WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) voted on Thursday in favor of H.R. 766, the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act of 2015, which would prevent federal banking agencies from cutting off access to financial services for legitimate businesses. Whitfield issued the following statement upon passage.
“Operation Choke Point was nothing more than the Obama Administration intimidating financial institutions into cutting ties with legitimate, law abiding businesses to achieve a political agenda. This important legislation, passed by the House today, will end unsettling practices such as Operation Choke Point by requiring federal banking agencies to provide a depository institution written justification of any request to terminate or restrict a customer account unless it is in the interest of our national security. Targeting legitimate industries and using federal regulations and resources to do so is a flagrant abuse of power that cannot be allowed to continue.”