Reps. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Lance Gooden, R-Texas, introduced the House version of the Credit Card Competition Act Monday. CUNA, Leagues, and credit unions strongly oppose the bill, which would allow merchants to route payments through an unaffiliated network.

“This bill would break a system that we know works, and put consumers’ sensitive financial data at risk, just to give big box retailers yet another windfall,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “We will continue to stand behind credit unions and other community financial institutions in strong opposition to this bill.”

Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., introduced the bill in the Senate. CUNA issued an action alert calling on credit unions to send messages of opposition to Capitol Hill, resulting in more than 27,000 messages as of this week.

CUNA also launched a Member Activation Program (MAP) campaign encouraging credit unions to activate their members in opposition.