GOP seeks to change rule, shield banks
WASHINGTON— Targeting government regulations, the Republican-led House on Tuesday voted to nullify a rule that would let consumers join together to sue their banks or credit card companies rather than use an arbitrator to resolve a dispute.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized the rule just two weeks ago. It bans most type of mandatory arbitration clauses, which are often found in the fine print of contracts governing the terms of millions of credit card and checking accounts.
Republican lawmakers, cheered on by the banking sector and other leading business groups, wasted no time seeking to undo the rule before it goes into effect next year.
GOP lawmakers described the rule as a bad deal for consumers but a big win for trial lawyers.
The American Bankers Association urged the Senate to go along with the House.
House bill falters
WASHINGTON— Congressional lawmakers struggled Tuesday to prop up a popular multibillion-dollar health program that allows veterans to see a private doctor at government expense.
As recently as last week, Republican leaders were considering using a bill temporarily funding the Veterans Choice Program as a vehicle to raise the debt ceiling, a perennially bitter pill for Republicans.
Instead, House Republicans put forward a plan that would pay for the visits by diverting funds from elsewhere in the department and would not allocate additional funds for in-house care.
In doing so, they galvanized enough opposition among Democrats and a raft of veterans groups fearful of creeping privatization that the bill unexpectedly failed Monday night to clear the necessary threshold on the House floor.
Lawmakers in the Senate, where legislation would need to pick up some Democratic support to come to a vote, never appeared likely to take up the House measure.
Behind the scenes, leaders ofthe veterans committeesin both chambershad opened negotiations to find a
promise that could pass muster among their members.
Tech firms to face off
WASHINGTON—For years, tech companies and Internet providers have been at each others’ throats on Internet policy — and net neutrality especially. Now, House Republicans are teeing up a big showdown on the issue, inviting the biggest companies from both industries to testify on Capitol Hill this fall.
Top executives from AT&T, Comcast, Facebook, Google, Netflix and Verizon, among others, are all being asked to show up on Sept. 7 to argue their side.
It’s unclear which chief executives may attend; Facebook said Tuesday that it had received the letter and was reviewing it.
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