Credit card issuers would have to immediately stop raising interest rates on existing balances under the provisions of a bill introduced today by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Ct.).

The freeze would take effect immediately after the measure is passed and stay in effect until the provisions of the CARD Act take effect. They are scheduled to take effect next Feb. 22 but a measure is working its way through the House to speed up the implementation date to Dec. 1. Financial institutions that issue fewer than 2 million credit cards wouldn't have to comply with the Dec. 1 date.

"We worked long and hard to enact the safeguards included in the Credit CARD Act," Dodd said in a statement. "And no sooner had it been signed into law, but credit card companies were looking for ways to get around the protections this Congress and the American people demanded. This bill would end those abuses and further protect customers today."