House Passes Gosar Amendment and Bill to Stop Executive Abuse Under Operation Choke Point
Statement
Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after the House successfully passed H.R. 766, the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act, which included the Congressman's amendment to increase transparency by requiring that financial institutions provide notice to customers if their account is ordered to be terminated by federal banking regulators:
"One of the many ways the federal government has abused its power under the Obama Administration is through unconstitutional programs like Operation Choke Point. Appallingly, President Obama and the Attorney General have put unwarranted pressure on banks and payment processors to shut down gun stores, pawn shops and other businesses they don't support. This administration has been staunch in its assault on the Second Amendment, and this horrific program is another tool utilized by the president and the Department of Justice to infringe upon the rights of lawful gun owners and businesses.
"Operation Choke Point is a shameful example of the Obama Administration weaponizing federal agencies in order to hand pick winners and losers by intimidating financial institutions into implementing its political agenda. American citizens do not want big government to have the power to arbitrarily terminate their accounts at financial institutions based solely on ideological opposition to individuals or certain organizations. My amendment will increase transparency and protect consumers throughout the nation from lawless executive overreach."
Prior to passage of the Gosar amendment, Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning stated, "ALG strongly supports Representative Gosar's common sense amendment to the H.R. 766 protecting customers of financial institutions by increasing transparency between them and the federal government. The federal government has no constitutional power to take actions against individuals without due process, and Gosar's amendment will ensure that if a financial institution does take any action against an individual or business terminating their account at the behest of the feds, it must notify the customer why it is doing so."
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