Officers Hon. Ce ric Richmon Chair Hon. An re Carson First Vice Chair Hon. Karen Bass Secon Vice Chair Hon. Bren a Lawrence Secretary Hon. Gwen Moore October 29, 2018 Whip Hon. Anthony Brown Parliamentarian The Jero e H. Powell Chair Hon. Yvette D. Clarke Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Syste Member-At-Large 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW Members Washington, DC 20551 Hon. John ewis, GA - '87 Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC - '91 Hon. Maxine Waters, CA - '91 VIA ELEC RONIC SUBMISSION: regs.co [email protected] Hon. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., GA - '93 Hon. James E. Clyburn, SC - '93 Hon. Alcee . Hastings, F - '93 Re: Potential Federal Reserve Actions to Support Interbank Settlement of Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson, TX - '93 Faster Payments; Docket No. OP - 1625 Hon. Bobby . Rush, I - '93 Hon. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, VA - '93 Hon. Bennie G. Thompson, MS - '93 Dear Chair Powell: Hon. Sheila Jackson ee, TX - '95 Hon. Elijah Cummings, MD - '96 Hon. Danny K. Davis, I - ‘97 We are writing to urge the Federal Reserve to use its existing authority under the Hon. Gregory W. Meeks, NY - ‘98 Hon. Barbara ee, CA - '98 Expedited Funds Availability Act to andate real ti e pay ents. Additionally, Hon. William acy Clay, Jr., MO - '01 we urge the Fed to odernize its own infrastructure to be able to acco plish this Hon. David Scott, GA - '03 Hon. G.K. Butterfield, NC - '04 goal with the Auto ated Clearing House syste . Delay is costing A ericans Hon. Emanuel Cleaver II, MO - '05 billions of dollars they do not have and contributing to the growing inco e Hon. A1 Green, TX - '05 Hon. Gwen Moore, WI - '05 inequality that the Fed rightfully agrees is har ing our nation. Hon. Yvette D. Clarke, NY - '07 Hon. Keith Ellison, MN - '07 We appreciate the Fed’s request for co ents on i proving its settle ents Hon. Hank Johnson, GA - '07 Hon. Andre Carson, IN - '08 infrastructure to support faster pay ents because of this initiative’s i pact on Hon. Marcia . Fudge, OH - '08 low and oderate inco e (“LMI”) co unities, especially those individuals Hon. Karen Bass, CA - '11 Hon. Cedric Richmond, A - '11 that ay live paycheck to paycheck. Of particular interest is Question 7 of the Hon. Terri Sewell, A - '11 request for co ents where the Board inquires whether updating its settle ents Hon. Frederica Wilson, F - '11 Hon. Donald M. Payne, Jr., NJ - '12 infrastructure would help achieve ubiquitous, nationwide access to safe and Hon. Joyce Beatty, OH - '13 efficient faster pay ents in the long run. The Board raises this question after Hon. Hakeem Jeffries, NY - '13 Hon. Marc Veasey, TX - ‘13 noting that “the net effect on the efficiency of [a] faster pay ent environ ent Hon. Robin Kelly, I - '13 would depend on the extent to which it generates societal benefits by Hon. Cory Booker, NJ - '13 Hon. Alma Adams, NC - ‘14 i proving... public access to safe and secure faster pay ent services.” Hon. Brenda awrence, MI - '15 Hon. Mia ove, UT - '15 Hon. Stacey Plaskett, VI - ‘15 The i petus behind the Fed posing this question suggests the net benefit of a Hon. Bonnie Watson Coleman, NJ - '15 faster pay ents syste is unclear. However, we believe a preponderance of Hon. Dwight Evans, PA - '16 evidence already exists that highlights the overwhel ing public benefit of a Hon. Kamala D. Harris, CA - ‘17 Hon. isa Blunt Rochester, DE - '17 faster pay ents syste . Specifically, research conducted by the Brookings Hon. Anthony Brown, MD - '17 Institution, Pew Charitable Trust, Center for Financial Services Innovation and Hon. Val Demings, F - '17 Hon. A1 awson, F - '17 others has illustrated the prohibitively high costs of our nation’s slow pay ent Hon. A. Donald McEachin, VA - ‘17 syste and the sizable benefits for co unities of color that would begin to 420 Cannon House Office Building • Washington, DC 20515 CBC.HOUSE.GOV accrue savings fro adoption of real ti e pay ents. The increased prevalence of overdraft fees, high cost s all dollar credit, and check cashing has cost our constituencies tens of billions of dollars that a real ti e pay ents syste would help a eliorate. With the public benefits so clear and the costs of delay so dire, we reiterate our strong desire for the Board to ove expeditiously toward i ple enting a faster pay ents syste . Not only should the Fed’s ulti ate decision reflect the circu stances endured by our co unities, it should also reflect the forward-thinking evolution of pay ent syste s de onstrated abroad. Sincerely, Cedric Rich ond Gregory W. Meeks Chair, Congressional Black Caucus Co-Chair, CBC Econo ic Develop ent and Wealth Creation Task Force Joyce Beatty i/ Dwight Evans Co-Chair, CBC Econo ic Develop ent and Co-Chair, CBC Econo ic Develop ent and Wealth Creation Task Force Wealth Creation Task Force Page 2 of 2.