The following content is sponsored by the Electronic Payments Coalition.
Upset that Congressional action on their flawed credit card bill has stalled, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) have resorted to seeking government-backed retribution against those opposed to their bill.
Sens. Durbin and Marshall’s credit card bill seeks to place government mandates on credit card routing, altering the current system in place by introducing untested networks and threatening card rewards. In response, Airlines for America (A4A) and several airline unions have expressed their opposition to the bogus bill. A4A also released a study outlining the significant harm the Durbin-Marshall bill would cause to the travel and tourism industry and the U.S. economy overall.
The study highlights how 30 million Americans rely on airline-affiliated cards to accrue credit card rewards and loyalty points. These cards help Americans earn points or miles, which accumulate over time and allow the cardholder to receive perks, like class upgrades, access to airport lounges, extra baggage allowance, priority booking and even free flights.
Without these perks, many Americans would lose the ability to afford travel – a loss that would come as a devastating blow to the American economy.
A4A estimates that airline credit cards paid for fifteen million domestic visitor trips, which adds up to $23 billion of economic activity for the year 2022 alone.
With the loss of these airline credit card benefits, the travel and tourism industry would take a $23 billion hit, leading to the loss of thousands of jobs. Cities and states that thrive on tourism would suffer. The last thing our country’s economy needs is a hit to a trillion-dollar industry.
It is clear how dangerous this credit card legislation is, but Sens. Durbin and Marshall are trying to silence their opponents and support the mega-stores bankrolling the bill’s supporters. Now, Sens. Durbin and Marshall are using their power to weaponize the federal government, targeting the airline industry and any other opponents who stand in their way.
After Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra met with Sen. Durbin, the CFPB and Department of Transportation announced a joint hearing on airline reward and loyalty programs, slated for May 9. The agencies claim they want to gather information to decide if more action is needed to “ensure fair competition.” Meanwhile, there are no checks in place for the unfair practices of these mega-stores as they continue to raise prices, despite the financial struggles their customers are facing.
We cannot let Durbin and Marshall bully their way into passing bad legislation. No matter what threats they make, it doesn’t change the cold hard truth: this bill will not help Americans or small businesses on Main Street.
This legislation will harm everyday Americans, the state of the economy, community financial institutions and the millions of travel and tourism jobs in cities across the country. Americans cannot afford to lose just so Sens. Durbin and Marshall can win.
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