The following content is sponsored by the Electronic Payments Coalition.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) was against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) before he was for it.
As recently as 2021, he cosponsored the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Accountability Act and believed the CFPB’s funding structure was unconstitutional. And, just last summer, he signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court again arguing the Bureau’s unconstitutionality.
Despite his multi-year campaign to dismantle the Bureau, he has changed course now that it benefits his own agenda. Sen. Marshall has decided to align himself with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) in calling on the CFPB and President Biden’s Department of Transportation (DOT) to go after American companies for no other reason than they oppose a bill his political backers support.
This is just the latest example of Sens. Marshall and Durbin’s determination to seek retribution against those who oppose their disastrous credit card bill.
Sens. Durbin and Marshall’s credit card bill proposes placing big government mandates on how your credit card is processing, altering the current system by introducing untested networks. This system might help corporate mega-stores save money, but it threatens card rewards and consumer data security in a time when Americans need financial peace of mind and more security – not less.
Many everyday Americans, including Sen. Marshall’s constituents in Kansas, rely on credit card points for help with expenses, which is a popular feature used by airlines. Airlines for America (A4A) and several airline unions are vocal about their opposition to the Marshall-Durbin bill. Recently, A4A released a study outlining the significant harm the bill would cause to the travel and tourism industry and the U.S. economy. A4A’s study shows that 30 million Americans rely on airline-affiliated cards to accrue credit card rewards and frequent flyer miles. With these credit cards, Americans earn points or miles, which accumulate over time and allow the cardholder to receive helpful perks, like class upgrades, access to airport lounges, extra baggage allowance, priority booking, and even free flights.
A4A estimates that airline credit card rewards cover 15 million domestic visitor trips, equating to $23 billion of economic activity in 2022 alone. Without these perks, many Americans could not afford to travel, affecting their quality of life and dealing a blow to the American economy. Thousands of Americans would lose their jobs, and cities and states that thrive on tourism would suffer drastically. The last thing our country’s economy needs is a hit to such an important industry.
Instead of listening to the facts, Sens. Durbin and Marshall have added anyone or any company daring to speak up to their list of targets for their retribution tour.
The retribution tour includes putting the airline industry on trial before the CFPB and DOT. After CFPB Director Chopra met with Sen. Durbin, the CFPB and the DOT quickly announced a May 9 joint hearing on airline reward and loyalty programs, claiming they need to gather information.
Sen. Marshall has proven to choose political ambition over those he was elected to represent – going as far as teaming up with an agency he just a few months ago said was unconstitutional in order to get revenge on those who critique his bill.
The Durbin-Marshall credit card bill is dangerous and will harm everyday Americans. Let’s be clear: anyone who shows support for the Senator’s dangerous weaponization of the government against Americans is attacking the right to oppose bad policy.
