Credit Card Regulations

Congress is back at it again with more last-minute legislative antics. As the U.S. Senate considers the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act (S. 1582), which provides a regulatory structure for certain cryptocurrencies, certain lawmakers are attempting to slip the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) as well as a 10 percent interest rate cap on credit cards into the bill. Both proposed policies are price controls that empower the federal government to dictate how financial services offered and provided to consumers across the country. History shows that price controls are destructive policies that will deprive Americans of the financial products on which they currently rely.

Last week, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) filed the CCCA as an amendment to the GENIUS Act. This amendment would undermine the bill’s intent by harming consumers, reducing choice, and increasing risks for fraud by centralizing rather than decentralizing payments. It would create economic challenges, not economic freedom, The bill instructs the Federal Reserve to write regulations that would require banks, credit unions, and payment card networks to develop credit cards with hardware and software that enables the functionality of at least two networks. This would create artificial “competition,” and function as a price control that drags down credit-card interchange fees. The CCCA will assuredly distort the U.S. payment ecosystem by undermining payment security, largely eliminating rewards and cash back and reducing the overall allocation of credit to cardholders. Conservative groups wrote a letter making these points. This has also already happened in the past. An author of the CCCA, Sen.
Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) championed the eponymous Durbin amendment, which was enacted as a part of the Dodd-Frank Act. This imposed price controls on debit card interchange fees. This caused lenders to limit “access to free checking accounts and rewards programs.” The CCCA would also negatively affect small businesses. Enactment of the bill could cost small businesses $1 billion in rewards and $700 billion in revolving lines of credit — a devastating result that would contravene President Trump’s goal of reducing burdens on small businesses.

Another price control amendment that was filed to the GENIUS Act is Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) cap on credit card interest rates. While both individuals and businesses can all commiserate over the burden of higher interest rates, a rate cap is ill-conceived and reminiscent of policies pursued under President Jimmy Carter. In 1980, President Carter implemented price controls that ultimately shifted the cost of bank products onto consumers in the form of new fees. The caps also made it harder for lower-income Americans to access capital from financial institutions and lowered retail sales due to declining consumption. Soon after the credit controls were put in place, the U.S. economy overcorrected and deteriorated, exacerbating a recession and contributing to an economic slowdown. The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond acknowledged in 1990 that “Credit controls thus proved to be a blunt policy instrument whose economic impact was impossible to manage.” As so often happens, the best laid plans
of technocrats went awry. Like President Carter, Sen. Hawley filed his amendment as prices remain elevated beyond what the Fed deems non-inflationary. However, government-imposed price controls won't solve high prices. Which is why Congress should look beyond quick fixes that amount to politicians attempting to blunt the message of the marketplace.

Lawmakers should staunchly oppose policies that empower the Fed, harm credit-card security and rewards, harm small financial institutions, and reduce consumers’ access to credit. The Senate needs to reject the CCCA and interest-rate cap amendments.


Over the Counter Opportunities

People are accustomed to long and unnecessary doctor’s visits to receive a diagnosis and then have a prescription given to them. The process is tedious, costly, and in some cases, unnecessary. That old dynamic may be changing, as many come to realize the absurdity of locking away therapies behind the counter. Recently, health care and biotech writer Alex Kesin wrote to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging him to reclassify statins (which reduce blood cholesterol levels) as over-the-counter (OTC) medications. However, statins are just one of many medications that shouldn’t require physician approval. Patients should have the freedom and flexibility to take relatively safe medications that can save or better their lives. Asthma patients would also benefit from a similar OTC push for a medication called albuterol. Albuterol (a fast-acting bronchodilator) is widely used to treat asthma, and its safety profile supports over-the-counter availability. Its
use is generally well-tolerated over long periods of time, and common side effects (e.g., nervousness, coughing, throat irritation) are very rarely emergency situations. It’s when patients don’t have access to asthma medications like albuterol that trouble ensues.

A less-rigid regulatory approach would also benefit cancer patients. Ondansetron (brand name Zofran), a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist used to treat nausea and vomiting, has a strong safety record and high tolerability for even the most vulnerable patients. Originally approved in the U.S. in 1991 for chemotherapy-induced nausea, ondansetron is now widely prescribed off-label for pregnancy-related nausea, viral gastroenteritis, and post-operative nausea. Patients have noticed its miraculous ability in whisking away nausea in as little as thirty minutes. Similar to statins and albuterol, ondansetron is generally well-tolerated and side effects (e.g., headaches, fatigue, dry mouth, malaise, and constipation) are relatively mild. Numerous clinical studies confirm its minimal sedative effect, especially compared to older OTC medications such as diphenhydramine (brand name Benadryl), which carries more pronounced cognitive and anticholinergic side effects.

The main argument for limiting OTC access appears to be the association between ondansetron and a rare but potentially fatal heart condition called QT prolongation. But, this arrhythmia onset is exceedingly uncommon after taking the medication, and there isn’t a link at all for certain age groups. Surely, patients could simply be warned about the risk through prominent labeling rather than having to schedule a doctor’s visit. If doctors and policymakers trust patients to use NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and sleep aids responsibly, access to ondansetron shouldn’t be such a hassle. Medications such as statins, albuterol, and ondansetron have saved and improved millions of lives with minimal side-effects. While no drug is perfect, policymakers must weigh the manageable harms of less physician direction against the significant problems posed by lack of access. Statins should be just the start of a large push to reclassify safe and effective medications as over the counter.
These changes could usher in a whole new era of improved and expedited health care, resulting in significant savings for consumers and taxpayers.


BLOGS:

Tuesday: New Poll Shows Consumers Trust Private Payment Networks, Not Government ([link removed]) and Watchdog Group Slams Taxpayer Funding of Saudi-Owned Golf Tour ([link removed])

Wednesday: Federal Bill of the Month – May 2025: H.R. 3540 – Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Elimination ([link removed]) and State Bill of the Month – May 2025: Illinois SB1236 ([link removed])

Thursday: DOJ and USDA Crack Down on Food Stamp Fraud ([link removed])

Friday: The Remittance Tax Proposal Is Both Complex and Dangerous ([link removed])


MEDIA:

May 29, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund’s problematic spending habits.
May 29, 2025: Florida Daily (Fleming Island, Fl.) ran TPA's op-ed, “Price Controls Destroy Life-Saving Gene Therapies.”
May 29, 2025: The Capital Gazette (Baltimore, Md.) mentioned TPA in their story, “Taxpayer-backed Baltimore youth fund used credit card to pay crisis PR firm.”
May 29, 2025: The Maryland Gazette (Annapolis, Md.) mentioned TPA in their story, “Taxpayer-backed Baltimore youth fund used credit card to pay crisis PR firm.”
May 29, 2025: Tobacco Reporter mentioned TPA in their article, “Global Experts Warn WHO’s Anti-Harm Reduction Stance Undermines Goals”
May 30, 2025: The Boston Herald (Everett, Mass.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “More bureaucracy won’t boost health”
May 30, 2025: The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Md.) mentioned TPA in their story, “Taxpayer-backed Baltimore youth fund used credit card to pay crisis PR firm.”
May 30, 2025: National Review ran TPA’s op-ed, “Don’t Increase Taxes and Crowd Out Civil Society.”
May 30, 2025: WKRC (Cincinnati, Ohio) mentioned TPA in their news segment on the DC Streetcars.
May 30, 2025: RealClearMarkets ran TPA’s op-ed, “Republicans Must Reject Control of Credit Cards.”
June 1, 2025: WZTA Radio (West Palm Beach, Fl.) mentioned TPA in their news segment on the One Big Beautiful Bill.
June 1, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about Mayor Scott’s budget proposal could impact taxpayers.
June 1, 2025: The Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) mentioned TPA in their story, “Hamill: In tax policy, what happened to citing the law?”
June 1, 2025: Cleveland.Com Cleveland, Ohio) ran TPA’s op-ed, Don’t make the flaws of a federal drug program worse in Ohio.”
June 2, 2025: Issues & Insights ran TPA's op-ed, More Over-The-Counter Meds Can Make America Healthy Again.”
June 2, 2025: The Well News ran TPA's op-ed, “Bringing Back the CCCA is a Slap in the Face to Americans Facing Economic Uncertainty”
June 2, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) mentioned TPA in their story, “Expert says Baltimore City School's spending increase won't boost graduation rates.”
June 2, 2025: Citrus Country Chronicle (Crystal River, Fl.) ran TPA's op-ed, “More bureaucracy and red tape on food is not what the doctor ordered.”
June 3, 2025: Sunday Gazette (Charleston, Wv.) ran TPA's op-ed, “MAHA needs to go back to the drawing board.”
June 3, 2025: Jacksonville Journal (Jacksonville, Il.) ran TPA's op-ed, “More bureaucracy and red tape on food is not what the doctor ordered.”
June 3, 2025: The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, Wv.) ran TPA's op-ed, “MAHA needs to go back to the drawing board.”
June 3, 2025: WJLA TV (Washington, D.C.) interviewed me about the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement’s budget.
June 3, 2025: Kearney Hub (Kearney, Ne.) ran TPA's op-ed, “Send MAHA back to drawing board on food safety.”
June 4, 2025: Times Argus (Barre, Vt.) ran TPA's op-ed, “MAHA needs to go back to the drawing board.”
June 4, 2025: Dan Savickas appeared on the Scott Sloan Show on WLW-700 AM (Cincinnati, Ohio) to talk about the Big Beautiful Bill.
June 5, 2025: WBOB-AM (Jacksonville, Fl.) interviewed me about government spending.

Have a great weekend!

Best,

David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1101 14th Street, NW
Suite 500
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx

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