Sens. Hawley, Sanders Propose 10% Cap on Credit Card Interest Rates

Lee Barney(NEWSMAX)

Senators Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, have proposed a 10% cap on credit card interest rates for five years.

Their bipartisan bill put forth Tuesday aims to relieve consumers burdened by high credit card debt and supports a campaign promise made by President Donald Trump.

The thinking behind the bill has gaimed broad public support, with 77% of surveyed individuals favoring a cap on rates, currently averaging 21.47%, and unpaid balances charging 22.80%.

Consumer advocacy groups call the rates unscrupulous. Critics, including the Consumer Bankers Association and the American Financial Services Association, a trade group for credit card issuers, warn that a cap could reduce credit access and increase costs for consumers, The New York Times reports.

Sanders and Hawley have unsuccessfully tried to lower credit card rates through legislation, with Hawley calling current interest rates “exploitive.”

Hitting back, the credit card group has slammed rate caps as “unworkable,” claiming that they “actually harm the consumers policymakers are trying to help, by limiting the types of credit tens of millions of Americans depend on more than ever.”

During Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s confirmation hearing last month, he was asked if he would support a cap on credit card interest rates. Bessent responded that he would back whatever President Trump felt is best.