During debate on the House floor, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) spoke in opposition to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule on digital payment systems at big tech companies.
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NewsTranscript
00:00We're here to deal with two regulations, the first dealing with payment systems,
00:05the second dealing with overdraft protection, and in both cases, I came here for the entertainment value,
00:12to watch Republican after Republican tell us how much they don't trust the Trump administration.
00:21It's as if Trump doesn't control the CFPB.
00:25The regulation we're considering now is just a regulation that says this is an area we're going to look at.
00:32And they're afraid the Trump administration will look at it.
00:35It doesn't do anything except begin a process.
00:39Why are we doing, as to both of these CRAs, the effect is not only to erase what was done under the Biden administration,
00:48but prohibit the new administration from adopting any consumer protection.
00:53Why? Because they want zero consumer protection, and they want the Trump administration to have an excuse.
01:02And the excuse is, Congress passed the CRA.
01:04We're prohibited from writing a regulation in that area.
01:09So the Republican administration could rewrite these rules.
01:15Congress could overwrite these rules.
01:18Instead, we're erasing the rules and prohibiting other rules from being there.
01:22Well, then, I spent this morning being told that we need to have cryptocurrency
01:30because it's going to be this great payment system.
01:35And for some reason, the payment systems that use U.S. dollars aren't good.
01:40And now I'm here on the floor being told that Venmo and its competitors are so wonderful
01:46that there should be absolutely no regulation.
01:51So on the one hand, we have to create a new currency for drug dealers.
01:54And on the other hand, the current system using the U.S. dollar shouldn't even be regulated because it's perfect.
02:01So why do we need to regulate here?
02:03First, to prevent excessive fees.
02:07Second, to prevent deception.
02:09But third, and this one's obvious, to prevent the loss of consumer money.
02:15Venmo is holding $7 billion of consumers' money.
02:19Now, if you have a tiny bank, a tenth, a hundredth the size of Venmo,
02:26you have to make sure that you have reserves.
02:28You can't take the money to the horse races.
02:31But Venmo, they can do anything with the money.
02:35And if they lose the $7 billion, well, you're a consumer, you're out of luck.
02:39And Trump can say it wasn't my fault because Congress prohibited us from having prudential regulations.
02:47If an entity in the transactions business is going to hold $7 billion of consumer money,
02:52shouldn't we at least make sure that the money is still there?
02:55And shouldn't we make sure that they don't engage in Botswana currency swaps
03:03and other or the highest risk transactions they can find to perhaps make a lot of money
03:09or lose all the consumers' money?
03:11Heads I win, tails the consumers lose.
03:13Let me take a minute or two to talk about the other regulation
03:17because after you vote against the first of these resolutions,
03:20you're going to feel so good that you're going to want to vote against the second one.
03:24This is the one that limits overdraft protection, overdraft fees to $5 for the big banks,
03:31the 175 biggest banks, or they can charge you what their actual cost is if it's more than $5.
03:38It requires disclosure of what these overdraft costs, fees are going to be.
03:44It will save American consumers $6.1 billion every year.
03:49So, if we're concerned about inflation, why shouldn't we tell the banks that overdraft is not a profit center?
03:58They recover their costs, maybe a little bit more, but you don't make the consumer say,
04:03turn to the consumer and say, you were so dumb you overdrafted, so we're going to hit you with a wild fee.
04:09I'll ask for another minute.
04:10Another 30 seconds, please.
04:12Gentleman's recognized for an additional 30 seconds.
04:16So, do not vote to prohibit regulation of payment systems.
04:22Do not vote to prohibit limitations on overdraft protection.
04:25Do not vote to allow $6.1 billion to be transferred from your constituents to the biggest banks in the country.
04:35Vote no, and then vote no again.