Joco Today

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D., has taken to the Senate Floor to request unanimous consent for a vote on adding the Credit Card Competition Act to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization. This bipartisan bill has been blocked from receiving a vote by Senate Leadership for two years.

Senator Marshall pledged not to back down until a vote is received. He noted that small businesses across the country are currently paying the world's highest swipe fees. Wall Street megabanks and Visa-Mastercard lobbyists have strongly opposed this vote, which would introduce competition into the payment processing industry and provide relief to Kansas Merchants.

The senator reaffirmed his commitment to Mainstreet over Wall Street on the Senate Floor. Highlights from Senator Marshall’s remarks include:

“Kansans elected me to fight for them in Washington, to give them a voice at the highest levels of government... I stand here today to say that I will not fall in line and cower to the ‘standard operating procedures’ up here that puts United States Senators in the backseat and blocks us from bringing our priorities of the people to the floor."

"Each Senator deserves the opportunity to bring their amendments to the floor and make their case... And at every meeting, they look me in the eyes and they say they need some type of relief.”

"For too long, the Visa MasterCard duopoly has used money and influence in Washington to turn politicians’ eyes away from predatory swipe fees... Right now, foreign mega banks are robbing our American small businesses at the highest rate in the world.”

"I know this won’t be popular for beltway insiders and Wall Street lobbyists, but it’s good for small businesses, it’s good for hardworking Americans... Madam President, I’ll close today with a reminder to this chamber. I will not stop fighting until we get this vote.”