WASHINGTON--Senator Roger Marshall has filed a non-germane amendment to the Housing for the 21st Century Act that would insert the Credit Card Competition Act’s government-mandated routing provisions into the legislation.
The amendment revives a proposal that would disrupt the credit card payments system, harm consumers, and small financial institutions, and primarily benefit the largest retailers in the country—not lower the cost of housing for working families, America's Credit Unions stressed.
This effort comes as more than 6,000 credit union advocates are on Capitol Hill this week as part of America’s Credit Unions’ Governmental Affairs Conference Hill Hikes, urging lawmakers to reject the Durbin-Marshall credit card mandates and protect consumers’ access to safe and affordable credit.
“While we support the Housing for the 21st Century Act, attaching the Credit Card Competition Act to a housing bill would do nothing to address the housing affordability challenges facing working families, nor would it change the underlying facts," stated Scott Simpson, president and CEO, America’s Credit Unions. "And it would do nothing to protect the American consumer. This proposal would still disrupt a secure and well-functioning credit card system in ways that hurt consumers and small financial institutions, including increased fraud risk, weakened consumer protections, and limited access to affordable credit for millions of credit union members. Lawmakers should reject any amendments related to credit card mandates.”
The Defense Credit Union Council strongly opposed the move by Marshall.
"While the proposal is often framed as promoting competition, the reality is that it would impose a government routing mandate on credit unions and other financial institutions that risks undermining the secure, reliable payments system millions of Americans rely on every day," said DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak. "For defense credit unions that serve servicemembers, veterans, and their families, this policy could have serious unintended consequences. The Durbin-Marshall proposal would effectively force transactions onto the cheapest network rather than the most secure one, increasing fraud risk, threatening credit card rewards programs, and reducing access to responsible credit options for military households."
Stverak pointed out this "playbook" has been seen before.
"Similar government intervention in the debit card market did not deliver the promised savings for consumers but instead led to fewer benefits and higher costs for many households. Congress should not repeat that mistake—particularly by inserting such sweeping changes into legislation focused on housing policy," he said. "DCUC urges lawmakers to keep the housing bill focused on expanding access to affordable housing and reject efforts to use it as a vehicle for unrelated payment-system mandates that would primarily benefit large retailers while putting consumers and military families at risk. Credit unions remain ready to work with Congress on solutions that truly strengthen competition, protect consumers, and preserve the financial readiness of America’s military community."