DPC Produces Short (:90) Video on the Consumer Benefits of DIDMCA

Thanks to a unanimous 1978 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, banks holding a “national charter” were to be governed by the interest rate caps of the states in which they were based, instead of the state in which the consumers lived. The nationally chartered banks started offering very attractive terms across state lines.

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, Congress passed a bill called the Depository Institutions and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA), which allowed banks chartered under state law to have the same right to “export” their home-state interest rates as the national banks did.

The result of DIDMCA’s passage was vibrant competition among all banks—nationally and state-chartered—to provide more and more attractive terms on credit and to provide more credit options as well as to provide credit to more and more people. This especially benefited millions of previously credit-deprived and underbanked customers who were brought out of the margins and into the mainstream credit community. This helped fuel the economic expansion of the 1980s and beyond.

Unfortunately, in passing DIDMCA, Congress included a provision that would allow state legislatures to opt out of the law. At first, several states opted out. Over time, all but Iowa rescinded their opt-out laws after seeing the benefits to consumers in the other states.

It sounds absurd, but lawmakers in various states are now thinking about opting out of DIDMCA and setting back the most economically vulnerable families 50 years. They often couch their opt-out schemes in terms of fairness and consumer protection (an attempt to keep higher-interest-rate consumer loan products from being offered in their states). In reality, their bills implode credit access for consumers and small businesses. They also place their state banks at a disadvantage compared to the massive, impersonal, nationally chartered banks, which are charging the highest fees and are exempt from state DIDMCA opt-outs.

To provide a quick primer on DIDMCA, the Domestic Policy Caucus (DPC) created this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPB9a9goz98

More information about the DPC Freedom to Borrow initiative is available at www.freedomtoborrow.org.

No Fuel Ban in the Daily Caller: “Clean Transportation” Standard Insanity Must Stop In Minnesota

On Monday, September 8, No Fuel Ban Executive Director Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., had an op-ed published, “‘Clean Transportation Standard Insanity Must Stop In Minnesota.”

In the op-ed, Kaiser wrote, “There’s a troubling trend emerging out of the liberal West Coast, birthed in California and spreading to the East and North. States such as Oregon and Washington have set a date by which they will ban liquid fuels. It sounds insane, but it’s real. Purportedly meant to cut carbon emissions, the immediate outcome has been, predictably, a steep gas price hike and economic strain for residents… In a diverse coalition of stakeholders, we’ve been fighting this battle since 2021, when CTS legislation was first introduced in St. Paul. Despite our consistent success in quashing such a poor policy, its resilience is worrisome. Minnesota risks being the next domino to fall in a chain of states backsliding into self-inflicted financial strain and industrial decline. The insanity must stop in St. Paul.”

Read the full op-ed here.

No Fuel Ban Appears on KTOE-Radio Mankato to Discuss a Liquid Fuel Ban

On Thursday, August 7, Executive Director of No Fuel Ban, Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., appeared on KTOE’s The Morning Blend  radio show to discuss what a liquid fuel ban would mean for Minnesotans. The Clean Transportation Standard being pushed by Minnesota lawmakers would aim to ban liquid fuels in the state by the year 2050.

Kaiser explained how such a ban would significantly impact Minnesotans’ pocketbooks, jobs, and their ability to drive the vehicles of their choice: “I guess [policymakers] think everyone could just go out and get another job [after losing theirs because of economic restrictions of a fuel ban]. They just don't understand what a huge disruption that would be for our rural economy and for Minnesotans everywhere.” 

Listen to the full interview here.

Freedom to Borrow Discussion on The Jack Tomczak Show

Over the weekend, Domestic Policy Caucus Secretary/Treasurer Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., guest-hosted The Jack Tomczak Show on WTTC 1280AM The Patriot Radio to discuss several key issues facing Minnesotans. Guest Patrick Brenner, president of the Southwest Public Policy Institute. Brenner, along with two University of Minnesota students, published a report titled “No Loan For You, Too!” The report highlights the unintended consequences of interest rate caps on the individual consumer’s ability to borrow money.

Brenner discussed key findings from No Loan For You, Too! Brenner stated that one of the key findings was, “When you institute a rate cap, you're implementing a price control. A price control creates a marketplace that is ripe for abuse, because nobody has any other options at that point.”

Listen to the full discussion here.

No Fuel Ban Appears on KMHL-Marshall Radio to Discuss a Liquid Fuel Ban

On Friday, August 1, Executive Director of No Fuel Ban, Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., appeared on KMHL-Marshall Radio to discuss what a liquid fuel ban would mean for Minnesotans. The Clean Transportation Standard being pushed by Minnesota lawmakers would aim to ban liquid fuels in the state by the year 2050.

Kaiser explained how such a ban would significantly impact Minnesotans’ pocketbooks, jobs, and their ability to drive the vehicles of their choice: “It’s not within reason for a normal Minnesotan family to be able to swap out their current vehicles with an electric vehicle. We shouldn’t be forcing people to buy vehicles they wouldn’t normally buy [because they’re expensive].” 

Listen to the full interview here.

No Fuel Ban Discussion on The Jack Tomczak Show

Over the weekend, No Fuel Ban Executive Director Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., guest-hosted The Jack Tomczak Show on WTTC 1280AM The Patriot Radio to discuss several key issues facing Minnesotans. One of the topics discussed—likely to hit Minnesota’s rural communities the hardest—was a proposed liquid fuel ban.

Kaiser explained how a liquid fuel ban would significantly impact Minnesotans’ pocketbooks, jobs, and ability to drive the vehicles of their choice:  "There are all kinds of implications. One, of course, is the cost of liquid fuels as we know them. We estimate that by 2040, we will see an increase of nearly $4 for every gallon of gas. Imagine going to the pump and paying $7 a gallon." 

Listen to the full discussion here.

Fix340B Discussion on The Jack Tomczak Show

Over the weekend, Domestic Policy Caucus Secretary/Treasurer Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., guest-hosted The Jack Tomczak Show on WTTC 1280AM The Patriot Radio to discuss several key issues facing Minnesotans. Kent brought on special guest Dr. Ge Bai to discuss reform surrounding the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

They discussed how the 340B program is not being used for its intended purpose of providing affordable drugs to people in need. As Dr. Bai described it, “The intention [of the policy] was to buy [prescription drugs] low and sell [prescription drugs] low. Instead, it has developed into a buy-low, sell-high program.”

Listen to the full discussion here.

Utah State Senator Receives Friend of Transparency Award from NoGovInternet

In April, NoGovInternet presented Utah State Senator Lincoln Fillmore with the Friend of Transparency Award in recognition of his leadership in passing Senate Bill 165, which aims to protect taxpayers by promoting greater transparency in government.

NoGovInternet created the award in partnership with the Utah Taxpayers Association to honor elected officials, like Sen. Fillmore, who demonstrate a strong commitment to public accountability, open processes, and taxpayer protection.

Read the full article here.

MinnPost op-ed: "A year later, legislation that would phase out traditional transportation fuels is still a bad idea"

In MinnPost, No Fuel Ban Executive Director Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., has an op-ed published, saying that electric vehicles have a role in reducing fuel emissions, but mandating their dominance through heavy-handed policy ignores practical and economic realities.

In part, No Fuel Ban wrote, "The proposed legislation, which would impose immediate costs on consumers and eventually phase out liquid fuels altogether, threatens to unravel the foundation of our state economy. It would devastate whole sectors, most notably agriculture, but also any business that relies on liquid fuels for transportation, production, distribution, and more."

Read the full op-ed here.

The Domestic Policy Caucus today wrote to Texas legislators, requesting that they not move HB 3265 forward.

In part, DPC Secretary/Treasurer Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., wrote the following:

On behalf of the Domestic Policy Caucus, I am writing to express our opposition to the expansion of 340B, the federal law on prescription drugs, in Texas, as contained in HB 3265. We ask that you please do not move HB 3265 forward.

An expansion of 340B would create an economic environment in which incentives would be put in place to encourage even more consolidation of healthcare systems, to put healthcare farther out of reach of rural Texans, and to imperil the ability of underserved residents to receive the medications they need, all while lining the pockets of big healthcare systems and giant chain pharmacies. Meanwhile, it would do nothing to reduce healthcare costs, which is what everyone really wants.

As you know, pharmacies are essential to the communities they serve. But in Texas and throughout America, independent drugstores are struggling.

In a 2022 policy brief, the Rural Policy Research Institute reported this troubling fact: The number of independently owned retail pharmacies declined by 16 percent in the United States between 2003 and 2021. According to NPR, that has contributed to the appearance of what are called “pharmacy deserts”—areas where residents must drive more than 15 minutes to a drugstore. Expanding 340B would exacerbate the problem. In fact, according to a 2021 report issued by GoodRx called “Mapping Healthcare Deserts,” Texas is among the states with the most counties having insufficient access to a drugstore. 

Read the full letter here.