1. Government Affairs Updates

Support the Credit Card Competition Act

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Federal Government Affairs Manager

Samuel Beaver is the federal government affairs manager for the Brewers Association. He has worked in government and federal affairs for the past 15 years, having worked in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate as a Congressional staffer handling issues ranging from tax to trade to banking policy. He later lobbied on a wide variety of issues in the private sector. Sam is a graduate of the University of Virginia where he discovered his interest in craft beer as a bartender, and his interest in homebrewing with family followed shortly after.

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This month, Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) offered the previously introduced Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) as an amendment to the financial services-related GENIUS Act, which is up for consideration in the Senate, potentially in early June.

The CCCA amendment would require the largest credit card issuing financial institutions in the country—those with assets over $100 billion—to allow at least two unaffiliated credit card networks (at least one of which must be outside of the top two largest networks) to be used to process credit card swipe fee transactions.

Credit and debit card swipe fees have continued to increase significantly. Studies have found that swipe fees increased from an average of 2.26% in 2023 to 2.35% in 2024. Approximately $187 billion in swipe fees were collected from U.S. businesses on card transactions in 2024. One study estimates that greater competition would have reduced fees by roughly $17 billion in 2024, putting money back in the pockets of retail businesses like BA members.

The Brewers Association supports the reintroduction of the Credit Card Competition Act and the passage of this legislation as offered as an amendment to the GENIUS Act.

Reach out to your elected officials to support the Credit Card Competition Act.

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Link to author biography
Federal Government Affairs Manager

Samuel Beaver is the federal government affairs manager for the Brewers Association. He has worked in government and federal affairs for the past 15 years, having worked in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate as a Congressional staffer handling issues ranging from tax to trade to banking policy. He later lobbied on a wide variety of issues in the private sector. Sam is a graduate of the University of Virginia where he discovered his interest in craft beer as a bartender, and his interest in homebrewing with family followed shortly after.

See Sam Beaver's Articles