Durbin Amendment Offers No Fairy Tale Ending for Consumers

In Washington, sometimes the facts get in the way of a good story when it comes to advocating for changes to public policy. Eventually, the facts have the pesky ability to expose the cold hard truth of a well-spun fairy tale. This is what happened when price controls were enacted on debit card transactions and consumers suffered as a result.

An amendment authored by Senator Durbin was attached to Dodd-Frank and passed in the dead of night with little scrutiny or debate. The provision, which dictates price controls on debit card transactions, was hailed as a consumer benefit because advocates said that the money it generated would go directly back into the pockets of hardworking Americans.

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