On July 17, 54 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus sent a letter addressed to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, discussing the upcoming House consideration of H.J. Res. 122 (the “Act”) relating to credit card penalty fees. The Act aimed to invalidate the CFPB’s rule on credit card late fees by amending Regulation Z, which aims to reduce the maximum late fees charged by credit card companies to $8 from the typical $32 (covered by InfoBytes here). The letter indicated that all Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee supported the bill, while all Democrats opposed it. The letter’s authors expressed their view that the Republican majority supports “junk fees.”

The letter argued that the CFPB’s rule would provide substantial financial relief to Americans, estimating an annual savings of $10 billion and an average individual savings of $220 per year for over 45 million people. The letter’s authors affirmed their support for the Biden Administration’s efforts to lower costs for Americans and combat unfair business practices in the banking industry.