[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1675-S1676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-5. A resolution adopted by the House of Representatives 
     of the State of Michigan urging the Congress of the United 
     States to take steps to insure that the Wall Street Reform 
     and Consumer Protection Act does not result in increased fees 
     on consumers at exempted institutions; to the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

                        House Resolution No. 21

       Whereas, under certain provisions (section 1075) of the 
     Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Public Law 
     No. 111-203), the Federal Reserve Board is required to issue 
     regulations that would provide for reasonable interchange 
     transaction fees for electronic debit transactions and place 
     limitations on payment card network restrictions; and
       Whereas, in drafting Section 1075, Congress included 
     language to exempt small issuers from this provision, 
     defining small institutions as those ``with less than $10 
     billion in total assets.'' Small issuers rely on debit 
     interchange fees to provide free checking services to their 
     customers and to cover costs associated with fraud prevention 
     and data security. If these costs were not fully recoverable, 
     small issuers would be unable to offer debit services to 
     their customers, and the result could be decreased consumer 
     choice and higher fees. Because of these concerns, Congress 
     specifically exempted those institutions with less than $10 
     billion in assets; and
       Whereas, the Federal Reserve Board's current debit 
     interchange fee regulatory proposal (Docket No. R-1404) could 
     lead to the unintended consequences of increasing costs on 
     consumers and limiting consumer choice. The proposal does not 
     include any provision designed to enforce the carve-out for 
     small issuers. It is incumbent on Congress to revisit this 
     issue and help insure that these regulations do not 
     ultimately result in less choice and higher costs for 
     consumers: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge 
     Congress to stop or delay the implementation of Section 1075 
     so that statutory changes can be made to ensure institutions 
     with less than $10 billion in assets are

[[Page S1676]]

     exempted without consequence in order to ensure Section 1075 
     does not result in increased fees on consumers at exempted 
     institutions; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.

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