03.09.21

Sullivan Cosponsors Cramer’s Fair Access to Banking Act

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) recently signed on as a cosponsor of the Fair Access to Banking Act, legislation introduced by Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) to prevent discrimination by banks and financial service providers against constitutionally-protected industries and law-abiding businesses.

“As we work to build momentum toward a robust and lasting economic recovery from this pandemic, the last thing our country needs is America’s large financial institutions blacklisting whole sectors of the economy, and hurting our workers and communities,” said Senator Sullivan. “After Alaska energy projects—which employ thousands of hard-working Americans—were targeted by the Big Banks in late 2019, we worked for months with federal officials, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, to prevent this kind of discrimination against industries that have fallen out of favor with radical left-wing activists. I am glad to join Senator Cramer in introducing legislation to establish this commonsense policy in law, bring substantial consequences for banks that violate it, and protect every American business’ fair access to capital in order to create jobs and help strengthen our communities.”

“Fairness matters,” said Senator Cramer. “There is no place in our society for discrimination, and big banks are no exception. Financial service providers do not have the right to circumvent the Constitution or the law to create de-facto bans on legally-compliant businesses like energy producers or firearms manufacturers when they believe it is politically convenient. Our legislation makes it illegal to do so and imposes serious consequences on those who choose to violate the law.” 

The purpose of the Fair Access to Banking Act is to protect fair access to financial services and to ensure banks operate in a safe and sound manner, basing their judgements and decisions on impartial, individualized risk-based analysis developed through empirical data and evaluated under quantifiable standards. If enacted, the bill would:

  • Penalize banks and credit unions with over $10 billion in total consolidated assets, or their subsidiaries, if they refuse to do business with any legally-compliant person who meets the criteria described above;
  • Prevent payment card networks from discriminating against any qualified and legally-compliant person because of political or reputational considerations;
  • Codify the core requirements found in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) Fair Access Final Rule, finalized in January, but paused two weeks later amid the transition to a new administration;
  • Require qualified banks to provide written justification for why they are denying a person financial services; and
  • Punish providers who fail to comply with the law by disqualifying them from using discount window lending programs, terminating their status as an insured depository institution or insured credit union, or imposing a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. 

The legislation has the backing of more than one-quarter of the Senate and more than half of the Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee, with Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joining as cosponsors.

Timeline

  • In December of 2017, President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which included a title authored by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to authorize energy development in a small portion of the non-wilderness 1002 area of ANWR. 
  • In December of 2018, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the oil and gas leasing program in ANWR.
  • In January of 2020, sixteen Democratic U.S. senators sent a letter to the leaders of the nation’s fifteen largest banks, urging them to withhold funding from Arctic oil and gas projects. 
  • Also in January of 2020, Mayor Harry Brower, Jr. of Alaska’s North Slope Borough penned an op-ed condemning the “subtly racist attitude” of some of the banks blocking economic opportunities for Alaska Native peoples who reside on the North Slope.
  • In April of 2020, Sullivan and President Trump criticized the actions of the banks in a press conference at the White House. 
  • In May of 2020, the Alaska delegation sent a letter with more than 30 of their congressional colleagues to President Trump urging the administration to take action against large American financial institutions for excluding American energy companies and their workers.
  • In June of 2020, Senators Sullivan and Murkowski, and Congressman Young, sent a letter to Chairman Jerome Powell and Vice Chair Randy Quarles of the Federal Reserve, Acting U.S. Comptroller of Currency Brian Brooks, and Chairwoman Jelena McWilliams of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, urging these officials to consider regulatory action and oversight of large American financial institutions following the actions against Arctic communities.
  • On July 24, 2020, Comptroller of the Currency Brooks sent a response letter to the delegation stating, “As requested, the OCC will take a serious look at these banks’ actions. The OCC intends to seek additional information from the banks involved to understand the rationale for these decisions as well as their effect on our national economy and local communities. This will, in turn, help us analyze whether these actions violate any duty or obligation under federal laws.” 
  • On November 20, 2020, the OCC announced a proposed rule to ensure that national banks are providing fair access to banking services to customers based on objective risk, without excluding legal businesses and individuals.
  • On January 14, 2021, after considering more than 35,000 stakeholder comments and suggestions, the OCC issued a final version of the “Fair Access Rule” to take effect on April 1.
  • On January 28, the OCC paused publication of the rule.

 

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