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With approximately two weeks left before the Aug. 4 deadline for submitting public comment, officials with the Federal Reserve are reporting a massive response from consumers concerning a proposed ban on certain trade practices in the credit card industry.

According to the Fed more than 19,000 comments have been received, which to date is the second-largest response in the agency’s history.

According to CreditCards.com, card industry representatives feel the number of responses has been artificially inflated by the widespread use of form letters provided by various consumer groups that did not require much effort on the part of people to file. Indeed, the Fed’s own site, citing the thousands of form letters, is only posting a representative sampling.

The credit card industry has not filed comments but is expected to do so before the deadline, which does not mean they have been totally silent.

“The Federal Reserve’s proposal is an unprecedented regulatory intrusion into marketplace pricing and product offerings,” said American Bankers Association president/CEO Edward Yingling in a prepared statement. “We are deeply concerned that these rules will result in less competition, higher consumer prices, fewer consumer choices and reduced consumer access to credit cards.  In short, everyday consumers will bear the real cost of these proposals.”

 The proposal would, among other measures:

 Broaden the disclosure requirements on credit card offers of promotional rates

• Prohibit rate increases except in a narrow set of circumstances
• Expand the amount of time cardholders have to pay their monthly bill
• Eliminate two-cycle billing

“Credit cards provide a convenient source of credit for many consumers, but the terms of credit card loans have become more complex, which has reduced transparency,” Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. “Our consumer testing has persuaded us that disclosures alone cannot solve this problem. Thus, the board’s proposed rules would require card issuers to alter their practices in ways that will allow consumers to better understand how their own decisions and actions will affect their costs.”

After all parties have been heard from and recommendations are made a decision is expected before the end of the year.