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NEA Joins NAACP in Support of Big Banks
posted by: Cindy Omlin | March 24, 2011, 05:14 PM   

 

One would assume that the National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, would have their hands full with the labor and education battles heating up all over the country, but they are once again meddling in partisan politics with lobbying Congress in support of banks and exorbitant debit card fees.

The NEA joins the NAACP in backing legislation that would delay new limits on debit-card fees under the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Among the many components of the law, the new policy would limit and cap bank imposed debit card fees on consumers.

"While the Durbin amendment is a well-meaning attempt to benefit merchants of all sizes ... it is becoming clearer that it may have unintended consumer impacts," the NEA wrote in a letter to congressional leaders. "Further study is warranted to determine if the proposed federal controls on interchange fees for debit swipes ... will meaningfully benefit merchants and their consumers."

Federal legislation was introduced earlier this month that would stop the Federal Reserve from finalizing rules that would drastically limit debit-card fees. Those rules were set to take effect in April, but a bill introduced by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) would delay the rules for two years as the matter is studied.

The NEA is just one of the non-banking groups spending countless dollars on lobbying for a cause that is unrelated to education. While this is nothing new for the NEA, it isn't sitting well with their liberal supporters who pushed the bill in 2010. There is no word about how Bank of America, NEA's preferred bank provider, stands to benefit from this delay.

Do you think this is a wise use for membership dues?
Comment below.
Originally posted by Alix at AAE.

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