WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released the following statement today after the Senate’s failure to adopt S. Amdt. 392, to improve the regulatory structure for electronic debit card transactions.
“I am disappointed the Senate will not review the Federal Reserve’s proposed rule on interchange and I am concerned it will have a negative impact on consumers, credit unions, and the financial sector in Delaware.
“The Fed’s rule does not guarantee consumers will benefit from reduced rates, and inadvertently creates a mechanism that could destabilize some of our small, community banking institutions.
“I will continue to monitor the Fed’s final rulemaking and will continue to advocate for common-sense solutions that do no harm.”
Earlier today, Senator Coons issued a statement for the record in favor of the Amendment, which was introduced with bipartisan support. It requires the Federal Reserve to spend six months revising their earlier rule proposal so as not to threaten the viability of our nation’s banking institutions, with an additional six-month review and implementation period to follow. In addition to cosponsoring S. Amdt. 392, Senator Coons was also an original cosponsor of Senator Tester’s earlier bill, the Debit Interchange Study Act (S. 575), off of which this amendment is based.
The full text of Senator Coons’ statement for the record can be read at: http://coons.senate.gov/newsroom/statements_and_speeches/senator-coons-floor-statement-on-tester-corker-interchange-amendment-
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