Political Quotes

“I rise to speak about a Federal court ruling handed down yesterday that represents a tremendous victory for consumers and Main Street businesses across America. This ruling has to do with debit card swipe fees. Yesterday, a Federal judge in D.C. called for the Federal Reserve to lower the approximately 24 cent cap it set on debit swipe fees to a level that more closely reflects the actual cost of a debit transaction. This decision is a major win for Main Street merchants and their customers. It was urgently needed, because this decision corrects flaws in the Fed's rulemaking that had allowed Visa and MasterCard to triple the swipe fees they impose on many coffeeshops, convenience stores, restaurants and other merchants. I had filed an amicus brief in this court case, since the case involved a rulemaking based on a law that I had authored. I am very pleased that the court ruled the way it did, and I will take a minute to explain why. For years, I have been sounding the alarm about swipe fees, also known as interchange fees. The swipe fee is a hidden fee that is charged on every debit or credit card transaction. It is a fee that a merchant has to pay to a bank when the merchant accepts a credit or debit card that the bank issued. The fee is taken as a cut out of the transaction amount. These swipe fees are harmful to consumers and to our economy. They are hidden, they are anti-competitive, and they end up raising the price of everything we buy at retail.…”