Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
WASHINGTON — Efforts to advance a major credit card reform through the Senate’s stablecoin legislation were derailed Monday after Senate Republican Leader John Thune, R-S.D., filed for cloture and filled the amendment tree on the bill, foreclosing attempts to attach additional measures such as
The decision has significant implications for the CCCA, a measure championed by Senators Roger Marshall, R -Kan. and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., that would require large credit card issuers to enable routing over at least one alternative network besides Visa or Mastercard. Proponents had eyed
By resetting and filling the amendment tree when he filed for cloture, Thune exercised a leadership tactic that effectively blocks any senator from offering new amendments unless unanimous consent is granted, an unlikely scenario given the CCCA’s divisiveness among both parties. Durbin and Marshall could also get the amendment into a package that other senators would agree to — also an unlikely scenario.
The maneuver is often used to maintain control over a bill’s content and avoid derailment from contested policy additions.
In recent weeks, advocates for the CCCA had viewed the stablecoin bill as a rare opportunity to move the measure forward in a tightly packed legislative calendar. The stablecoin effort had enough bipartisan traction to reach the floor, and some lawmakers had floated the idea of attaching the swipe-fee language as an amendment during floor debate.
Critics warn that the measure could upend card rewards programs, complicate fraud protections, and impose significant operational burdens on card issuers. Retail groups, meanwhile, have championed it as a long-overdue reform to reduce what they describe as excessive interchange fees.
Thune’s procedural move, however, has curtailed that possibility. It also closed the door for other amendments, including some that would have been offered by Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., targeting President Donald Trump’s family involvement in cryptocurrency and what she termed the corruption that could bring, national security and financial stability provisions.
Thune’s move also severely limits the possibilities for Sen. Josh Hawley’s, R-Mo., bill imposing a 10% annual percentage rate cap on credit card interest rates.
With the amendment tree filled and limited time left before the Senate’s summer recess, options for reviving the CCCA in this session are narrowing. The sponsors could also consider getting the bill attached to crypto market structure legislation or the National Defense Authorization Act.
Meanwhile, the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin bill, appears poised for a critical procedural vote later this week. If it garners the 60 votes required to proceed, the bill could receive final passage as soon as early next week. Some crypto-aligned Democrats and Republicans have rallied around the bill as a compromise framework, with proponents touting its clarity for issuers and its state-federal supervisory balance.