[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4692]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NOTICES OF HEARlNGS/MEETINGS


                PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the 
information of the Senate and the public that the Permanent 
Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing entitled ``Credit Card 
Practices: Fees, Interest Rates, and Grace Periods.'' It is the first 
of several subcommittee hearings that will examine a variety of credit 
card practices that raise concerns. This hearing will focus on how 
credit card issuers apply interest rates and fees to consumer accounts. 
It will examine, for example, how credit card issuers select and apply 
interest rates and, for consumers carrying a balance forward, eliminate 
grace periods for repaid debts. It will also analyze high fees charged 
for late payments, over-the-limit charges, and other matters, including 
how those fees are assessed, how they add to increase interest costs, 
and how they contribute to consumer debt. In addition, the hearing will 
examine an industry practice requiring consumer payments to be applied 
first to balances with the lowest interest rates instead of to balances 
with the highest interest rates. The hearing will draw, in part, from a 
September 2006 GAO report detailing the finance charges, fees, and 
disclosure practices associated with 28 popular credit cards. Witnesses 
for the upcoming hearing will include representatives from the three 
largest credit card issuers, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and 
Citigroup, as well as consumer witnesses. A final witness list will be 
available on Monday, March 5, 2007.
  The subcommittee hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, 2007, 
at 10 a.m. in room 342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. For 
further information, please contact Elise J. Bean, of the Permanent 
Subcommittee on Investigations at 224-3721.

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