In an amazingly unanimous vote, the Republican and Democrat state senators condemned a specific amendment from U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and the corresponding proposed rule from the Federal Reserve implementing a debit price control scheme that benefits Walgreens, Home Depot, and some of the nation’s biggest retailers and shifts costs to consumers in terms of loss of free checking, higher bank fees, and reduced card rewards.
Referring to “Section 1075,” also known as the Durbin Amendment, the resolution states: “We urge Congress to stop or delay the implementation of Section 1075 so that statutory changes can be made… to ensure Section 1075 does not result in increased fees on consumers.” The resolution also expressed concern that the Durbin Amendment would harm credit unions and community banks, which were given technical exemptions that turned out to hardly shield them from the law’s costs.
This may not yet be Waterloo for the Durbin Amendment, let alone Dodd-Frank, but it will certainly add to the increasing scrutiny — scrutiny that will be under way today at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. It’s also difficult to imagine a more stinging defeat for a Senate Majority Whip than to have all the members of his own party in the legislative chamber of a state in close proximity to the one he represents vote to condemn his amendment and one of his pet causes.
Read more: The American Spectator