Lawmakers Vote Against ‘Operation Choke Point’

On Thursday (Feb. 4), the United States House of Representatives voted to end the Obama administration’s “Operation Choke Point.”

[bctt tweet=”The United States House of Representatives voted to end the Obama administration’s “Operation Choke Point.””]

The vote was 250-169, reported various news sources, which represented a roster of all Republicans and 10 Democrats voting in favor of the repeal. The bill seeks to end “Operation Choke Point,” launched by the White House in 2013, which allegedly “choked off” businesses viewed by the administration as committing consumer fraud. The “choke” is euphemistic for cutting off access to the financial system, reported The Hill.

Republicans argued that the operation represented a way to sidestep due process and allow for bias against companies “merely considered to have risk based on their reputation,” according to the newspaper. President Obama’s efforts included investigating the links between those companies and various financial conduits, ranging from traditional banks to payment processors and even payday lenders.

The coverage of industries or businesses defined to be high-risk included gun and ammunition sellers, credit repair services, money transfer networks, payday lenders and a host of others.

U.S. House Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), who authored the bill, said in a statement: “The federal government should not be able to intimidate financial institutions into dropping entire sectors of the economy as customers based not on wrongdoing but purely on personal and political motivations and without due process.”

The Obama administration, in turn, has issued a veto threat against the House bill and has responded that any new requirements would harm regulators’ ability to work effectively. And, reported Breitbart, if a veto does indeed come from the president, neither the House nor the Senate are likely to be able to muster the votes to override that veto.