Van Duyne Blasts Biden Admin for ‘Hostilities’ Against Small Businesses

After holding a hearing for small businesses, Texas Representative Beth Van Duyne (R) released a statement attacking the Biden administration for alleged “hostilities” against small businesses. 

“I’m grateful to have held this hearing as part of our oversight efforts as we continue to put the needs of our job creators first and push back on the Biden Administration’s hostilities,” said Rep. Van Duyne.

The Texas representative thanked the various individuals who took the time to share their thoughts and experiences on small business dealings.

“I appreciated the witnesses who joined us today and confirmed that our small businesses and community bankers are stifled by this Administration’s overzealous regulatory onslaught, said Van Duyne.

“Rather than allowing meritocracy to prevail, this Administration is forcing lenders to base investment decisions on demographic quotas and regulating small businesses out of existence,” continued the Texas lawmaker.

“In today’s regulatory environment, private credit is more important than ever before, serving as a lifeline for our entrepreneurs and empowering innovators to succeed across every sector. I’m grateful to have held this hearing as part of our oversight efforts as we continue to put the needs of our job creators first and push back on the Biden Administration’s hostilities,” said Van Duyne.

Van Duyne questioned a witness, referred to as “Mr. Shah”, on his thoughts about some of the issues surrounding businesses. One of the issues mentioned was mergers. Shah’s concern was focused on every pre-merger potentially being subject to “additional review”, which, according to Van Duyne and himself, could use up more time and money. Furthermore, Shah emphasized the need for the resources to be used for an “exit strategy”.

Mergers have been a hot issue recently. Texas Representative Al Green (D) called for the close examination of the merger of two credit card giants, Discover Finacial Services and Capital One Financial.

“Capital One is among the largest banks in the nation, reporting $36.8 billion in total net revenue for 2023. Discover operates one of the largest payment networks in the country, reporting $2.9 billion in net income for 2023,” said the Texas lawmaker.

“I am concerned that this consolidation may harm both consumers and the employees of these firms. A recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Report analyzing credit card terms from issuers of all sizes found that the largest 25 credit card companies tended to offer higher interest rates than small banks and credit unions,” said Green.