The White House was due to announce new efforts to slash credit card late fees and drive down the prices Apple and Google parent Alphabet Inc charge on mobile app stores, part of a larger policy drive to promote consumer markets, officials said.
President Joe Biden was going to urge Congress to ban hidden fees and penalties that a federal consumer watchdog says are creeping into everyday retail services across industries and driving up consumer costs, including fees for family members to sit next to young children, White House officials said.
Biden has been beating the drum on inflation and criticizing Republicans who now control the House of RepresentativesHouse of Representatives for backing tax measures that would benefit the wealthy at the expense of middle-class taxpayers.
Biden, who is expected to announce a bid for re-election in the coming weeks, has been slamming Republicans for their refusal to approve an increase in the U.S. debt ceiling unless there is a deal on spending cuts. Wednesday's announcement coincides with a scheduled meeting between Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that is likely to mark the beginning of a protracted maneuvering on raising the borrowing cap.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing a rule that will ban excessive fees that credit card issuers charge for late payments, something that the bureau estimates costs consumers $12 billion a year.
Even if you pay a day or two late, or even a few hours, you can be hit with a cascading series of fees, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra told reporters in a Tuesday call.
According to Chopra, fees far exceeded any additional costs that lenders incurred, and said the rule would cap a regulatory threshold at $8, a level indicated by CFPB data analysis.
After a comment period, the rule could take effect in 2024, according to Chopra. The regulations are often subject to challenge and litigation by industry groups that can block or delay them.
The NTIA, an arm of the Commerce Department, released a report denouncing Apple's dominance over the app economy, where the vast majority of smartphone users and developers are hemmed in tech giants' software ecosystems, which the NTIA said drives up costs and limits innovation.
The report calls for more user control over which applications are available, an end to platform operators' self-preference for their own apps, and a ban on requirements that apps use the operators' in-app payments systems.
The Transportation Department will propose regulations to prohibit airlines from charging family members to be seated next to children age 13 or younger. The government dashboard shows that airlines do not charge such fees, and will be disclosed on the department's website.
Wednesday's announcements will be the fourth meeting of the Biden's Competition Council, created in 2021 when consumer inflation was at 40 year highs, and was widely seen as a political headwind ahead of the midterm elections in 2022.