Are you tired of high interest rates? Are you struggling to pay your credit card bill each month?
There's a bipartisan debate underway in Congress to cap interest rates — and it involves an unlikely pair of lawmakers.
Republican senator Josh Hawley of Missouri has partnered with longtime progressive senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont to propose a cap on credit card interest rates at 10%.
Right now the national average rate for existing credit cards is over 21%, according to Wallethub.
And data shows more Americans struggling with credit card debt. The country is currently at a 12-year high for Americans who are only paying the minimum payment on their credit balances.
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While this proposal is not a new one and has been introduced by various lawmakers over the years with no success, the reason some are hopeful this time is because President Trump actually endorsed the proposal at a September campaign rally.
"While working Americans catch up, we're going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates at 10%. We have no choice," he said at the time.
During his confirmation hearing Treasury Scott Bessent was asked about curbing interest rates. He did not reject the idea, saying he would support President Trump's position.
But the banking industry is already lining up to fight this legislation. The American Financial Services Association said last year that a cap would be "unworkable" and would actually harm Americans by forcing banks to limit access to credit.
