Rep. Barr Introduces Fair Access to Banking Act to Stop Banks From Cutting Off Legal Businesses
This bill is sitting in the House Committee on Financial Services where it was sent in February 2025. No action has taken place on this proposal since February 2025, which means it is stalled. The House committee must choose to review or vote on the bill before it can move forward.
This bill has strong support from House Republicans who want to protect industries like energy and firearms. However, it may face a difficult path in the Senate where the rules for passing bills are more strict.
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 2743 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 2743 (118th) →Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Some agricultural operations, particularly those involved in livestock production, have faced increasing pressure from banks responding to environmental or animal welfare advocacy. This bill would prevent banks from cutting off services to lawful agricultural businesses based on political or reputational concerns rather than actual financial risk.
“financial institutions implement controls to manage relationships commensurate with these risks associated with each customer, not a strategy of total avoidance of particular industries or categories of customers”
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott introduced legislation to eliminate 'reputational risk' from bank supervision. The report notes that Senator Kevin Cramer reintroduced the Fair Access to Banking Act in February to penalize banks that discriminate against legal industries.
This report identifies 'fair access' as a key legislative battle for 2026, highlighting the Ensuring Fair Access to Banking Act. It discusses efforts by Senators Tillis and Cramer to establish a federal standard prohibiting banks from denying services for non-business related reasons.
Donald Trump alleged that major banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have rejected his deposits for political reasons. The report contextualizes the administration's push for 'fair access' rules and legislation to penalize banks for discriminatory 'de-banking' practices.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Fair Access to Banking Act
Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.