Oct. 26 (UPI) — President Joe Biden announced plans to target “junk fees,” and other rising costs, to help Americans battling high inflation less than two weeks before the midterm elections.
Biden unveiled the new initiatives Wednesday to “immediately start saving Americans collectively billions of dollars in unfair fees,” the president said.
The White House announced the new guidelines from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that will eliminate billions of dollars in banking fees, as well as fees associated with airline tickets, hotel bookings and cable bills.
“Today my administration is announcing new actions to lower the cost of everyday living for American families, to put more money in the pockets of middle-income and working-class Americans and to hold big corporations accountable,” Biden said in remarks at the White House.
“Things like, as we mentioned, surprise banking overdraft fees, excessive credit card late fees, hidden hotel booking fees, or those huge termination charges to stop you from switching cable and Internet plans to a better deal. Surprise charges that companies sneak into bills because they can,” Biden said.
“This is real money back in the pockets of American families,” said Rohit Chopra, director of the CFPB, who also spoke at the White House. “It’s good for them, and it’s good for businesses that follow the law.”
Last month, the president tapped the White House Competition Council to investigate companies that use complicated algorithms to hide fees. Biden said it is now illegal to charge fees for overdrawing a checking account or for depositing a bounced check.
“Each year, these junk fees… cost Americans tens of billions of dollars, weighing down family budgets and making it hard for people to pay their bills,” Biden said.
The president’s announcement comes as Americans struggle with soaring inflation. The latest measure of wholesale inflation, the producer price index, was twice as high as expected, increasing 0.4% from August to September. Several economists, responding to the latest PPI, suggested “inflation seems entrenched” and warned the United States may be headed toward a recession.
Biden acknowledged Americans are also dealing with higher energy costs, which he argued are trending down.
“And, by the way, the price of gasoline continues to fall. It’s down for the third week in a row,” Biden said as he blamed Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine for higher prices at the pump.
“So, anyway, I’m optimistic,” Biden said. “It’s going to take some time. And I appreciate the frustration of the American people.”
