Tonight in Washington, congress will be voting on the Bank Protest Fee Bill.
Occupy Wall Street, a protest which has had no trouble with public support, has been making it a hassle for bank employees to get to their place of work on time. To alleviate this, an anonymous concerned bank employee sent congress the 2011 Bank Protest Fee Bill, which presents ways to help reduce overcrowding in the general area. The main point of debate has been around the $7,200 attendance fee, which many have declared keeps too many people from being able to protest. Jerry Biggagove (D, Colorado) responded to this saying that the democrats were willing to reduce this fee to about $5,800.
Some have also pointed out that the bill sets the protest organization fee at over forty thousand dollars, depending on which day it was held on and how long it would go on for. “We can’t charge organizers that much.” Hank Gunderson (R, Georgia) said. “They have a lot to do in the first place. The financial burden can’t be on the people in charge, it has to be on the everyday man, since they don’t manage anything and have time to pay for stuff like this.”
The bill also plans for other specific fees, such as increased ATM fees in the area after a protest, local water usage fees, photography and recording device time limits and usage fees, and security checkpoint fees. It is likely more will be added to increase the odds of the bill passing.
It is currently unknown whether the bill will pass or not, but in the meantime, late bank employees are pushing the already weak economy over the edge, helped by a banking industry uncertain of how many millions of dollars it will make by the end of the fiscal year.