Blaine Luetkemeyer: “I am proud to offer H.R. 766, Mr. Chairman. It is a bipartisan piece of legislation that provides transparency and…”

“I am proud to offer H.R. 766, Mr. Chairman. It is a bipartisan piece of legislation that provides transparency and accountability among Federal banking regulators and the Department of Justice. This legislation comes in response to the abuse of authority by DOJ, FDIC, and other banking agencies under the action called Operation Choke Point, an initiative which seeks to deny legally operating businesses the financial services they need to operate and survive. The notion that Operation Choke Point is limited to payday lenders or the banks serving them is far from the truth. This initiative has spread across many industries, including tobacco shops, gun manufacturers and dealers, pawnbrokers, even a coal mine and an auto dealer. Even attorneys and data companies that serve these industries have been impacted. While regulators will tell you this activity has stopped, Operation Choke Point remains a very live issue. For more than a year, I have asked Americans impacted by this initiative to submit their story at our email address of [email protected]. Just this week I heard from a payday lender in Missouri who recently received account termination notices from his financial institution. Gregory Bone, whose businesses have served borrowers in Branson, Pineville, and Neosho, has operated since 1998 and is registered with both the State of Missouri and the U.S. Treasury Department.…”