Political Quotes

“Madam President, yesterday I voted for the Tester amendment on debit card interchange fees. This amendment would give the Federal Reserve more time to study the impact of proposed debit card fee regulations on consumers and the community banks and credit unions that serve them. I vigorously support the intent of the original Durbin amendment, and I thank Senator Durbin for working to bring an end to the gouging and the profiteering at the largest banks. My No. 1 priority is consumers. I have always made sure I was on the side of consumers and Main Street and against unfair and abusive practices on Wall Street. I have a deep suspicion of how big banks treat the little people and what they do with the little people's money. I voted for the original Durbin amendment during the debate over the Wall Street reform bill because something had to be done to rein in these hidden fees that kept rising and rising--and getting passed on to consumers. The amendment included an exemption for banks with less than $10 billion in assets to ensure that only the largest banks would be affected. Since then, the community banks and credit unions in my State tell me that they are afraid that the current $10 billion exemption for debit card issuers will not protect them and that they will be forced to stop services, charge consumers new fees, or risk the stability of their institution if they are not adequately protected from the debit card fee limit. I take these concerns very seriously.…”