Ted Budd: “Right now we are having a fierce debate in the Republican Conference over the Durbin amendment, which is a price control…”

“Right now we are having a fierce debate in the Republican Conference over the Durbin amendment, which is a price control on debit swipe fees. Retailers have claimed that the Durbin amendment is about competition. They have claimed that it is about restoring a broken market. They have claimed that Visa, MasterCard, and issuing banks are engaged in price-fixing on swipe fees. This is a key element of this debate. A vote to keep the Durbin amendment is a vote that rests on the idea that Members are sure that there is price-fixing in the debit card market. There is $6 billion to $8 billion per year at play here, and the violation of a core free- market principle, which is the notion that government should not be telling people what they can or can't charge. My point would be that, if you do that, if you support that degree of command and control in the economy, you have got to be sure. And should we be sure? I go back to the Sherman Antitrust Act, which outlaws price-fixing. This is a criminal law. Hundreds of people have been put in jail for it. You can go to jail for up to 10 years for violating it, and the law has stood for more than 100 years. Payment networks and retailers have been fighting over whether or not Visa, MasterCard, and issuing banks are violators of the Sherman Antitrust Act for 30 years. And one of the earlier rulings goes back to 1986. There is ongoing litigation now. In fact, there are more than 15 different cases out there on this.…”