name	Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009
fullname	An Act to amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other purposes.
enacted by	111th
effective date	February 22, 2010
public law url	http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ24/content-detail.html
cite public law	111-24
cite statutes at large	123 Stat. 1734 through 123 Stat. 1766
acts amended	Truth in Lending Act Fair Credit Reporting ActElectronic Fund Transfer Act Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009
title amended	Titles 5, 11, 15, 20 and 31
leghisturl	http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR00627:@@@S
introducedin	House of Representatives
introducedbill
introducedby	Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney D-NY-14
introduceddate	January 22, 2009
committees	House Committee on Financial Services, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
passedbody1	House of Representatives
passeddate1	April 30, 2009
passedvote1	357-70
passedbody2	Senate
passeddate2	May 19, 2009
passedvote2	90-5
agreedbody3	House of Representatives
agreeddate3	May 20, 2009
agreedvote3	279-147
signedpresident	Barack Obama
signeddate	May 22, 2009
amendments	}}

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 or Credit CARD Act of 2009 is a federal statute passed by the United States Congress and signed by President Barack Obama on May 22, 2009. It is comprehensive credit card reform legislation that aims "...to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other purposes." The bill was passed with bipartisan support by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Introduction and votes

The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights was introduced in the 110th Congress as in the House of Representatives by Representative Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York and the chair of the House Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. The bill had passed 312 to 112 but was never given a vote in the Senate.

In the 111th United States Congress the bill was reintroduced as and on April 30, 2009, the House passed it, with a strong bipartisan basis, with 357 yes votes to 70 no votes. The Senate followed suit and passed an amended version on May 19 with 90 yes votes and 5 no votes. The House passed the amended bill the next day by a vote of 279 to 147 and it was signed into law by President Barack Obama on May 22, 2009.

The bill went into effect on February 22, 2010, nine months after it was enacted.

Provisions

The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights includes several provisions aimed at limiting how credit card companies can charge consumers, but does not include price controls, rate caps, or fee setting. According to a summary of the bill:

Amendment on Guns in National Parks

Gun rights advocates in the Senate, led by Tom Coburn (R-Okla) added an unrelated rider to the bill to prevent the Secretary of the Interior from enforcing any regulation that would prohibit an individual from possessing a firearm in any unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Senate passed the amendment 67-29.

This amendment overturns a Reagan-era policy prohibiting firearms from being carried in national parks. The George W. Bush administration had attempted to implement a similar policy through the rulemaking process just before leaving office; however the change was struck down by a federal judge. This provision has been heavily criticized by environmentalists, anti-gun groups, and park supporters including the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, but applauded by gun rights groups.

Criticism

The act was not expected to affect existing credit card contracts. However, the act that was passed does apply to contracts made in the past, setting an effective date of February 22, 2010, which gave banks time to prepare and notify their customers. While it is a common criticism that the CARD Act led banks to raise interest rates and limit credit availability in response to its passage, studies by CardHub.com and the Center for Responsible Lending revealed that such trends were merely the result of economic pressures typical of a recession and not the law. Actually, according to these studies, historical economic data shows that the interest rate increase and decline in available credit seen during the Great Recession should have been worse considering the widespread unemployment, credit card delinquency and credit card charge-offs.

In a speech on the one-year anniversary of the CARD Act, Special Adviser Elizabeth Warren said that "much of the [credit card] industry has gone further than the law requires in curbing re-pricing and overlimit fees." However, she said there was still much work to be done, that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's "next challenges will be about further clarifying price and risks and making it easier for consumers to make direct product comparisons."

Sponsors and cosponsors

The bill was cosponsored by House Financial Services Committee chair Barney Frank and Representatives Maxine Waters, Luis Gutiérrez, Stephen Lynch, Keith Ellison, Steve Cohen, Chaka Fattah, Maurice Hinchey, Jim Langevin, Jerrold Nadler, Carol Shea-Porter, Hilda Solis, Peter Welch, Albert Wynn, Peter DeFazio, Charles Gonzalez, Gene Taylor, David Obey, Mazie Hirono, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Nancy Boyda, John Dingell, Corrine Brown, Bennie Thompson, Alcee Hastings, Yvette Clark, Jesse Jackson, Danny Davis, Kirsten Gillibrand, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Diane Watson, Michael Arcuri, Eliot Engel, John Tierney, Chris Van Hollen, George Miller, Jim Moran, Anthony Weiner, Neil Abercrombie, and Jan Schakowsky.

References

External links

Press Release

Text of bill

CARD Act - Actions & Votes

Category:United States federal banking legislation Category:111th United States Congress Category:Credit cards

fr:Credit CARD Act of 2009

birth name	Richard Tiffany Gere
birth date	August 31, 1949
birth place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
occupation	Actor
years active	1973–present
nationality	American
notable works	''Pretty Woman'', ''Dr. T & the Women'', ''Chicago'', ''Primal Fear'', ''First Knight''
religion	Buddhist
spouse	Cindy Crawford (1991–1995)Carey Lowell (2002–present)
children	Son }}

Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar'', and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven''. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film ''American Gigolo'', which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol. He went on to star in several hit films including ''An Officer and a Gentleman'', ''Pretty Woman'', ''Primal Fear'', and ''Chicago'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award as Best Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the Best Cast.

Early life

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gere is a descendant of ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims Francis Eaton, John Billington, George Soule, Richard Warren, Degory Priest, William Brewster, and Francis Cooke. His paternal great-grandfather had changed the spelling of the surname from "Geer". Gere's mother, Doris Ann (née Tiffany, born 1924), was a homemaker, and his father, Homer George Gere (born 1922), was an insurance agent for the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and had originally intended to become a minister. Gere is their eldest son and second child. In 1967, he graduated from North Syracuse Central High School, where he excelled at gymnastics and music, playing the trumpet. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst on a gymnastics scholarship, majoring in philosophy, but did not graduate, leaving after two years.

Career

Gere first worked professionally at the Provincetown Playhouse on Cape Cod in 1971 where he starred in ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.'' His first major acting role was in the original London stage version of ''Grease'' in 1973. He began appearing in Hollywood films in the mid 1970s, co-starring in the thriller ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and playing the leading role in director Terrence Malick's well-reviewed 1978 film, ''Days of Heaven''. In 1980, Gere appeared in the Broadway production of ''Bent''. He became a major star that year with the film ''American Gigolo'', followed by the romantic drama ''An Officer and a Gentleman'', which grossed almost $130 million in 1982.

After 1982, Gere's career experienced several box office failures until it strengthened with the release of both ''Internal Affairs'' and ''Pretty Woman'' in 1990. Gere's status as a leading man solidified and he went on to star in several successful films throughout the 1990s, including ''Sommersby'' (1993), ''Primal Fear'' (1996), and ''Runaway Bride'' (1999) which reunited him with his ''Pretty Woman'' co-star Julia Roberts. Richard also took a leading role in the 1997 action movie ''The Jackal'', playing Declan Mulqueen.

''People'' magazine named Gere the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1999. In 2002, he appeared in three major releases: the horror thriller ''The Mothman Prophecies'', the drama ''Unfaithful'', and the Academy Award-winning film version of ''Chicago'', for which he won a Golden Globe as "Best Actor – Comedy or Musical". Gere's 2004 ballroom dancing drama ''Shall We Dance?'' was also a solid performer that grossed $170 million worldwide though his next film, 2005's ''Bee Season'', was a commercial failure.

Gere was Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals' "Man of the Year" for 2006. In 2007, he co-starred with Jesse Eisenberg and Terrence Howard in ''The Hunting Party'', a comic thriller in which he played a journalist in Bosnia. The same year he also starred with Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Cate Blanchett in Todd Haynes' semi-biographical film about Bob Dylan, ''I'm Not There''.

Gere co-starred with Diane Lane in the romantic drama ''Nights in Rodanthe'', released in 2008. The film was widely panned by critics (even making #74 on ''The Times'' Worst Films of 2008 list), but grossed over $84 million worldwide.

In December 2010, Gere was honored for his lifetime achievement from the 34th Cairo International Film Festival.

In 2012, Gere was the 67th recipient of The George Eastman Award for distinguished contribution to the art of film for his distinguished acting career as well as his global humanitarian leadership.

Personal life and activism

Gere was married to supermodel Cindy Crawford from 1991 to 1995. In 2002, he married model and actress Carey Lowell. They have a son, Homer James Jigme Gere, who was born in 2000 and is named after Gere's father.

Gere was raised by Methodist parents; his interest in Buddhism began when he traveled to Nepal in 1978 with the Brazilian painter, Sylvia Martins. He is a practicing Buddhist and an active supporter of the Dalai Lama. Gere is also a persistent advocate for human rights in Tibet; he is a co-founder of the Tibet House, creator of The Gere Foundation, and he is Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet. Because he strongly supports the Tibetan Independence Movement, he is permanently banned from entering the People's Republic of China. Gere was banned as an Academy Award presenter in 1993 after he denounced the Chinese government in his capacity as presenter. In September 2007, Gere called for the boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to put pressure on China to make Tibet independent. He starred in Free Tibet-themed Lancia commercial featuring the Lancia Delta. On June 27, 2011 Richard Gere meditated in Borobudur temple.

Richard Gere actively supports Survival International, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights and lands of tribal peoples throughout the world. He contributed some of his writing for the book, ''We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples'', released in October 2009. Richard Gere discusses the persecution and loss of land of the Jummas, as an example of a tragic story that repeats itself in different continents of the world. He calls attention to the crime against their peaceful culture and how it reflects on our own relationship with nature and capacity to survive. The royalties from the sale of this book go to the indigenous rights organization, Survival International.

Gere campaigns for ecological causes and AIDS awareness. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Healing the Divide, an organization that supports global initiatives to promote peace, justice and understanding. He helped to establish the AIDS Care Home, a residential facility in India for women and children with AIDS, and also supports campaigns for AIDS awareness and education that country. In 1999, he created the Gere Foundation India Trust to support a variety of humanitarian programs in India.

On April 15, 2007, Gere appeared at an AIDS awareness rally in Jaipur, India. During a live news conference to promote condom use among truck drivers, he embraced Bollywood superstar Shilpa Shetty, dipped her, and kissed her several times on the cheek. As a result of that gesture, a local court ordered the arrest of Gere and Shetty, finding them in violation "public obscenity" laws. Gere, who quickly fled the country, has said the controversy was "manufactured by a small hard-line political party." About a month later, a two-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, KG Balakrishnan, described the case as "frivolous" and believed that such complaints (against celebrities) were filed for "cheap publicity" and have brought a bad name to the country. They ruled that "Richard Gere is free to enter the country. This is the end of the matter."

In June 2008, Gere appeared in a Fiat commercial for the European market, driving a new Lancia Delta from Hollywood to Tibet. The commercial concluded with a tagline of "New Lancia Delta: the power to be different". The commercial was reported in Chinese newspapers, and Fiat apologized to the PRC. Branding expert John Tantillo argued that Fiat had foreseen the controversy the ad would cause and hoped to benefit from press coverage it would receive, labeling it "adpublitizing".

Political views

Invasion of Iraq

Gere has stated that the decision to go to war in Iraq was one that the American people were not in support of and that the administration at the time “bullied” Americans into the decision. He blamed the situation on a very “poor president”.

“I'm very sorry about what the U.S. has done in Iraq. This war has been a tragedy for everyone. I hope that the people of Iraq can rebuild their country," Richard Gere said in a press conference, held on the sidelines of the 34th Cairo International Film Festival.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1975	''Report to the Commissioner''	Billy
1976	''Baby Blue Marine''	Raider
1977		Tony Lo Porto
1978		Thomas Stony De Coco
1978	''Days of Heaven''	Bill
1979	''Yanks''	Matt Dyson
1980	''American Gigolo''	Julian Kaye
1982	''An Officer and a Gentleman''	Zack Mayo	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1983		Dr. Eduardo Plarr
1983		Jesse Lujack
1984		Dixie Dwyer
1985		David
1986		Eddie Jillette
1986		Pete St. John
1988	''Miles from Home''	Frank Roberts, Jr.
1990		Dennis Peck
1990	''Pretty Woman''	Edward Lewis	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1991	''Rhapsody in August''	Clark
1992	''Final Analysis''	Dr. Isaac Barr
1993		Mr. Jones
1993	''Sommersby''	John Robert 'Jack' Sommersby
1993		The Choreographer	Nominated — CableACE Award
1994		Vincent Eastman
1995	''[[First Knight''	Lancelot
1996		Martin Vail
1997		Declan Joseph Mulqueen
1997	''Red Corner''	Jack Moore
1999		Ike Graham
2000	''Dr. T & the Women''	Dr. T
2000		Will Keane
2002		Billy Flynn	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best CastGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureNominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
2002		Edward Sumner
2002		John Klein
2004		John Clark
2005		Saul Naumann
2007		Clifford Irving
2007		Simon
2007	''I'm Not There''	Bob Dylan as Billy The Kid
2007		Agent Erroll Babbage
2008	''Nights in Rodanthe''	Dr. Paul Flanner
2009
2009	''Hachi: A Dog's Tale''	Parker Wilson
2010	''Brooklyn's Finest''	Eddie Dugan
2011		Paul Shepherdson
2012		Robert Miller	filming

References

External links

Defended India's nuclear tests

The Gere Foundation

The Druk White Lotus School (external link) of which Gere is an Honorary Patron.

Shambhala Sun Interview

Category:1949 births Category:Actors from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:AIDS activists Category:American health activists Category:American human rights activists Category:American anti-communists Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Converts to Buddhism Category:American Buddhists Category:American people of English descent Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Tibetan Buddhists from the United States Category:Tibetan independence movement Category:Personae non gratae

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