A RESOLUTION TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO URGE THE 107TH CONGRESS TO SUPPORT THE COLLEGE STUDENT CREDIT CARD PROTECTION ACT

Short Title: Credit Card Act. (Public)

Sponsored by: Senator DUGGINS.

First Reading: September 12, 2001. Version Date: September 10, 2001.

Referred to: ____________________________________________________________.

WHEREAS, in December 2000, the Nellie Mae Corporation conducted an analysis of

credit card usage among students applying for student loans from January through September 2000; and,

WHEREAS, in their analysis, the Nellie Mae Corporation determined that seventy eight percent (78%) of undergraduate students with a credit history had credit cards; and,

WHEREAS, the Credit Card Usage Analysis also determined that ninety five percent (95%) of graduate students with a credit history had credit cards; and,

WHEREAS, the Nellie Mae Corporation also reported that, of those students who have credit cards, undergraduates have an average of three credit cards; and,

WHEREAS, in their analysis, the Nellie Mae Corporation determined that graduate students have an average of four credit cards; and,

WHEREAS, the average credit card debt for an undergraduate student with credit cards, according to the Nellie Mae Corporation, is $2,748.00; and,

WHEREAS, the average credit card debt for a graduate student with credit cards, according the Nellie Mae Corporation, is $4,776.00; and,

WHEREAS, the Nellie Mae Corporation also found that thirteen per cent (13%) of undergraduates with credit cards have balances between $3,000.00 and $7,000.00 and nine percent (9%) have credit card balances exceeding $7,000.00; and,

WHEREAS, the Nellie Mae Corporation found that twenty percent (20%) of graduate students with credit cards have balances between $6,000.00 and $15,000.00 and six percent (6%) have credit card balances exceeding $15,000.00; and,

WHEREAS, in January, Representitive Louise Slaughter (D-NY) introduced H.R.184, "A Bill to Amend the Consumer Credit Protection Act to Prevent Credit Card Issuers From Taking Unfair Advantage of Full-time, Traditional-aged, College Students, to Protect Parents of Traditional College Student Credit Card Holders, and for Other Purposes;" and,

WHEREAS, H.R. 184, also known as the College Student Credit Card Protection Act, would limit credit lines to twenty percent (20%) of a student's annual income, if the credit card is issued without a co-signer; and

WHEREAS, the College Student Credit Protection Act would require parental approval to increase credit lines for which the parent is jointly liable; and,

WHEREAS, the College Student Credit Protection Act would prohibit a college student without independent income from having more than one credit card account; and,

WHEREAS, the College Student Credit Protection Act would eliminate the fine print in credit card solicitations and agreements, compelling them to use a typeface that is at least as large as the largest typeface used in solicitations and agreements; and,

WHEREAS, upon the introduction of H.R. 184, Rep. Slaughter requested that the General Accounting Office initiate a study on student credit card issues; and,

WHEREAS, on June 17, 2001, the General Accounting Office released their report, "Consumer Finance: College Students and Credit Cards," which concluded that credit cards companies intentionally target college students; and,

WHEREAS, the report also revealed that bankruptcy filings among petitioners younger than 25 have increased by fifty-one percent (51%) since 1991; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the North Carolina State University Student Senate strongly urges the 107th Congress to support H.R. 184, the College Student Credit Protection Act.