Clues to the Congressional Agenda

Rep. French Hill (R-AR) was recently elected to be the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, and that’s likely to be positive for the payments industry.

Rep. Hill spoke at the IPA’s annual conference in 2019, and while we need to be careful about making predictions based on anything from the pre-pandemic era, his talk does offer some clues as what we might see going forward.

At the time, Mr. Hill said that Congress needed to focus on a number of issues including:
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• Data aggregation and consumer use of third-party apps;
• Data privacy and breach notification;
• Developing a faster payments system;
• Streamlining Compliance.
  
  

These issues all remain relevant as we go into 2025, and they are joined by new ones including a renewed interest in cryptocurrencies and the growth of artificial intelligence.

In addition, Rep. Hill laid out some of his plans for community banking in a press release even before he was elected. He focused on issues like brokered deposits and making it easier for banks to partner with fintechs.

Under his leadership, we can expect the Committee will be interested in the issues that affect the payments industry. This should provide opportunities for making sure that legislation and regulations are tailored to protect the industry and its customers while providing room for innovation.

The other benefit to having Rep. Hill as the chairman is that he recognizes the political realities of Washington. In 2019 and in his recent statement, he noted that many financial services issues have bipartisan agreement. In a narrowly divided House, and with a Senate that has a filibuster, having both sides of the aisle on board for a bill is helpful.
Bipartisan legislation also tends to be more moderate than extremely partisan bills.

Finding areas of bipartisan agreement have another benefit – it keeps the industry from being whipsawed every time control of Congress changes.

He laid out his underlying philosophy at our conference back in 2019.

“The ultimate beneficiary of this should be the American consumer,” Mr. Hill said.
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It will be up to the industry to show how the right regulatory regime serves that end. 

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​Ben Jackson is the Chief Operating Officer of the Innovative Payments Association, a leading trade association representing companies in payments. With over two decades of industry experience, Ben is dedicated to providing valuable information, advocacy, and support to help members improve financial outcomes for consumers, businesses, and government agencies.