Andy Barr
Representative for Kentucky · Republican · United States
“Mr. Speaker, I want to start by applauding my good friend from Arkansas, Chairman French Hill, for his leadership on this critical legislation. Great job working across the aisle for bipartisan support for this legislation that will help strengthen Main Street America.”
“Here is the hard truth: Community banks have suffered under a regulatory framework that forgot who the system should serve. For too long, Washington has been writing rules as if every bank and credit union in America is a trillion-dollar global institution. They are not. They are our hometown banks and community financial institutions.”
“This legislation requires regulators to ensure clarity and predictability in the merger process so that healthy banks can grow and troubled banks can find partners before they fail. It ensures that when banks do fail, like Silicon Valley Bank, community banks aren't shut out of the resolution process by design.”
“Competition and choice are good for America, good for consumers, and good for financial stability. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a link to 14 letters of support from the Consumer Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the National Association o…”
“That means higher costs, fewer loans, more forced consolidation. This hurts everyday Americans by reducing both access to credit and opportunities for small business growth. The Main Street Capital Access Act is about changing that.”
“It also restores proportionality to regulation, updating capital leverage and enhanced prudential standards to actually reflect a bank's risk profile, not just an arbitrary static asset threshold. That means less money spent on regulatory gymnastics and more money available for loans in your communities.”
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“The Main Street Capital Access Act is a critical step toward restoring the financial backbone of this country. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.”
“This legislation requires regulators to ensure clarity and predictability in the merger process so that healthy banks can grow and troubled banks can find partners before they fail. It ensures that when banks do fail, like Silicon Valley Bank, community banks aren't shut out of the resolution process by design. Finally, this legislation recognizes reality: Innovation is happening. The question is whether it happens inside the banking system, where it is supervised and safe, or outside, where it isn't. This bill lets banks partner, modernize, and compete. Community banks, Mr. Speaker, are the financial infrastructure of America--rural America, suburban America, urban America. When they thrive, small towns thrive. When they are regulated out of existence, capital dries up and opportunity for local ownership disappears.”
“It also restores proportionality to regulation, updating capital leverage and enhanced prudential standards to actually reflect a bank's risk profile, not just an arbitrary static asset threshold. That means less money spent on regulatory gymnastics and more money available for loans in your communities. We are also bringing fairness and due process back to the supervision process. Banks and credit unions should not [[Page H4724]] be governed by opaque examiner preferences. They should be governed by clear risk-based and transparent standards that focus on core financial performance rather than foot faults and check-the-box compliance. Main Street also addresses the structural problems that are driving consolidation.”
“That means higher costs, fewer loans, more forced consolidation. This hurts everyday Americans by reducing both access to credit and opportunities for small business growth. The Main Street Capital Access Act is about changing that. It is about rightsizing this regulatory framework to ensure that community lenders get back to what they do best: serving their customers and their communities. Main Street opens the door for new bank formation, improving transparency in the chartering process, making applications more predictable, and ensuring rural and underserved communities can once again see new institutions formed instead of watching their local banks disappear. You want to hold big banks accountable? Allow new banks to form.”
“Here is the hard truth: Community banks have suffered under a regulatory framework that forgot who the system should serve. For too long, Washington has been writing rules as if every bank and credit union in America is a trillion-dollar global institution. They are not. They are our hometown banks and community financial institutions. These guardrails that the ranking member talks about rolling back, we are not rolling back guardrails for big, multitrillion-dollar banks. We are talking about small community financial institutions. The goal is simple: Regulation should follow the risk, not the ZIP Code or the political fashion. A $500 million community bank in rural Kentucky, rural Arkansas, or rural Michigan should not be regulated under the same framework built for a trillion-dollar institution operating around the globe.”
“Competition and choice are good for America, good for consumers, and good for financial stability. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a link to 14 letters of support from the Consumer Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the National Association of Home Builders, and others: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn :aaid:sc:US:4c869bbb-74d2-4d1e- befb-1b3aba1a0be3 Community banks and credit unions are the financial backbone of this country. They finance farms, factories, first-time home buyers, and the local entrepreneurs who create jobs in every corner of America. These institutions don't just serve communities. They are part of the community.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to start by applauding my good friend from Arkansas, Chairman French Hill, for his leadership on this critical legislation. Great job working across the aisle for bipartisan support for this legislation that will help strengthen Main Street America. The Main Street Capital Access Act is exactly the kind of reform needed to advance this committee's goal of making community banking great again. Over the past 18 months, we have worked hard to develop over two dozen banking reform bills--many of them with strong bipartisan support--and combined them into one multifaceted package designed to strengthen our community financial institutions, not big banks, like the ranking member is referring to, community banks, Main Street banks, midsize banks. If we want to help hold big banks accountable, then what we need is competition.”
“Rather than blaming gun violence, Congress would be more productive focusing on the root causes of homicide: the breakdown of the family, lack of active parenting, mental illness, open-border policies, policies to defund the police, soft-on-crime policies like no cash bail, and politically motivated violence, like the kind that was behind the murder of Charlie Kirk. Addressing these societal problems does not require unconstitutional surveillance of Americans. H.R. 1181 establishes commonsense guardrails to prevent regulatory abuse and safeguards constitutional freedoms. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.”
“This is about preventing government actors from using financial data to target Americans who are engaged in conduct expressly protected by the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms, a fundamental liberty for Americans. Americans should not have to worry that lawful purchases that they made will be used to create lists, databases, or surveillance tools aimed at this constitutionally protected activity. {time} 1540 My friend, the ranking member from California, cited statistics about annual and daily deaths that she says are the result of gun violence. Respectfully, the right to bear arms is not the cause of violence. One murder is too many in America, period. We all agree on that.”
“Despite what those on the other side of the aisle may say, this bill does nothing to prevent law enforcement or regulators from investigating criminal activity, nor does it change the stringent requirements on financial institutions to comply with existing anti- money laundering laws or suspicious activity reporting requirements. However, what my friend from California who just spoke doesn't say, but it needs to be said, is that the lawful purchase of a firearm protected by the Second Amendment is not in and of itself suspicious activity, nor should it be surveilled by the government. What it does is prevent the creation of a framework that could be used to monitor, flag, and discourage lawful purchases from federally licensed firearm retailers.”
“1181 prohibits payment card networks and financial institutions from requiring or assigning merchant category codes, or MCCs, that single out firearm retailers for separate tracking and monitoring. Unfortunately, we have seen repeated examples of progressive regulators and government officials pressuring financial institutions to target lawful industries and lawful customers. From Operation Choke Point under the Obama administration and Choke Point 2.0 under Biden to New York financial regulators pressuring insurance companies to abandon longstanding relationships with the NRA, Americans have legitimate reasons to be concerned about the weaponization of the financial system.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act. I thank my friend, the gentleman from Arkansas, the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, for his leadership on the bill and for yielding. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation. I thank Congressman Riley Moore for his leadership on this important bill. I thank Congressman Richard Hudson for his longstanding work defending the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens, and our colleague from New York, Elise Stefanik, for her original introduction of this bill in several previous Congresses. At its core, this bill is about protecting privacy and preventing government surveillance on citizens simply for exercising their constitutionally enshrined Second Amendment rights. [[Page H4444]] H.R.”
“was a true patriot, a great American, and an inspiration to us all. I am forever grateful to him and other members of the Greatest Generation for sacrificing and fighting to preserve the freedoms that we hold dear. It is my honor to recognize his life and his service before the United States Congress. ____________________”
“Drake, as well as two grandsons and three great grandchildren. Mr. Drake began working as a registered professional engineer and had a distinguished career for over 50 years. He was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and was a charter member and past president of the Bluegrass Chapter of the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers. In [[Page E349]] 1979 he received the KSPE State Award for Outstanding Engineer in Industry. He was involved with the Boy Scouts of America and was a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, the University of Kentucky Alumni Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and a life member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. He received the Mayor's Spirit of Lexington Award. Vaughn P. Drake, Jr.”
“At the age of 23, he was serving in the Army Corps of Engineers and was in charge of a temporary power plant in Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, he became a part of history as he witnessed Japanese planes attack Pearl Harbor, and the battle ensued. He was also involved in the strategic and significant Battle of Saipan in the Marianas. For his brave service in the United States Army, he received the Congressional Medal for the Veterans of Pearl Harbor, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Medal with Foreign Service bar, the Asiatic-Pacific Medal with two battle stars, and the World War II Victory Medal. Following his military service, Mr. Drake returned home to Kentucky and married his wife, Lina. They were married for 65 years when she passed away in 2011. Mr. Drake is survived by his son, Sam W.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 70 (Monday, April 28, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 70 (Monday, April 28, 2025)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E348-E349] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] IN MEMORY OF VAUGHN P. DRAKE, JR. ______ HON. ANDY BARR of kentucky in the house of representatives Monday, April 28, 2025 Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor an American hero and a true patriot, Mr. Vaughn P. Drake, Jr. of Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Drake passed away on April 7, 2025, at the age of 106 and has been recognized as our Nation's oldest survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Mr. Drake was born in Winchester, Kentucky on November 6, 1918. He attended the University of Kentucky's College of Engineering.”
“Significant highlights include organizing the establishment of Central Baptist Hospital, partnering with First United Methodist Church to open the High Street Neighborhood Center, organizing mission trips to Haiti, opening the Interfaith Counseling Center and Mission (Health) Lexington, organizing the Build a Bed Ministry, and establishing the Clothed by Grace clothing closet. The ministry of Calvary Baptist Church has touched thousands of lives in life changing ways over its century and a half history. As Calvary Baptist Church celebrates their 150th anniversary, it is my honor to lift up this faith community before the House of Representatives. I wish them many more years of faithful ministry serving God. ____________________”
“As the church membership grew, in 1906 the name was changed to Calvary Baptist Church and a new sanctuary was built at High Street and Rodes Avenue. Growth continued, and the current location, at High Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, was built in 1962. Dr. Monty Stallins leads the congregation as the pastor today. Since Calvary Baptist's founding in 1875, the pastors have changed and the locations have changed, but the mission of the church has remained the same, to invite people into relationship with the Lord. Over the years, members have recognized the call to serve the needs of the community and the world.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 70 (Monday, April 28, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 70 (Monday, April 28, 2025)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E343] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH OF LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY ______ HON. ANDY BARR of kentucky in the house of representatives Monday, April 28, 2025 Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Calvary Baptist Church as they celebrate their 150th anniversary. Calvary Baptist Church is located in Lexington, Kentucky. On January 14, 1875, forty people stepped out in faith to start a new church in the growing city of Lexington, Kentucky. The church was first known as Second Baptist Church and J.M. Frost was called to serve as the first pastor.”
“Mr. Speaker, I will finish the story. The tire was irreparable. She had to buy a new tire for a couple of hundred dollars she didn't have. She was not able to keep up with her car. She had to buy the new tire. There was no choice. She ran her debit card, and it covered the tire. The family went home. She checked her account when she got home, wondering how it was paid for, when she didn't have the money in it. It was her overdraft that covered it. She thanked me that her community bank was there for her to cover her overdraft so she could keep moving without having to call for help. Mr. Speaker, needless to say, the banker was tremendously humbled that she was able to help this mother out due to the overdraft. They are there in time of need.”
“Some expenses surprised her, and she was suddenly out of money for the month. She was okay, as she had groceries, gas, and her bills paid, until she got a flat tire on the way to a school function. She got the car to the tire shop. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Wied). The time of the gentleman has expired. [[Page H1524]]”
“The big Wall Street banks can afford to go without these fees. It is the community banks in our neighborhoods and in our communities who can't afford to provide this product without the fees. Mr. Speaker, just in conclusion, this is a real-life testimonial about the value of these overdraft protections from a community bank in my district: We have a customer with two children and a husband in the military. As you know, things can be difficult when one parent is deployed and one parent is alone with children, trying to manage finances, school, after-school activities, and church. As the customer said, things can be overwhelming, even exclusive of her husband's deployment. This customer approached me in church with her head down, saying that she was having a tough time with things.”
“What is predatory is taking away this product from the American people and pushing them into actual nonbank predatory lenders and usurious products. As was mentioned earlier, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has already concluded that overdraft fee caps hamper, rather than foster, financial inclusion. The consequences of the rule have been studied, and it is evident that this cap would harm consumers by limiting their access to necessary financial services. Finally, this idea that smaller banks and credit unions are unaffected by the rule is simply wrong. While institutions with less than $10 billion in assets are purportedly excluded from the rule, they will still be forced to deal with this cap just to stay competitive. The truth is it is the big banks they are protecting.”
“Consumers choose to use this service, and they opt into the service voluntarily. The first option under the new rule forces financial institutions to treat overdrafts as extensions of credit. This change would severely limit access to the product, especially for those who need it most. Financial institutions would have to underwrite each overdraft transaction, evaluating a borrower's ability to pay a relatively small amount. This would be both impractical and inefficient. The alternative proposed by the Bureau, a safe harbor charge cap of $5, would force many banks to exit this product altogether. Credit unions would also discontinue this service. This would price out the very consumers who rely on overdrafts the most. They use the word ``predatory.'' Mr. Speaker, let me tell you what is predatory.”
“For my friends on the other side of the aisle to use incendiary language like ``shameful,'' I submit what is shameful is to take away this lifeline from our constituents. Consumers understand the costs associated with overdraft services, and they willingly opt in because they find value in the protection that it offers. They are not coerced. They make an informed decision, knowing that a small, predictable fee prevents far more severe consequences like a bounced check or late fees. It is a convenience that allows consumers to avoid the embarrassment of being turned down at the point of sale. Unfortunately, my Democrat colleagues refuse to recognize this basic truth, choosing instead to label overdraft products as predatory. Let me reiterate that point, Mr. Speaker.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Chairman Hill, for bringing this important resolution of disapproval to the House floor, nullifying the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's disastrous overdraft rule. Let me set the record straight, Mr. Speaker. This resolution of disapproval doesn't increase fees, as my friends on the other side of the aisle insinuate. In fact, what it does do is it invalidates a regulation that will take this critical lifeline away from many of my constituents. Indeed, for many families across this country, living paycheck to paycheck, overdraft services are a critical safety net. Without this service, necessities would become harder to obtain. Overdraft services are not a luxury. They are a lifeline.”