April 12, 2011
The NAACP sent a second letter Monday to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) with the goal of clarifying the organization’s position on the proposed debit interchange limits, according to The Hill.
The group first wrote to Boehner in March that debit swipe fee caps “should be further examined fully to ensure that it does not have a negative impact on the communities it was meant to help.” (Read more)
“That letter raised some eyebrows on Capitol Hill, as it appeared the group had joined the fight to delay the new rules, an effort that had primarily been fought by large banks balking at the reduced fees,” wrote The Hill’s Peter Schroeder.
Yet Hilary Shelton, the director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, now claims the organization’s first letter was “misinterpreted.” In the second note, the NAACP stated that it advised a “swift review” of the debit regulation but did not support delaying implementation of the new limits.
“The group maintained that the call for a review should not be misconstrued as opposition to debt fee limits in general, calling the current system ‘uncompetitive, non-transparent, and harmful to consumer, particularly low- and middle-income consumers,” continued Schroeder.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is sponsoring the “Debit Interchange Fee Study Act of 2011,” which seeks to defer new debit interchange caps so that the regulation can be examined further.
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