Government Agencies Agree

"This bill may actually harm consumers, not benefit them."
- The Department of Justice, June 23, 2008

Members of Congress Agree

"I respectfully suggest that any market must be severely dysfunctional before Congress considers supplanting our antitrust laws with onerous and unjustified antitrust exemptions and price controls."
- Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI)

"I don't prefer banks to retailers, but I do prefer consumers to either. Congressional efforts to 'pick the merchants as winners' in the marketplace will only hurt consumers."
- Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX)

Editorial Boards Agree

“An antitrust waiver for the merchants would amount to a congressional attempt to rig a deal in the merchants’ favor. If it succeeded, it too would be likely to yield increased fees to customers.”
- By the Editors, National Review

"No one should want the precedent of punishing a business for winning huge numbers of voluntary customers by outcompeting rivals."
- The Wall Street Journal (March 29, 2008)

Experts Agree

"In short, this legislation may harm consumers, is unprecedented, and is unnecessary."
- Letter to Chairman John Conyers from Timothy J. Muris, former Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission; Robert Pitofsky, former Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission; John H. Shenefield, former member of the Antitrust Modernization Commission; and R. Hewitt Pate, former Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice (July 15, 2008)

Consumer & Economic Groups Agree

“We firmly believe that government intervention will get in the way of the market. We ask that you reconsider your legislative proposal and let our entrepreneurial spirit flourish.”
- National Black Chamber of Commerce

“One way or another, it's government getting involved in setting prices,” says Raymond Keating, chief economist for the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council. “Businesses should be aware that it's a very dangerous precedent...that you turn to the government if you don't like prices, rather than looking for alternatives in the marketplace.”
- U.S. News and World Report

Local Community Banks and Credit Unions AGREE

"A congressional proposal to have companies negotiate card-processing rates with retailers is, at its heart, legalized price-fixing. This solution would be a disservice to consumers and certainly a disservice to merchants because their access to electronic payments would be restricted."
- Steve Bartlett, President and CEO, Financial Services Roundtable USA Today, Letter to the Editor (July 21, 2008) Full letter »

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