Sen. Roger Marshall Cut Ad Paid for by Special Interest Group

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), a primary sponsor of a controversial credit card bill, recorded a radio ad paid for by the Merchants Payments Coalition, a special interest advocacy group pushing his credit card bill.

In the ad, which ran on Tucker Carlson’s The Tucker Podcast, Marshall calls on Americans to “call your senator today and demand they pass the Credit Card Competition Act.”

Durbin and Marshall continue to push the credit card bill, which they hope will inject more competition into payment processing by requiring banks to work with at least one alternative payment network besides Visa and Mastercard, the dominant players in the industry. Critics of the bill contend that it would, in addition to severely compromising the security of payment processing, kill credit card rewards programs.

Punchbowl News reported that it is “unusual” for a senator to cut an ad paid for by an advocacy group, even if it his bill.

“I’m not sure what ads you’re talking about. I’m not paying for them or anything,” Marshall told Punchbowl News.

Brian Kelly, founder of the Points Guy, said in March that the credit card bill would ax associated rewards programs, which Americans increasingly rely on in the Biden-Harris economy.

The Points Guy founder said that credit cards are “extremely lucrative” for Americans, as some credit card companies offer over $1,000 to sign up for their credit card, and that does not exist anywhere else in the world.

Kelly said that this bill is “terrible for consumers.”

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to let lawmakers know that you are rattling the hornet’s nest when you come for people’s points and travel,” Kelly told the American Bankers Association (ABA) Washington Summit in March. “You are going to make travel, which is pretty tough these days, even worse. So, is that legislation you want to pass — is that your legacy, taking value from consumers and making travel and life harder? When we’re already hit with enough?”

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) also disputed claims that the credit card bill would lower costs. During the 2024 ABA Summit, Tester said he hopes the bill does not advance through Congress.

He said that the “last time” Congress had a debate on this topic, “we were told if we did this it’ll save the consumers money.”