Missouri democrats Senator Claire McCaskill and State Representative Emanuel Cleaver are working to pass credit laws that would restrict the ability of credit card companies to unfairly target students. Under their measures, students without jobs or the written approval of parents or guardians would have to be at least 21 before they could qualify for credit cards. Currently, companies target students on campus without running credit checks or income checks. Students are often offered prizes for filling out credit card applications on campus, everything from t-shirts to free food. As a result students across the country have growing amounts of debt even before they graduate. Market research surveys say that 41% of students have credit cards and that nearly 20% are in debt.

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