The Senate scrapped a rule finalized under former President Joe Biden capping bank overdraft fees.
In a 52-48 vote on March 27, lawmakers overturned the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule, which would have limited overdraft charges to $5 for financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets.
All but one Republican—Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)—supported Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) joint resolution rescinding the rule. Two independent senators also joined the 45 Democrats opposing S.J. Res. 18.
Scott stated on the Senate floor that eliminating the overdraft fee cap would be “good for consumers.”
“So, when you start capping this fee structure, you start eliminating overdraft,” he said. “You start eliminating the possibility of people working paycheck to paycheck to make the decision to continue to use their resources in the most effective way.”…