Bernie Sanders and AOC Want to Cap Credit Card Interest Rates at 15%

Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) will introduce legislation on Thursday that, if passed, would cap credit card interest rates at 15%— a steep reduction from current levels, which float around 18%.

“There is no reason a person should pay more than 15% interest in the United States,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Twitter. “It’s a debt trap for working people + it has to end.”

There is no reason a person should pay more than 15% interest in the United States.

It’s common sense – in fact, we had these Usury laws until the 70s.

(Max interest rates are record-high for ppl with excellent credit, too.)

It’s a debt trap for working people + it has to end. https://t.co/tYf4J892KQ

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 9, 2019

According to the Federal Reserve, Americans currently have more than $1 trillion in credit card debt.

In addition to the 15% cap, the proposal would also allow states to establish their own lower limits under legislation, and grant the U.S. Postal Service the ability to offer savings and checking accounts. The cap, according to Sanders, would be the same as the one that Congress imposed on credit unions in 1980.

Credit card interest rates are outrageously high. With @RepAOC, we are introducing legislation to challenge the greed of Wall Street and protect consumers across America. https://t.co/eFltL754AG

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 9, 2019

Still, the proposition has little chance of passing in the Republican-dominated Senate.

“I am sure it will be criticized,” Sanders said of the legislation. “I have a radical idea: Maybe Congress should stand up for ordinary people.”