Obama Pushes Credit Card Reform

Philip Elliott

WASHINGTON -- Putting himself on the side of fuming consumers, President Barack Obama is pushing for Congress to send him legislation by Memorial Day that would put a tighter rein on the credit card industry.

"Americans know that they have a responsibility to live within their means and pay what they owe," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address released Saturday. "But they also have a right to not get ripped off by the sudden rate hikes, unfair penalties and hidden fees that have become all-too common."

Obama has prominently lobbied for a bill calling for a credit card crackdown. It already has cleared the House and awaits action in the Senate.

"I'm calling on Congress ... to pass a credit card reform bill that protects American consumers so that I can sign it into law by Memorial Day," Obama said. "There is no time for delay. We need a durable and successful flow of credit in our economy, but we can't tolerate profits that depend upon misleading working families. Those days are over."

But there's no certainty Congress will deliver by the end of the month.