WASHINGTON – NACS applauded today’s unusual bipartisan vote by the House Judiciary Committee to approve H.R. 5546, the Credit Card Fair Fee Act. The vote was the result of the hard work of the authors of the bill, Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT), as well as the grassroots efforts of NACS and other Merchants Payments Coalition members.

“The successful grassroots phone calls, letters and meetings that retailers initiated over the past few weeks proved that even the small guy can take on the two-ton elephant in the room as long as they are on the side of fairness,” said NACs Senior Vice President of Government Relations Lyle Beckwith. “This first step in the legislative process is a huge win for NACS members.

The key component of this vote is the bipartisan effort that went into producing a solid piece of legislation. The House Judiciary Committee is not normally known for crossing the aisle to work together, but today the bipartisan effort made by members was historic. Ten Democrats and nine Republicans joined together to help fix a broken market and provide an opportunity for retailers to negotiate their interchange fees. In addition, several poison-pill amendments were defeated in bipartisan votes.

In addition to the sponsors of the bill, NACS applauded Reps. Dan Lungren (R-CA), Ric Keller (R-FL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX). “These four members understand the complex market forces at work when it comes to interchange fees, were each able to articulate retailers' concerns and explain why this bill functions as the best solution to a broken market,” said Beckwith. In particular Rep. Keller dispelled the myth that retailers would just take any savings they received and pocket them without passing on any benefits to the consumer. He quoted from the May 15, 2008, hearing in which NACS Vice Chairman of Government Relations Tom Robinson, CEO of Robinson Oil Corporation, testified that in such a competitive market it would be impossible not to pass on any savings to the consumer, especially in the petroleum industry where companies are competing on a penny-per-gallon basis.

"The days when Visa and MasterCard are able to impose exorbitant fees on consumers are numbered. Now that Congress and the public are learning how credit card fees are driving up the price of gas, food and other necessities, the big credit card companies are in for a very rough ride," said NACS Chairman Richard Oneslager. "On behalf of our retail members and their customers, NACS applauds Chairman John Conyers and the Republicans and Democrats of the House Judiciary Committee who stood together today to pass H.R. 5546, the Credit Card Fair Fee Act. This strong show of bipartisanship vindicates the efforts of thousands of NACS members that have taken the issue of outrageous credit card fees and practices to Congress. We look forward to similar bi-partisan support by the full House and Senate."

NACS also continues to urge members to keep up the momentum and communicate their concerns over outrageous credit card fees by downloading free pumptoppers to install at their stores during the August recess when House and Senate members will be back in their home districts. Go to www.nacsonline.com/pumptoppers to review the designs and sizes available.