ETA Election Update

REPUBLICANS TAKE SENATE MAJORITY
Last night’s voting has given Republicans a majority in the Senate and increased it in the House. As of early this morning, Republicans picked up at least 7 seats to hold at least 52 seats. In the House, Republicans picked up 13 seats, to increase their majority to at least 241. We are still waiting for voting results from some races. For the next two years, the Republicans will control the Congressional agenda while President Obama has the White House. ETA will continue to work with both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to represent the payments industry.

Below is a post-election report to help you evaluate how policymakers will be thinking about the payments industry for at least the next two years. From Operation Choke Point and prepaid cards, to data breach and EMV implementation, ETA is working hard to ensure policymakers understand the issues facing our industry.

Election Results
HOUSE: Republican 241 to Democrat 174. Republicans picked up a net of 13 new seats. Votes in some races are still being counted, so these numbers could change slightly. 

SENATE: Republican 52 to Democrat 43. Independent 2. Votes in two states currently controlled by Democrats – Virginia and Alaska – are still being counted, with a run-off in Louisiana in early December.

In addition to keeping all the seats they already had, Republicans defeated incumbent Democrats in the following states: Arkansas, Iowa, Colorado, North Carolina, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia.

WHAT’S NEXT?
Congress will return next week to conclude the 113th Congress. This period is known as the “lame duck” session. It will focus primarily on funding the government into 2015, and it may consider reauthorizing a number of expired tax provisions.

Republicans, anticipating a stronger position in the 114th Congress will likely defer any significant legislative activity until next year.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE 114th CONGRESS
Starting in January, the 114th Congress will focus on examining cybersecurity and data breach issues. Oversight will include frequent oversight hearings in both the House and Senate.

Issues Important to ETA Members in the 114th Congress
Operation Choke Point: ETA will continue to use its guidelines to lead the effort to push back against OCP.

Data Security: ETA will advocate for greater data security while pushing back against burdensome and harmful policies.

Data Breach Notification: ETA will continue to work with policymakers and other trades to establish uniform national standards for breach notification.

Information sharing: ETA will work to remove barriers which prevent government and industry from sharing information about cyber threats.

Tax Reform: ETA will work to shape broad based tax reform that benefits the payments industry.

Digital Currency: ETA will continue to educate policymakers about the new digital currency.

Important Dates to Watch
November 12: House and Senate reconvene

November 13: CFPB field hearing on prepaid cards in Wilmington, DE

December 6: Louisiana Senate run-off Sen. Mar Landrieu (D) v. Rep. Bill Cassidy (R)

December 11: funding of the US government runs out

January 6: expected date for the 114th Congress to convene

January 20: President expected to deliver his State of the Union speech

March 15: federal “debt ceiling” – the authority of the federal government to borrow to cover its expenses – reached 

Your Government Affairs Team
Scott Talbott, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at [email protected];
Jaime Graham, Senior Manager, Government Affairs at [email protected];
Grant Carlson, Government Affairs Coordinator at [email protected].