I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 987 
To amend certain banking laws to prohibit certain financial service providers 
who deny fair access to financial services from using taxpayer funded 
discount window lending programs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2025 
Mr. BARR (for himself, Mr. MEUSER, Mr. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida, Mr. 
CLYDE, and Mr. HARRIGAN) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend certain banking laws to prohibit certain financial 
service providers who deny fair access to financial serv-
ices from using taxpayer funded discount window lending 
programs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Access to Bank-
ing Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) article I of the Constitution of the United 
States guarantees the people of the United States 
the right to enact public policy through the free and 
fair election of representatives and through the ac-
tions of State legislatures and Congress; 
(2) financial institutions rightly objected to the 
Operation Choke Point initiative through which cer-
tain government agencies pressured financial institu-
tions to cut off access to financial services to lawful 
sectors of the economy; 
(3) in response to pressure from advocates 
whose policy objectives are served when financial in-
stitutions deny certain customers access to financial 
services, financial institutions are now, however, in-
creasingly employing subjective, category-based eval-
uations to deny certain persons access to financial 
services; 
(4) this privatization of the discriminatory prac-
tices underlying Operation Choke Point by financial 
institutions represents as great a threat to the na-
tional economy, national security, and the soundness 
of banking and financial markets in the United 
States as Operation Choke Point itself; 
(5) financial institutions are supported by the 
United States taxpayers and enjoy significant privi-
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leges in the financial system of the United States 
and should not be permitted to act as de facto regu-
lators or unelected legislators by withholding finan-
cial services to otherwise credit worthy businesses 
based on subjective political reasons, bias or preju-
dices; 
(6) financial institutions are not well-equipped 
to balance risks unrelated to financial exposures and 
the operations required to deliver financial services; 
(7) the United States taxpayers came to the aid 
for large financial institutions during the great re-
cession of 2008 because they were deemed too im-
portant to the national economy to be permitted to 
fail; 
(8) when a financial institution predicates the 
access to financial services of a person on factors or 
information (such as the lawful products a customer 
manufactures or sells or the services the customer 
provides) other than quantitative, impartial risk- 
based standards, the financial institution has failed 
to act consistent with basic principles of sound risk 
management and failed to provide fair access to fi-
nancial services; 
(9) financial institutions have a responsibility to 
make decisions about whether to provide a person 
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with financial services on the basis of impartial cri-
teria free from prejudice or favoritism; 
(10) while fair access to financial services does 
not obligate a financial institution to offer any par-
ticular financial service to the public, or to operate 
in any particular geographic area, or to provide a 
service the financial institution offers to any par-
ticular person, it is necessary that— 
(A) the financial services a financial insti-
tution chooses to offer in the geographic areas 
in which the financial institution operates be 
made available to all customers based on the 
quantitative, impartial risk-based standards of 
the financial institution, and not based on 
whether the customer is in a particular category 
of customers; 
(B) financial institutions assess the risks 
posed by individual customers on a case-by-case 
basis, rather than category-based assessment; 
and 
(C) financial institutions implement con-
trols to manage relationships commensurate 
with these risks associated with each customer, 
not a strategy of total avoidance of particular 
industries or categories of customers; 
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(11) financial institutions are free to provide or 
deny financial services to any individual customer, 
but first, the financial institutions must rely on em-
pirical data that are evaluated consistent with the 
established, impartial risk-management standards of 
the financial institution; and 
(12) anything less is not prudent risk manage-
ment and may result in unsafe or unsound practices, 
denial of fair access to financial services, cancelling, 
or eliminating certain businesses in society, and have 
a deleterious effect on national security and the na-
tional economy. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) ensure fair access to financial services and 
fair treatment of customers by financial service pro-
viders, including national and State banks, Federal 
savings associations, and State and Federal credit 
unions; 
(2) ensure financial institutions conduct them-
selves in a safe and sound manner, comply with laws 
and regulations, treat their customers fairly, and 
provide fair access to financial services; 
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(3) protect against financial institutions being 
able to impede otherwise lawful commerce and there-
by achieve certain public policy goals; 
(4) ensure that persons involved in politically 
unpopular businesses but that are lawful under Fed-
eral law receive fair access to financial services 
under the law; and 
(5) ensure financial institutions operate in a 
safe and sound manner by making judgments and 
decisions about whether to provide a customer with 
financial services on an impartial, individualized 
risk-based analysis using empirical data evaluated 
under quantifiable standards. 
SEC. 4. ADVANCES TO INDIVIDUAL MEMBER BANKS. 
(a) MEMBER BANKS.—Section 10B of the Federal 
Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 347b) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON USE OF DISCOUNT WINDOW 
LENDING PROGRAMS.—No member bank with more than 
$50,000,000,000 in total consolidated assets, or sub-
sidiary of the member bank, may use a discount window 
lending program if the member bank or subsidiary refuses 
to do business with any person who is in compliance with 
the law, including section 8 of the Fair Access to Banking 
Act.’’. 
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(b) INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS.—Section 
8(a)(2)(A) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 
U.S.C. 1818(a)(2)(A)) is amended— 
(1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 
(2) in clause (iii), by striking the comma at the 
end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iv) an insured depository institution 
with more than $500,000,000,000 in total 
consolidated assets, or subsidiary of the in-
sured depository institution, that refuses to 
do business with any person who is in com-
pliance with the law, including section 8 of 
the Fair Access to Banking Act.’’. 
(c) NONMEMBER BANKS, TRUST COMPANIES, AND 
OTHER DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS.—Section 13 of the 
Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 342) is amended by in-
serting ‘‘Provided further, That no such nonmember bank 
or trust company or other depository institution with more 
than $50,000,000,000 in total consolidated assets, or sub-
sidiary of such nonmember bank or trust company or 
other depository institution, may refuse to do business 
with any person who is in compliance with the law, includ-
ing, including section 8 of the Fair Access to Banking 
Act:’’ after ‘‘appropriate:’’. 
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SEC. 5. PAYMENT CARD NETWORKS. 
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘payment 
card network’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
921(c) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 
1693o–2(c)). 
(b) PROHIBITION.—No payment card network, in-
cluding a subsidiary of a payment card network, may, di-
rectly or through any agent, processor, or licensed member 
of the network, by contract, requirement, condition, pen-
alty, or otherwise, prohibit or inhibit the ability of any per-
son who is in compliance with the law, including section 
8 of this Act, to obtain access to services or products of 
the payment card network because of political or 
reputational risk considerations. 
(c) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any payment card network 
that violates subsection (b) shall be assessed a civil penalty 
by the Comptroller of the Currency of not more than 10 
percent of the value of the services or products described 
in that subsection, not to exceed $10,000 per violation. 
SEC. 6. CREDIT UNIONS. 
Section 206(b)(1) of the Federal Credit Union Act 
(12 U.S.C. 1786) is amended by inserting ‘‘or is refusing 
or has refused, or has a subsidiary that is refusing or has 
refused, to do business with any person who is in compli-
ance with the law, including section 8 of the Fair Access 
to Banking Act,’’ after ‘‘as an insured credit union,’’. 
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SEC. 7. USE OF AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE NETWORK. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVERED CREDIT UNION.—The term ‘‘cov-
ered credit union’’ means— 
(A) any insured credit union, as defined in 
section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act 
(12 U.S.C. 1752); or 
(B) any credit union that is eligible to 
make application to become an insured credit 
union under section 201 of the Federal Credit 
Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1781). 
(2) MEMBER BANK.—The term ‘‘member bank’’ 
has the meaning given the term in the third undesig-
nated paragraph of the first section of the Federal 
Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 221). 
(b) PROHIBITION.—No covered credit union, member 
bank, or State-chartered non-member bank with more 
than $50,000,000,000 in total consolidated assets, or a 
subsidiary of the covered credit union, member bank, or 
State-chartered non-member bank, may use the Auto-
mated Clearing House Network if that member bank, 
credit union, or subsidiary of the member bank or credit 
union, refuses to do business with any person who is in 
compliance with the law, including section 8 of this Act. 
SEC. 8. FAIR ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) BANK.—The term ‘‘bank’’— 
(A) means an entity for which the Office 
of the Comptroller of the Currency is the appro-
priate Federal banking agency, as defined in 
section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 
(12 U.S.C. 1813); and 
(B) includes— 
(i) member banks; 
(ii) non-member banks; 
(iii) covered credit unions; 
(iv) 
State-chartered 
non-member 
banks; and 
(v) trust companies. 
(2) COVERED BANK.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered 
bank’’ means a bank that has the ability to— 
(i) raise the price a person has to pay 
to obtain an offered financial service from 
the bank or from a competitor; or 
(ii) significantly impede a person, or 
the business activities of a person, in favor 
of or to the advantage of another person. 
(B) PRESUMPTION.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—A bank shall not be 
presumed to be a covered bank if the bank 
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has less than $50,000,000,000 in total as-
sets. 
(ii) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.— 
(I) IN GENERAL.—A bank is pre-
sumed to be a covered bank if the 
bank has $50,000,000,000 or more in 
total assets. 
(II) REBUTTAL.—A bank that 
meets the criteria under subclause (I) 
can seek to rebut this presumption by 
submitting to the Office of the Comp-
troller of the Currency written mate-
rials that, in the judgement of the 
agency, demonstrate the bank does 
not meet the definition of covered 
bank. 
(3) COVERED CREDIT UNION.—The term ‘‘cov-
ered credit union’’ means— 
(A) any insured credit union, as defined in 
section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act 
(12 U.S.C. 1752); or 
(B) any credit union that is eligible to 
make application to become an insured credit 
union under section 201 of the Federal Credit 
Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1781). 
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(4) DENY.—The term ‘‘deny’’ means to deny or 
refuse to enter into or terminate an existing finan-
cial services relationship with a person. 
(5) FAIR ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES.— 
The term ‘‘fair access to financial services’’ means 
persons engaged in activities lawful under Federal 
law are able to obtain financial services at banks 
without impediments caused by a prejudice against 
or dislike for a person or the business of the cus-
tomer, products or services sold by the person, or fa-
voritism for market alternatives to the business of 
the person. Refusing to provide or continue to pro-
vide financial services to a person because the per-
son engaged in rude or harassing conduct toward an 
employee of a bank is not a violation of this section. 
(6) FINANCIAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘financial 
service’’ means a financial product or service, includ-
ing— 
(A) commercial and merchant banking; 
(B) lending; 
(C) financing; 
(D) leasing; 
(E) cash, asset and investment manage-
ment and advisory services; 
(F) credit card services; 
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(G) payment processing; 
(H) security and foreign exchange trading 
and brokerage services; and 
(I) insurance products. 
(7) MEMBER BANK.—The term ‘‘member bank’’ 
has the meaning given the term in the third undesig-
nated paragraph of the first section of the Federal 
Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 221). 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To provide fair access to fi-
nancial services, a covered bank (including a sub-
sidiary of a covered bank), except as necessary to 
comply with another provision of law— 
(A) shall make each financial service it of-
fers available to all persons in the geographic 
market served by the covered bank on propor-
tionally equal terms; 
(B) may not deny any person a financial 
service the covered bank offers unless the denial 
is justified by such quantified and documented 
failure of the person to meet quantitative, im-
partial risk-based standards established in ad-
vance by the covered bank; 
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(C) may not deny, in coordination with or 
at the request of others, any person a financial 
service the covered bank offers; and 
(D) shall, when denying any person finan-
cial services the covered bank offers, provide 
written justification to the person explaining 
the basis for the denial, including any specific 
laws or regulations the covered bank believes 
are being violated by the person or customer, if 
any. 
(2) JUSTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT.—A jus-
tification described in paragraph (1)(D) may not be 
based solely on the reputational risk to the covered 
bank. 
(c) CAUSE OF ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS 
SECTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, a person may commence a civil ac-
tion in the appropriate district court of the United 
States against any covered bank that violates or fails 
to comply with the requirements under this Act, for 
harm that person suffered as a result of such viola-
tion. 
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(2) NO EXHAUSTION.—It shall not be necessary 
for a person to exhaust its administrative remedies 
before commencing a civil action under this Act. 
(3) DAMAGES.—If a person prevails in a civil 
action under this Act, a court shall award the per-
son— 
(A) reasonable attorney’s fees and costs; 
and 
(B) treble damages. 
Æ 
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