On the recordMarch 10, 2011
I rise to speak about the issue of interchange fee reform. Last year, Congress enacted landmark reform of the swipe fees that Visa and MasterCard impose on the debit card system. An amendment I offered to Wall Street reform passed the Senate with 64 votes--47 Democrats, 17 Republicans--and was later signed into law. It was the first amendment out of the first 26 on that bill that was held to a 60-vote standard. Every other amendment before was held to a simple majority. But I was lucky enough, when I offered the amendment, that there was an insistence that we had to reach 60 votes. We did it, 47 Democrats and 17 Republicans. It was a great victory, and one that came as a surprise to Wall Street, because Main Street--the retail merchants, the restaurants, the convenience stores, and many others--had worked hard for this amendment. Never before had Visa and MasterCard, the duopoly of credit cards, and their big bank allies lost a vote such as this in Congress.
