On the recordJune 8, 2011
God bless the U.S.A. Mr. President, let me say this, first of all, to the folks in the gallery and the Members who are still in their offices. Look at me. Do I look like a banker? Senator Corker and I drew up this amendment. The banks did not draw up this amendment. We drew it up with the help of Senators Hagan, Crapo, and Bennet. As is usual, Senator Durbin and I agree on 90 percent, and there is 10 percent on which we disagree. Do I think swipe fees need to be regulated? Of course. But the problem with his amendment is that the exemption on community banks and credit unions under $10 billion does not work. It doesn't work. I have read all the quotes from Bernanke and Bair and the head of the OCC and the NCUA and all of them. They have said that they don't know how to make a two-tiered system work because the free market system will overrule it, and that is the way it ought to be in this country. So the bottom line is, I look at this from a rural perspective and the impact the Federal Government has on rural America, and while we are trying to solve one problem, we are creating two or three others. I could care less about the Wall Street banks. They are going to do fine. But I will tell my colleagues, if we lose the banks in our small towns in Montana or Wyoming or Tennessee, then we can put another nail in the coffin of rural America. With that, I yield the floor to the good Senator from Tennessee. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
