House passes postal banking amendment

The House passed an ICBA-opposed amendment to a 2021 spending bill that would fund a postal banking pilot program at the U.S. Postal Service. The amendment to the Financial Services and General Government spending bill introduced by Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) passed on a voice vote with a bloc of other amendments.

In a joint letter to congressional leaders last week, ICBA and other groups said postal banking would raise regulatory and consumer-protection concerns. In a previous letter, ICBA said USPS has virtually no expertise in providing financial services and would merely introduce another tax-advantaged and lightly regulated entity into the marketplace.

ICBA has consistently opposed postal banking and will continue working against this amendment in the Senate.