Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act--

Floor Speech

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Mr. MARSHALL. Madam President, I rise today to ask this body for unanimous consent to call up and make pending our amendment to add the Credit Card Competition Act to the substitute amendment for the FAA reauthorization bill.

Kansans elected me to fight for them in Washington, to give them a voice at the highest levels of government. I humbly took this job and that responsibility seriously. For that reason, I stand here today to say that I will not fall in line and cower to the standard operating procedures up here that puts U.S. Senators in the backseat and blocks us from bringing our priorities--the priorities of the people--to the floor.

Kansans want their voices to be heard and not sidelined by DC lobbyists and special interest groups who are blocking and tackling our priorities behind the scenes. Every Senator in this Chamber should have the right to hear and vote on their amendments. Many of my colleagues and I welcome this debate. It is healthy. Let's have the debates. Let's take the hard votes. What is the harm? I ask everybody: What is the harm of these discussions of these debates and then letting the cards fall as they may with each vote? Each Senator deserves the opportunity to bring their amendments to the floor and make their case.

Back home, I crisscross Kansas, meeting with small businesses and owners across the State. And at every meeting, they look me in the eyes and they say they need some type of relief. The price of business is simply too high and unfair. Outrageous swipe fees from Wall Street and the Visa-Mastercard duopoly are pulling the rug out from under them, making it unaffordable to do business. Americans pay seven times more than our friends in the European Union do for the same swipe fee, four times more than our friends in Canada.

So we took these concerns to Washington, and we got to work. But I never could have imagined the uphill battle we would face up here to do the right thing, for doing what is best for hard-working Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck.

As a physician, once we diagnose a problem, we think the treatment should be quick. Our patients demand that quick turnaround. Once we figure out what is wrong: ``Here is the solution. Let's do it.'' I don't want our patients to wait any more longer than they have to.

But in Washington, I have learned and realized that, too often, we see the problem, but we sit on the solutions if they are not popular with the people who cut the biggest checks up here. For too long, the Visa-Mastercard duopolies use money and influence in Washington to turn politicians' eyes away from predatory swipe fees. Right now the Visa- Mastercard duopoly and four mega banks are robbing our American small businesses at the highest rate in the world with credit card swipe fees totaling over 90 billion--that is 90 with a ``b,'' billion--dollars each year.

These swipe fees are inflation multipliers on businesses and the consumers. Often, credit card swipe fees are one of business's highest costs, often topping utilities, rent, or even the employees' healthcare costs.

Mom-and-pop shops across Kansas, hotels across Kansas, franchise owners across Kansas, consumers are all asking for relief to be able to sell their goods at a lower price and hire more employees, which I know this Chamber all agrees with is a good thing. If only they could get Wall Street out of the way of Main Street's success.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses, the voice of small businesses, said 92 percent of their members are asking for this--92 percent. So 92 percent of small businesses are telling Congress how we can help them, yet this body refuses to vote on it. It is not going to cost taxpayers a dime. And 92 percent of businesses want this.

It has been 2 long years since Senator Durbin and I introduced this bill--2 years of fighting, asking, begging for a vote. For 2 years, we have gotten nothing but excuses and empty promises and assurances. We begged for committee hearings, with no results. Crickets. Why are they so afraid to have a committee hearing up here even on this? It is because they are afraid of the truth. We jumped through every hoop asked of us by leadership to try to advance this legislation for a vote. Enough posturing.

Kansan legend and Statesman Bob Dole once said.

Leaders stand ready to make the hard decisions and to live with the consequences. They don't pass it off to somebody else.

I know this won't be popular for beltway insiders and Wall Street lobbyists, but it is good for small businesses. It is good for hard- working Americans.

I made my decision. I am sticking with Main Street every single time. I am sticking with hard-working Americans who take their lunch pail to work.

Madam President, I will close today with a reminder to this Chamber: I will not stop fighting until we get this vote.

1936.
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