Jun 11, 2008 1:00 pm US/Pacific
Obama Blasts McCain, Credit Card Companies
CHICAGO (AP) ―
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Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama attends a town hall meeting May 19, 2008 in Billings, Montana.
Anne Sherwood/Getty Images
Democrat Barack Obama called for tighter restrictions on credit card companies Wednesday and accused Republican presidential rival John McCain of doing too little to help Americans avoid crippling debts.
Continuing his monthlong emphasis on the economy, Obama met with consumer advocates in Chicago and summarized his plans to crack down on lending practices he describes as abusive. He would bar credit card companies from raising interest rates without the borrower's approval and from applying higher rates retroactively; establish a federal credit card rating system; and bar interest charges on items such as late fees.
McCain has "sided with the credit card companies" on issues such as protecting "teenagers and college students from deceptive credit card practices," Obama said in prepared remarks released to The Associated Press.
In 1998, McCain opposed a Democratic bid to require credit card companies to obtain information showing that borrowers under 21 could handle the debts they would likely incur if given cards. Obama also noted that McCain opposed a 2005 bill to require credit card companies to inform borrowers, on their monthly statements, that making only a minimum payment would increase the amount of interest paid and the time it would take to pay off the full balance.
McCain's campaign fired back, noting that Obama voted against a 2005 measure that would have limited credit card interest rates to 30 percent.
In a January debate, Obama said he opposed the bill, which was defeated, "because I thought 30 percent potentially was too high of a ceiling. So we had had no hearings on that bill. It had not gone through the Banking Committee."
Obama had planned to campaign Wednesday in Iowa, but flooding there prevented him. His campaign hastily arranged the Chicago event to avoid a day with no public events during a week in which he is criticizing McCain on several economic issues.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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