Senator Marshall: President Trump is Making the American Dream Achievable Again

Senator Marshall Joins KCMO's Mundo in the Morning with Pete Mundo to Discuss the Credit Card Competition Act

Washington - On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), joined KCMO'sMundo in the Morning with Pete Mundo to discuss his work with President Trump to pass the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) and make the American Dream a possibility for all Americans again.

Click HERE or on the image above for Senator Marshall's full interview.

On the benefits of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA):

"Yeah, well, good morning, Pete. And I do appreciate, you know, the thought and the question. Our credit card bill increases competition; it's going to lower the cost of gas and groceries 1-2%. I'm a free market capitalist like you are, but when there's monopolies that are present, that are putting the shaft to American consumers, then something needs to be done. Very briefly, there's two credit card companies and five Wall Street banks, controlling about 85% of the credit card business. Because of that, Americans are paying seven times more in swipe fees than folks in the EU, and the interest that we're getting charged is 20-30%. That's predatory loans, right? The credit cards have a net profit margin-Visa and MasterCard: 45% and 55%; the bank's net profit margin: 20-30%. So they are screwing Americans. And in this day, when I have so many-when I have a significant number of young couples, young families, single moms, that can't make ends meet. They have, on average, $7,000 of credit they're carrying over, they're getting charged 30% interest, they can't make it."

On breaking up the Visa-MasterCard monopoly:

"I think when there's a monopoly, yes. I wish the Justice Department had went in there and broke them up but for whatever reason, that doesn't ever happen. Again, I'm always going to err on the side of Main Street; I'm going to err on the side of hardworking Americans. To heck with Wall Street banks, they're not doing anybody any good in Kansas. And I want to emphasize two things. Number one is, what we do in our credit card bill is force competition. When Dick Durbin brought this to me, he wanted to put a cap on it like Europe and I said, "No, we won't do that." All we're doing is forcing banks that, in addition to having Visa or MasterCard as one of the networks to use on that technology for the swipe, they have to choose somebody else. It can't be from China, the bank gets to pick it. So, I think it's the win-win situation. And by the way, there's not one bank or credit union that calls Kansas home-that's from Kansas-that will be impacted. Any bank or credit union with less than $100 billion of access is exempted. So, we're hoping to bring this market back to community banks, to community credit unions, as well. So, I think that that was another thing I wanted was an exemption, basically, for community banks, who I think are just doing an incredible job, as well as the credit unions."

On how the CCCA will provide free-market competition:

"Right. So just like your debit card, if you pull out your debit card. If you listeners are driving, don't pull them out. But you're going to see that there's several different ways to run those through the system, the network that does the technology. So, when the bank issues the credit card, they can put Visa or MasterCard there on it, and then they'll have to choose at least one other network. Now, already in Europe, they're doing this, in China, they're doing it, so don't let the bank tell you they can't do it. They're doing it on your debit card; they're doing it overseas as well. And then you, the customer, you're not even going to know. Just like with your debit card, you don't know which one; when you take it to the retailer, you don't know which one of those four or five networks they are going to run that through. And by the way, crypto as well; very soon I think there'll be a crypto option on those credit cards."

On the effect of the CCCA on Credit Unions:

"Yeah. So, I'm not as familiar with the credit unions, but I assume that they're already issuing credit cards. And I'm just saying that there's only one credit union in the country that has assets above $100 billion, so they're not going to be impacted by this. If you got your credit card through a local credit union, they should not be impacted by this in any way, shape, or form."

On if the CCCA will prevent low-income families from getting credit:

"I don't, I think that's a false argument. As I pointed out earlier, banks with assets less than $100 billion can still charge 15-20%, or whatever it is. But Pete, think about this, you know I'm a big Dave Ramsey fan. If you're carrying $7000 or $10,000 over on your credit card every month, maybe you shouldn't borrow the money, maybe you should try to live within your means. And I understand, there's people listening that are that are like, "My gosh, how do I do it?" But for decades-for centuries-Americans lived without credit cards at all, and we certainly paid off our credit card every month as well. So, you know, when your interest is getting real high, basically the bank is saying, "Hey, you're living above your means? Do you really need three cell phones? Do you need five televisions? Do you need a new car?" And I'm not trying to be too critical, but I would go back and do the Dave Ramsey course if I'm carrying debt. Again, an average American family is carrying $7,000 of credit card debt, month-to-month at an interest rate between 20-30%. You can't make ends meet."

On helping families achieve the American Dream:

"I mean, you make a great point. I mean, the government certainly is not going to teach morals. And I'm not sure if this is a moral lesson anyway, on how to live within your means. You know, I guess Pete, I've become pretty pragmatic. You know, I have my values-you know we share faith and the same conservative, Judeo-Christian values-but I've become pragmatic. I woke up here, and all of a sudden, you know, these banks are just out of control. Big banks, Wall Street banks, are out of control; the credit unions are out of control. We have PBMs, which have a monopoly as well. Health insurance-you know, there's like one hospital system for every market area, there's one or two insurance companies for the entire state. So, what the government should do is roll back regulations; overregulation creates consolidation of industry. I think one of the reasons that small banks got out of the credit card industry is that: (a) the big banks could just do it more efficiently; and (b) it was just one more compliance issue for them. So, I think the federal government should be focused on rolling back regulations. I wish I didn't have to do this, I wish there was competition, I wish that the credit card companies would have been broken up. But they're not, and I just want to do whatever I can. And President Trump is absolutely committed to bringing down the cost of groceries. And again, our credit card bill is going to drive down the cost of gas and groceries by 1-2%. I mean, it'll be like close to zero inflation for gas or groceries the rest of the year if we pass our bill."

On working with President Trump on the CCCA:

"Well, we're on Trump time now, right? We're on Trump time. Let's put it this way- Friday afternoon, I'm driving home, to my home outside of Great Bend, and I'm almost to Hutchinson, and I get a call from my staff, "The president's going to call you in a second." I'm like, "Okay." It's Friday night-I don't know if it's seven o'clock-I'm at the Walmart parking lot in Hutchinson, Kansas, and I got to pick up some groceries. I'm talking to the President of the United States about this at seven or eight o'clock at night, in the Walmart parking lot in Hutchinson, Kansas, and it's snowing cats and dogs, by the way. And, I mean, I'm trying to tell you that we're on Trump time now. He said this 10% thing was going on, he wanted to cap things at 10%, he said, "Hey, Marshall's the credit card guy, get him on the phone," and away we go. And I bet I've talked and texted with the President a half a dozen times, and his staff, since then. So, we got to find a way to do it. You know, what, what, where, and when; who knows? We're on Trump time now. He is dead serious about lowering the cost of living for people, and you're going to see him doing it in housing. He's going to have a big announcement Friday. He wants me to come to the White House, and he's going to talk about his plan for health care, for housing. And that's what the Republicans are focused on: driving down the cost of living. Under Joe Biden, we got a 50% increase in housing; we got to figure that one out. Childcare is way up, property insurance, and health insurance. We inherited this mess, but we're going to clean it up, though."

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