Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is championing the CHOICE Act, a bill that would repeal and replace Dodd-Frank, providing “economic growth for all, bank bailouts for none.” Hersarling’s legislation would end the taxpayer-funded bailouts of large financial institutions; relieve strongly capitalized banks from the “growth-strangling regulation” that slows has slowed the economy and harmed consumers; and impose tougher penalties on those who commit fraud.
The bill also contains a critical provision that is targeted at ending what is known as the Durbin Amendment, a crony provision inserted at the behest of Walgreens — the billion-dollar retailer conveniently based out of Sen. Dick Durbin’s home state of Illinois. The Durbin Amendment imposed government price controls on debit card fees that retailers are charged when consumers use their debit cards. This was a lose-lose for consumers: The revenue losses associated with the government-imposed price cap led many banks to eliminate free checking and limit awards programs like airline mileage bonuses for purchases.