Theodore Roosevelt
The Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) is throwing up a red flag on the Marshall–Durbin Credit Card Competition Act, and their concerns deserve a serious listen.
While everyone can get behind President Trump’s recent push to lower household costs—who doesn’t want to keep more money in their pocket?—DCUC says this particular bill might be a classic case of good intentions with potentially lousy outcomes, especially for military families.
“President Trump wants families to keep more of their money. We share that goal, and military families deserve to benefit from it,” says Anthony Hernandez, DCUC President and CEO. “But the Marshall–Durbin bill is the wrong answer. A policy that puts affordable credit, dependable service, and valuable member benefits at risk without establishing what families will actually save is not the relief those who serve deserve.”
The Promise Versus the Fine Print
Here’s the thing: The Credit Card Competition Act (S. 3623) is being sold as a way to save families money at the pump and the grocery store. Supporters have thrown around numbers like 2 to 3 percent savings and $1,200 back in consumers’ pockets. Sounds great, right? There’s just one problem—none of that is actually written into the legislation.
“Senator Marshall and Senator Durbin are promising a discount at the gas pump and the grocery store that their bill never requires anyone to provide,” explains Jason Stverak, DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer. “They owe military families the math: How much would merchants save, how much would reach consumers, and what could families lose in rewards or affordable services? A number in a tweet is not a family budget.”
In other words, the bill doesn’t require retailers to pass along any savings to consumers. It’s basically counting chickens before they hatch, then before the eggs are even laid.
What Military Families Stand to Lose
Defense credit unions aren’t just worried about theoretical problems. They’ve outlined concrete services that could take a hit if this bill becomes law. That interchange revenue everyone’s talking about cutting? It currently funds things like fraud prevention, cybersecurity, rewards programs, low-fee products, deployment assistance, and community access for military families.
In a June 22, 2026 letter to the House Financial Services Committee, DCUC laid out the stakes: reducing this revenue stream without cutting the actual costs of providing these services could mean higher fees, fewer benefits, or less access to affordable financial products down the road. These aren’t guarantees, but they’re real risks that deserve to be part of the conversation.
“For a deployed servicemember, financial readiness means knowing a spouse can handle an emergency back home,” Hernandez points out. “For a military family, cash back can help buy groceries, rewards can help cover a trip home, and an affordable loan can keep a car repair from becoming a crisis. Those benefits should not be put at risk for savings nobody is required to deliver.”
The Bottom Line
DCUC is asking Congress to pump the brakes on the Marshall–Durbin bill and actually consult with the people who would be affected—defense credit unions, servicemembers, veterans, and military families—before making major changes to how credit card payments work.
“We are ready to work with President Trump and Congress on real relief,” Stverak says. “Success should be measured by what a military family keeps after all the tradeoffs, not simply what a retailer stops paying. Those who serve deserve a better deal.”
It’s a fair point. Real relief means understanding the full picture—what gets saved and what gets lost. And when it comes to the financial wellbeing of military families, that’s math worth getting right.