With funding for the highway system set to expire in July, Congress set about passing legislation to reauthorize the Highway Trust Fund.  In order to offset the cost, the Senate version of the bill included a revenue-raising proposal that would cut the dividend payment on Federal reserve bank stock from 6% to 1.5% for banks with over $1 billion in assets. By law, nationally chartered banks are required to hold Federal reserve bank stock equal to 6% of their paid-in capital, half of which must be paid in while the other half is subject to call by the Board of Governors. The stock may not be sold, traded, or pledged as security for a loan; and dividends are fixed at 6% per year under current law.  On July 16, TCH joined the ABA, FSF, FSR, and the ICBA (Trades) in a letter to Sens. Inhofe (R-OK) and Boxer (D-CA) expressing strong opposition to the proposal, and followed with a separate letter on July 28 to Speaker Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Leader Pelosi (D-CA) urging them to reject the Senate’s proposal.