Disapproving the Rule Submitted By the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Relating to ``Defining Larger Participants of A Market for General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Applications''

Floor Speech

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, we are here to deal with two regulations, the first dealing with payment systems, and the second dealing with overdraft protection. In both cases, I came here for the entertainment value to watch Republican after Republican tell us how much the majority doesn't trust the Trump administration. It is as if Trump doesn't control the CFPB.

Mr. Speaker, the regulation we are considering now is just a regulation that says that this is an area we are going to look at. Republicans are afraid the Trump administration will look at it. It doesn't do anything except begin a process.

Mr. Speaker, as to both of these CRAs, the effect is not only to erase what was done under the Biden administration but prohibit the new administration from adopting any consumer protection. That is because my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want zero consumer protection and the Trump administration to have an excuse.

The excuse is: Congress passed the CRA. We are prohibited from writing a regulation in that area.

The Republican administration could rewrite these rules. Congress could overwrite these rules. Instead, we are erasing the rules and prohibiting other rules from being there.

Mr. Speaker, I spent this morning being told that we need to have cryptocurrency because it is going to be this great payment system and, for some reason, the payment systems that use U.S. dollars aren't good. Now I am here on the floor being told that Venmo and its competitors are so wonderful that there should be absolutely no regulation.

On the one hand, we have to create a new currency for drug dealers, and, on the other hand, the current system using the U.S. dollar shouldn't even be regulated because it is perfect.

Why do we need to regulate here? First, to prevent excessive fees; second, to prevent deception; but, third--and this is obvious--to prevent the loss of consumer money.

Venmo is holding $7 billion of consumers' money. If you have a tiny bank that is one-tenth or one-hundredth the size of Venmo, you have to make sure that you have reserves. You can't take the money to the horse races. Yet, Venmo can do anything with the money. If they lose the $7 billion, you as a consumer are out of luck, and Trump can say: It wasn't my fault because Congress prohibited us from having prudential regulations.

If an entity in the transactions business is going to hold $7 billion of consumers' money, shouldn't we at least make sure that the money is still there, and shouldn't we make sure that they don't engage in Botswana currency swaps and others with the highest risk transactions they can find to perhaps make a lot of money or lose all of the consumers' money. Heads, I win. Tails, the consumers lose.

Mr. Speaker, I will take 1 minute or 2 to talk about the other regulation because, after Members vote against the first of these resolutions, you are going to feel so good that you are going to want to vote against the second one.

This is the one that limits overdraft fees to $5 for the big banks, the 175 biggest banks, or they can charge what their actual cost is if it is more than $5. It requires disclosure of what these overdraft fees are going to be.

It will save American consumers $6.1 billion every year. If we are concerned about inflation, why shouldn't we tell the banks that overdraft is not a profit center? They can recover their costs or maybe a little bit more, but they don't turn to the consumer and say: You were so dumb that you had an overdraft, so we are going to hit you with a wild fee.

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, do not vote to prohibit regulation of payment systems. Do not vote to prohibit limitations on overdraft protection. Do not vote to allow $6.1 billion to be transferred from constituents to the biggest banks in the country. Vote ``no,'' and then vote ``no'' again.

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