James Ballentine

March 07, 2022

On behalf of the members of the American Bankers Association, we write to express our support for your amendment to the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 to clarify that the U.S. Postal Service is not authorized to provide banking services.

November 30, 2021

On behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA), I am writing in support of H.R. 6037, legislation to prohibit the Small Business Administration (SBA) from directly making loans under the 7(a) loan program.

October 20, 2021

The American Bankers Association (ABA) writes in support of 'The Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act.' The bill would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from implementing the Biden administration's tax information reporting proposal, which would require financial institutions to report gross inflows and outflows of every bank account above a de minimis threshold of during the year. While we strongly support the goal of ensuring that every American pays his or her fair share of taxes, the proposal as described does not accomplish this goal.

October 20, 2021

The American Bankers Association (ABA) writes in support of H.R. 5586 'The Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act.' The bill would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from implementing the Biden administration's tax information reporting proposal, which would require financial institutions to report gross inflows and outflows of every bank account above a de minimis threshold of during the year. While we strongly support the goal of ensuring that every American pays his or her fair share of taxes, the proposal as described does not accomplish this goal.

September 23, 2021

We write to express our opposition to H.R. 5189, the 'Member Business Loan Expansion Act, legislation that your recently authored that would substantially broaden the tax-exempt credit union industry's business lending authority.

May 17, 2021

May 05, 2021

The American Bankers Association (ABA) welcomes and supports H.R. 2561, “Promoting Access to Capital in Underbanked Communities Act of 2021,” which was recently introduced by Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky). The bill would establish a three-year phase-in period for new banks to comply with federal capital standards, among other provisions designed to promote and sustain de novo banking.

December 10, 2020

On behalf of the members of the American Bankers Association, the leading trade association for America's banking industry, I am writing to express concerns about a counterproductive fee that would be imposed on creditors as the result of the revenue offset contained in H.R. 8235, the Open Courts Act, which was passed by the House on December 8.

November 17, 2020

We are encouraged that bipartisan negotiations continue, seeking agreement on additional, badly needed, economic relief.

September 29, 2020

On behalf of the members of the American Bankers Association (ABA), I am writing to express our opposition to two bills changing the Bankruptcy Code that are scheduled for markup today. As explained further below, both bills would increase the cost of borrowing and reduce the availability of credit.

September 15, 2020

The American Bankers Association (ABA) writes to express our strong support for S. 4159, the E-SIGN Modernization Act of 2020, scheduled for consideration before the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, September 16. This narrowly drafted bill, sponsored by Senators John Thune (SD), Jerry Moran (KS) and Todd Young (IN), addresses a problematic provision of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act ('E-SIGN Act')1 while at the same time preserving consumers' legal and financial rights.

August 12, 2020

On behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA), I write to express our support for your bill, the Rural Equal Aid Act. As you know nearly 5,000 banks - 80% of all banks nationwide - reported agricultural and rural loans on their books at year-end 2019. Banks are an important part of rural America and the Rural Equal Aid Act will allow banks to better serve their customers in rural areas.

August 04, 2020

On behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA), I write to express our strong opposition to two private student loan amendments adopted by the House during debate on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

August 04, 2020

On behalf of our members, the American Bankers Association (ABA) writes to request that you consider in the forthcoming Phase IV economic relief package an important issue relating to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the small business borrowers served by PPP.

June 23, 2020

The American Bankers Association writes to express our opposition to H.R. 5332, the Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2020, scheduled for consideration before the House this week.

June 16, 2020

On behalf of the members of the American Bankers Association (ABA), I write to express our support for your legislation S. 3962, which would amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act by replacing Section 29 with limitations on asset growth and the removal of brokered deposit restrictions.

March 17, 2020

On behalf of the members of the American Bankers Association, I write today in support of the Immediate Measures to Protect Against COVID-19 Threats (IMPACT) for Small Businesses Act of 2020.

March 09, 2020

On behalf of the members of the American Bankers Association (ABA), I write to express our strong support for H.R. 1872, the Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural America Act (ECORA) of 2019. This legislation has one important purpose -- to assist agricultural borrowers.

March 09, 2020

On behalf of the members of the American Bankers Association (ABA), I write to express our strong support for S. 1641, the Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural America Act (ECORA) of 2019. This legislation has one important purpose -- to assist agricultural borrowers.

January 24, 2020

On behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA) I am pleased to submit these comments regarding the staff Discussion Draft on privacy legislation released on December 18, 2019.