ICBA continues calling on community bankers to urge their senators to oppose legislation that would impose credit card routing restrictions amid renewed efforts to attach it to government funding measures.
Grassroots Alert: Community bankers can use ICBA’s Be Heard grassroots action center to urge their senators to oppose the legislation and any attempt to tie it to unrelated, must-pass government funding bills.
State of Play: Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) this week renewed his pledge to hold up consideration of military and veterans legislation if Senate leaders don’t commit to holding a vote on the Credit Card Competition Act (S. 1838/H.R. 3881), which he is leading with Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.). The bill would allow merchants to process credit card transactions based solely on which network offers the lowest cost for them.
Industry Opposition: In a national news release and a letter to congressional leaders last week, ICBA and other groups said the Marshall-Durbin bill is not germane to military or veteran spending and would merely serve as a government handout to big-box retailers. The lawmakers’ efforts echo their unsuccessful attempts to use the National Defense Authorization Act to advance their bill ahead of the August recess.
