Let’s stifle Operation Choke Point

The following is the first paragraph of a letter I received back in December: “I am an employee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). I was proud of my job and the FDIC’s mission before Operation Choke Point. During the past two years, however, we have been told to examine banks much more harshly, if they deal with a class of customers prohibited by Choke Point.”

The letter was obviously from a whistleblower within the FDIC and reaffirmed that Operation Choke Point is still happening despite the fact that many inside the agency recognize the dangers and inappropriate nature of this reckless program.

{mosads}Operation Choke Point is an organized attempt by the administration, the FDIC and the Department of Justice to bully and intimidate financial institutions so they won’t offer financial services to certain licensed, legally operating industries the government doesn’t like in an attempt to choke off those industries from our country’s banking system. The program has been in effect for a few years now, but it has gone into overdrive within the past year.

Over the past year I have introduced legislation, held meetings with FDIC officials, and sent letters to the FDIC — including the agency’s inspector general — and the Department of Justice in an effort to gain information and ultimately put an end to this unprecedented program. 

And I am not the only one working to stop this activity. Members of Congress from across the country and political spectrum have been working together to end Operation Choke Point, and we have been joined in our efforts by a diverse array of organizations dedicated to protecting consumers and businesses that serve them. 

While our work is not yet complete, strides have been made over the past few months.

In December, I met with FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg and asked him to act swiftly to bring Operation Choke Point to a final close and to actively work to change the culture at the agency. Gruenberg, accompanied by FDIC Vice Chairman Tom Hoenig, came back to my office last week to provide a status update. After an hour-long discussion, not only did the chairman and vice chairman acknowledge wrongdoing within the FDIC, they accepted many of the policies contained in my legislation, the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act.

In addition to implementing pieces of my legislation, the chairman and vice chairman have joined me in calling on the FDIC inspector general to conduct a formal investigation of the program and any staff who played or may have played a role in the Operation Choke Point.

The administrative actions taken by FDIC are undoubtedly steps in the right direction, but more work must and will be done. We must ensure that the FDIC and other federal banking and credit union examiners and supervisory staff understand not only the importance of the changes implemented by the FDIC leadership but also that the federal government does not have the right to dictate which legal businesses survive and which are forced out of business.

The future is unknown, and consumers and small businesses need to remain vigilant, which is why I
reintroduced my legislation this week and will continue to work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that see the dangers of this program and want it stopped.

Luetkemeyer has represented congressional districts in eastern and central Missouri since 2009. He sits on the Small Business and the Financial Services committees, and is chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.