[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 185 (Tuesday, November 19, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





 INTRODUCTION OF THE PROTECTING CONSUMERS FROM MARKET MANIPULATION ACT

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                     HON. JESUS G. ``CHUY'' GARCIA

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 19, 2019

  Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I am proud to introduce the 
Protecting Consumers from Market Manipulation Act, which guards against 
market manipulation in a range of industries by strengthening the 
separation of banking and commerce.
  For decades, federal banking regulation has established a separation 
between banking and commerce. This longstanding doctrine--a fundamental 
underpinning of the Bank Holding Company Act (BHCA)--is spurred by the 
belief that banks should not use their leverage as financial actors to 
game economic outcomes. Under the doctrine, banks may facilitate 
business through the extension and underwriting of loans, etc., but not 
through direct production or sale of goods. Commercial entities were 
purposefully walled off from the definition of banking in order to 
avoid conflicts of interests between the actors and operators of 
markets.
  Now is a crucial moment to strengthen the separation between banking 
and commerce, with tech giants like Facebook, Google, and Uber moving 
swiftly into financial services. We know we can't trust big monopolies 
with our financial information. The potential for collusion and 
manipulation of outcomes is just too great. This bill will keep tech 
companies and other large non-financial companies from deriving more 
than 5 percent of their annual revenue from banking activity.
  This bill also shores up the banking/commerce separation by limiting 
commodities ownership by commercial banks. When the lines between 
banking and commerce are blurred, monopolization and concentration are 
usually the result. Working people suffer the consequences, whether 
it's Big Tech undermining small businesses or big banks gouging 
consumers by manipulating the price of oil, aluminum, and electricity. 
We must protect consumers from big banks and big tech--and separate 
banking and commerce.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

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