate    pricing with card associations and banks;
(3) the costs and factors incorporated into interchange fees, such as advertising, bonus miles, and rewards, how such costs and factors vary among cards; and
(4) the consequences of the undisclosed nature of interchange fees on merchants and consumers with regard to prices charged for goods and services.

(b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller shall submit a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives containing a detailed summary of the findings and conclusions of the study required by this section, together with such recommendations for legislative or administrative actions as may be appropriate.

Judge for yourself whether interchange fees in their current form will survive the current antipathy towards bank practices.