The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted to give retailers a rare break from antitrust laws, approving legislation to allow them to band together when bargaining over the credit card fees they pay to banks.
The 19-16 bipartisan vote handed a victory to a coalition of supermarkets, convenience stores and big box retailers that has argued that so-called interchange fees are too high.
“We are very happy with the bipartisan vote and support that we got in the Judiciary Committee today,” said Chris Tampio, the senior director for government relations at the National Association of Convenience Stores , a coalition member.
The Electronic Payments Coalition , which represents banks and credit unions that collect the interchange fees, decried the legislation as “a sweetheart deal for giant retailers.”
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[Source: The Hill]
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