WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) introduced a sweeping credit card bill that would ban several common fees and interest rate tactics. Sen. Levin’s measure follows through on a promise he made last fall, the American Banker reports.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) restated his position that credit cards “are a valuable and important tool to help consumers build more financially secure and prosperous lives. … I am committed to looking at any and all ways – including introducing legislation – to ensure that consumers are adequately protected from unfair credit card practices.”

Sen. Dodd told the Associated Press that he will look into the proposal “in a careful and thoughtful fashion.”

Opposing the measure, the banking industry says it is concerned about micromanagement. “We worry about micro-managing the pricing of financial products in a way that may ultimately hurt consumers,” Ken Clayton, managing director of credit card policy at the American Bankers Association, told the newswire.

Sen. Levin’s bill, co-sponsored by Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), would not allow lenders to charge interest when credit card debts are paid on time or in full. The measure also caps penalty interest rate increases at 7 percent, and prohibits interest rate hikes on outstanding debt.

In a press release, Sen. Levin said, “I’m afraid these practices have become too entrenched and too profitable to the credit card companies for the companies to change them on their own. … Congress needs to enact pro-consumer legislation to put an end to these unfair practices.”