Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Newsmax’s “Wake Up America” that Republicans are prioritizing lower household costs by targeting two major budget pressures: healthcare bills and credit card fees.
“Look, my focus is the economy right now and bringing down the cost of living,” Marshall said Thursday, describing a cost-cutting agenda that he said stretches from medical expenses to everyday purchases.
Marshall said President Donald Trump is preparing a new healthcare proposal and that Republicans are working in parallel on affordability initiatives.
“He’s going to announce a major healthcare package here on Friday,” Marshall said.
Forcing transparency in what patients pay before they receive care is something that has bipartisan support in the Senate, the Kansas Republican said.
“We [Republicans and Democrats] agree upon our price tags bill, our transparency bill, that if we force all healthcare providers to show you the true cost of what you’re going to have done up front … then we turn patients into consumers again,” he said.
“When we turn them into consumers, they’re going to shop,” Marshall added.
The result, he said, would be substantial savings for families, regardless of where they get healthcare coverage.
“Our bill will save American families $1,000 a month on health insurance,” Marshall said, explaining that it would apply “regardless of whether you’re on Obamacare, you get your insurance through your work or you’re on Medicare.”
On credit cards, Marshall said Republicans are also pushing a bill known as the Credit Card Competition Act to reduce costs that he said get added to prices at the gas pump and grocery store through swipe fees and concentrated market power.
“Right now, two credit card companies work hand in glove with a handful of Wall Street banks,” he said. “They control 80% of the industry.”
The dominance of a small number of networks drives up what consumers effectively pay each time they use plastic, he said.
“Every time they swipe that credit card, we’re paying seven times more than folks in the European Union are,” he said.
He also pointed to high interest rates charged to cardholders, saying, “Credit card companies are charging families 20% to 30% interest.”
Trump wants to cap credit card interest rates at “10% for one year,” Marshall said, and Republicans “want to bring down those costs of swipe fees by introducing competition, forcing banks to introduce one more opportunity, one more network.”
“We want to introduce competition,” he said. “We're not doing price caps, but this will save hardworking American families 1% or 2% every time they buy gas or they buy groceries.”
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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