[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 204 (Thursday, December 3, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H6054-H6055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          OCC FAIR ACCESS RULE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Barr) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency's recently proposed rule to ensure fair 
access to banking services.
  The fair access rule is a welcomed development in a time when 
political correctness and public relations pressure are driving the 
Nation's largest banks' lending decisions rather than risk metrics 
associated with an underlying loan.
  Banks are deciding to cut off access to capital, divest their 
holdings, or otherwise limit financing to legally operating businesses 
just because those businesses are politically unpopular with outspoken 
critics on the far extreme left. Politicizing access to capital needs 
to end, and the Fair Access rule is a step in the right direction.
  Mr. Speaker, the proposed rulemaking codifies longstanding principles 
and OCC guidance that banks should provide access to capital and credit 
based on the assessment of an individual borrower's risk as opposed to 
making broad-based decisions impacting entire industries. It is guided 
by fundamental principles of nondiscrimination and would ensure that 
banks can't pick winners and losers in the marketplace. This rule will 
have meaningful impacts on some of America's strongest industries and 
the Americans they serve.

  The prohibition against redlining based on race, ethnicity, or 
neighborhood, regardless of an individual's qualifications and 
creditworthiness, is a well-established principle in Federal law. That 
prohibition and that principle should be extended to lawful 
creditworthy businesses as well.
  Mr. Speaker, over the last several years, we have witnessed many 
cases of banks publicly committing not to do business with certain 
legal companies. Some banks refuse to finance new coal-fired plants; 
others have refused to provide credit for legally permissible drilling 
operations; others boycotted firearms manufacturers.
  But these decisions were not based on the creditworthiness of the 
borrowers; they were based purely on politics.
  Coal keeps the lights on. Oil and gas heat our homes and fuel our 
vehicles.
  Should coal or oil or gas companies be subjected to a different 
lending standard just because of their public perception by a select 
few? Of course not.
  These industries should not be penalized simply because of the nature 
of their business and private lenders' desire to placate the far left. 
In fact, these are companies that provide the most affordable and 
reliable forms of energy to the American people. They are being 
punished only because they are politically unpopular.
  Under the rule, banks can no longer make these qualitative decisions 
to redline entire industries. Industries that play crucial roles in the 
everyday lives of Americans deserve fair access to America's financial 
system and should not be demonized as pawns in the politics of the day.
  Banks are in the business of assessing, measuring, and managing 
risks. Banks should be making lending decisions based on quantifiable 
risks associated with a loan. If a legally operating business is a 
sound credit risk by objective standards, banks should not be permitted 
to cut off financing simply because the business isn't in the good 
graces of certain politicians.
  Many of the rule's detractors say it is an overreach by the OCC or 
somehow motivated by partisan goals; but, in reality, the rule simply 
implements directives under Dodd-Frank to promote fair access to 
financial services and

[[Page H6055]]

fair treatment of customers. It codifies in regulation statements and 
guidance from financial regulators under President Obama.
  In 2014, then-Comptroller Tom Curry said to regulated banks:

       You shouldn't feel that you can't bank a customer just 
     because they fall into a category that, on its face, appears 
     to carry an elevated level of risk. Higher risk categories of 
     customers call for stronger risk management and controls, not 
     a strategy of total avoidance.

  Now, some critics of the OCC's rule have made the argument that it 
would compromise financial stability to force lenders to extend credit 
to dying industries, such as the fossil energy industry, that have no 
future under leftwing policies like the Green New Deal.
  Has it ever occurred to these politicians that the reason why these 
fossil energy companies might face a challenging future is because of 
their own policies and because of their unrelenting desire to deny them 
the credit that they need to continue to operate.
  Mr. Speaker, the debanking of certain legally operating industries is 
one in a series of examples of corporate leaders succumbing to the 
pressure of activists and far-left politicians. They have ceded the 
primacy of shareholders and are now letting politics drive their 
financing decisions.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Acting Comptroller Brooks on proposing this 
thoughtful and timely rule of nondiscrimination. This rule will ensure 
that all legal American companies have full access to the robust U.S. 
financial system and the economic freedom they deserve, and it will put 
an end to the misguided practice of banks playing politics with 
American jobs.

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