April 1, 2003
TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Dear Member of Congress:
On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), I am writing to urge your vote against H.R. 758 which will come before the House today. Because the bill will be on the suspension calendar, it cannot be amended, meaning that the only way to prevent an expansion of the Industrial Loan Company (ILC) loophole is to defeat the bill and send it back to the Financial Services Committee.
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) opposed the inclusion of this amendment. They wrote, " By providing business checking authority, the Royce/Matheson amendment would give ILCs the functional equivalent of demand deposit accounts—and effectively transform ILCs into full service commercial banks without subjecting them to the operational or ownership restrictions placed on commercial banks under the Bank Holding Company Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act."
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System opposed the inclusion of this amendment. They wrote, "There is no reason to turn the limited exception for ILCs into a significant competitive advantage for the corporate owners of ILCs, such as large retail and commercial firms, by allowing them to avoid the rules that apply to all other corporate owners of full service insured banks."
As even proponents of the legislation would acknowledge, the inclusion of the ILC amendment has made controversial legislation that would otherwise garner unanimous support. The specter of permitting corporations like Wal-Mart to enter banking should give pause to every member of the 108th Congress. Please vote against H.R. 758.
Sincerely,
Pat Scarcelli
International Vice President
Director, Legislative and Political Affairs Department
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