Got Credit? You Might Just Have a "Bill of Rights"

A new law being touted as the "Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights" passed the House today. Sponsored by Reps. Barney Frank, Carolyn Maloney and Luis Guttierez, the bill would provide protections against the type of ugly predations that countless famlies and individuals have been subject to in the age of easy money from which the whole nation is now reeling.

President Obama, following up on his pledge last week to support the rollout a default, "plain vanilla" credit card that avoids the confusion, headaches and backdoor interest rate hikes espoused by the very credit card company executives he'd brought to the White House, cheered its passage. He praised the bill for mandating

strong and reliable consumer protections; credit card forms and statements that have plain language in plain sight; tools that can help people make an informed choice about what credit card to use; and beefed up monitoring, enforcement, and penalties.

Whether the bill gets any traction in the Senate, or real credit card reforms are passed this year, the House—with the president's backing—has set an example: Populism need not be all pitchforks and teabagging; it can be translated into works that provide important consumer protections in an era of increasing uncertainty.

—DAYO OLOPADE

Covers the White House and Washington for The Root. Follow her on Twitter.