Schumer's campaign war chest could suffer as well. According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, the senator received more from Citigroup, a leading credit card issuer, than any other campaign contributor over the last five years.
For Dodd, too, the bill represented a move against an industry from which he has often benefited. He received almost $1 million in campaign funds from commercial banks during the past five years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Complicating efforts to come up with a final version of the bill this week will be the seemingly unrelated issue of guns.
As part of a compromise, the Senate legislation includes an amendment offered by Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn that would allow visitors to national parks and federal wildlife areas to carry handguns if permitted by state law.
Democratic leaders in the House are considering holding two separate votes, one on the Senate credit card provisions and one on the gun measure, in order to allow members to show their support for one without backing the other. Dodd said Tuesday he believed the Coburn language would ultimately be included in the bill that reaches the president's desk.
Federal Reserve regulations
* Take effect in July 2010.
* Require banks to give customers a reasonable time, such as 21 days, to pay the bill before it is considered late.
* Require banks to give customers 45 days notice before raising interest rates on new purchases, even if the customer is late or delinquent in paying the account.
* Prohibit, in most cases, retroactive rate increases. Does not include a provision that would require lenders to reduce the rate after six months if the person pays on time.
* Prohibit double-cycle billing.
* Limit excessive fees charged on subprime credit cards, which are marketed to people with bad credit.
What the bill does
Key points in the credit card bill passed by the Senate:
* Bans double-cycle billing, which eliminates the interest-free period for consumers who move from paying the full balance monthly to carrying a balance.
* Requires 45 days notice before rates are increased.
* Prohibits over-the-limit fees unless a cardholder elects to be allowed to go over a limit.
* Bans "pay-to-pay" fees, which are charged when someone pays the bill by phone or on the Internet.
* Requires lenders to say how much time it would take to pay off a balance and how much money in interest would be paid if only the minimum monthly payments are made.
