[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9494]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      SUPPORT THE DURBIN AMENDMENT

  (Mr. WELCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, small businesses and consumers 
scored a major victory, finally, against abusive credit card practices 
by big banks and Visa MasterCard. By a strong bipartisan vote of 64-33, 
the Senate passed an amendment to the Wall Street reform legislation, 
cracking down on those out-of-control credit and debit card swipe fees.
  Known as the Durbin amendment, this practical, commonsense language 
prevents card issuers from endlessly increasing costs borne by small 
businesses, costs that for many stores add up to more than the cost of 
health care. It also restricts some of the industry's most 
anticompetitive practices, finally allowing stores to give you a cash 
discount.
  I urge my colleagues in the House to stand up for small businesses, 
provide them the protection they deserve, and support inclusion of the 
Durbin amendment in the final package of Wall Street reform.

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