Co-sponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), the Safe Access to Cash Act (S. 3798) passed the Senate by voice vote on Sept. 30. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives for passage.
National ATM Council executive director Bruce Renard excitedly shared the news with RePlay and his ATM industry colleagues and included this statement:
“The National ATM Council’s advocacy team developed and provided the initial draft of the Safe Access to Cash bill several years ago, engaging our Hill champions in the House to have the bill introduced on a bipartisan basis by Congressmen John Rose (R-TN) and Glen Ivey (D-MD). Our team has since worked to build consensus support for the measure on the House Judiciary Committee, with Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) becoming another leading advocate there for the bill.
“We also worked diligently to get a companion bipartisan measure introduced in the Senate by Sens. Cruz, Gallego and Blackburn. Following extensive negotiations led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a slightly revised Senate bill version emerged, which was ultimately passed unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee in August.
“This followed extensive ongoing lobbying efforts by NAC’s lead lobbyist Jon Alexander, principal of the Monument Strategies D.C. lobbying firm, and NAC’s ATMs Go To Washington yearly fly-in this past July, which involved over 60 meetings with key House and Senate Judiciary Committee members. Subsequent lobbying efforts were undertaken by the NAC advocacy team and others to build Senate consensus for the Senate version of the Safe Access to Cash bill, which was ultimately passed by unanimous consent Sept. 30 on a Senate voice vote. The bill now goes to the House for affirmation and a final vote, and then to the president’s desk for signing.
“The NAC lobbying team will continue working hard to have the House promptly take up and pass the Senate bill, once the House is back in session following the midterm elections, and to secure the president’s final approval. Congressmen Rose, Ivey and Fitzgerald are already engaged internally to garner additional House support for passage of the Senate bill, and we are hopeful this will come to fruition during the lame duck session, once the House returns after the midterms. This timing would follow in the footsteps of the last federal legislation that NAC worked on years ago to eliminate egregious ATM fee sticker requirements in federal law, which was also passed by Congress and enacted into law during a lame duck session. NAC extends its sincerest thanks and appreciation to all those who have joined with NAC to make passage of these important ATM-related laws a priority and a reality.”