Governor Abbott Urges U.S. Senate To Pass Financial Institution Customer Protection Act
Governor Greg Abbott today sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urging the U.S. Senate to pass the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act, effectively ending Operation Choke Point – a practice used by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to target lawful firearm sellers for exclusion from the banking system by pressuring banks to cancel accounts with their businesses. The Financial Institution Customer Protection Act was introduced by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) and would outlaw the DOJ's infringement of business owners' Second Amendment rights while preserving the government's ability to use banking regulation to combat illegal activity.
“The executive-branch bureaucracy in Washington, D.C., is too large, is too expensive and wields too much power,” Governor Abbott writes in the letter. “Congress must consistently and decisively take action to control – and if necessary to punish – executive agencies that seek to impose their will on the American people without the consent of our elected representatives. Passing the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act would defend the Second Amendment and preserve the rights of law-abiding business owners.”
The Governor emphasizes that Operation Choke Point offers no recourse for the businesses targeted, thus violating the Constitution’s guarantee of due process under the law.