{time}  1510

  In fact, the FDIC agreed to absorb 80 percent of all credit losses.
After effectively winning the government auction, J.P. Morgan quickly
announced plans to shut down one quarter of First Republic's 84
branches rather than preserving consumer access to their local
branches. The closure also led to the firing of approximately 1,000
bank employees.
  Acquisitions such as these are now the norm rather than the
exception. This year, U.S. bank mergers and acquisitions have hit a 7-
year high, up 45 percent since 2024.
  Consumer advocacy organizations such as Americans for Financial
Reform and Better Markets have raised serious concerns about the
advantages afforded to large interconnected financial institutions like
JPMorganChase in bidding for these failing banks, and as a result
growing ever larger while accelerating the process of consolidation.
  To that end, I introduced this legislation, the Failing Bank
Acquisition Fairness Act, which if it were law at the time would have
created a more level playing field between healthy medium-sized as well
as larger banks to both stabilize markets but also to better serve
depositors, businesses, and the impacted communities in which those
banks are located while avoiding megabanks gobbling up smaller banks in
the steady march toward consolidation.
  Megabanks should not be allowed to take advantage of financial crises
to increase their domination and pad their own profits.
  This legislation would take an important step toward increasing
competition and improving the resilience of our financial system from
economic shocks.
  I am proud that this bill was passed unanimously in committee by
every Democrat, every Republican, and has the support of Americans for
Financial Reform to boot.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I join my friend from Massachusetts in speaking to the
importance of this bill and provide just a couple of minutes of
perspective.
  If you go back to the 1980s, it was a period of Third World debt
crisis, the oil and gas lending crisis, and the real estate lending
crisis culminating in the late 1980s with really the collapse of

the savings and loan industry across the country from too lax
supervision and too lax management of these institutions. In both large
banks like the famous Continental Illinois failure in Chicago to some
of the large thrifts, the government chose to keep banks open rather
than closing them by essentially taking a note back called open bank
assistance. It essentially increased the losses to the taxpayers.
  After the resolution of the savings and loan bank crisis and all the
other related bank failures of the 1980s and very early 1990s, the
government said, look, this is out of hand, and we want to enforce a
least cost resolution process when a bank fails, meaning we don't want
to lose more money after the closing by trying to keep these banks
open.
  So they offered this ability that whoever paid the highest price,
thus the least cost to the taxpayers, was the winner, which is good
policy. However, now it is 30 years later, and the largest banks in the
country, as outlined by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch),
have a disproportionate ability to bid $1 more and thus be the least
cost to the taxpayer--or maybe after the last debate one penny more--
and be the least cost to the taxpayer. That means that it is very hard
to compete with them.
  What the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) has proposed is let
us have more bidding for those failed banks by crafting a process that
is transparent that Congress oversees, Congress outlines the
guardrails, where smaller banks could team up with other capital
sources and bid for one of those failed banks and end up being in a
much more competitive process. What the government gets is a more
diversified, more competitive banking system instead of the default
winner being one of the big five existing financial institutions.
  I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) for his work on
this legislation. I thank Chairman Barr of our Financial Institutions
Subcommittee and Ranking Member Waters for bringing our bipartisan team
together on the committee in advancing this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members on both sides of the aisle to vote
``yes'' on this measure. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Let me first of all thank Chairman Hill for his kind remarks and his
astute observations on the circumstances that have brought us to this
point. I will add that I believe this morning it was announced that
JPMorganChase, which was the benefactor of this previous transaction,
is now approaching $5 trillion in assets. That is indeed remarkable.
Their market cap is about a trillion dollars, as well.
  I think this legislation does point to that loophole that allows
megabanks to acquire failing banks even when other eligible, well-
managed small and midsize banks have submitted competing bids improving
community and regional bank competitiveness and preventing further
consolidation among our largest financial institutions.
  Again, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
  Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the bill.
I appreciate the work on both sides of the aisle, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 6556, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                              {time}  1520
                  PROTECTING PRIVACY IN PURCHASES ACT

  Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1423,
I call up the bill (H.R. 1181) to prohibit payment card networks and
covered entities from requiring the use of or assigning merchant
category codes that distinguish a firearms retailer from general-
merchandise retailer or sporting-goods retailer, and for other
purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1423, the
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on
Financial Services printed in the bill is adopted, and the bill, as
amended, is considered read.
  The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

                               H.R. 1181