If Congress cracks down on the fees and other blood money extracted by the credit card companies from the poorest credit risks, what are the poor suffering credit card companies to do?

Simple, the NY Times reports.

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Now Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit.

Banks are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks, according to bank officials and trade groups.

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UPDATE: The Senate passed the credit card bill today. All the details in this NY Times coverage. Lincoln and Pryor also issued statements praising themselves for supporting this bill. Sen. Lincoln didn’t mention her total sellout of consumers to credit card companies in the bankruptcy “reform” a few years back. I guess not.

While I was gone, it had been reported that Arkansas’s senators had cravenly joined a number of other Democrats in paying homage to the NRA by agreeing to add an amendment to — this credit card bill! — to allow loaded weapons in national parks. It could come out in conference, but that would require more backbone and common sense than currently seems on offer in Congress.

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