A House Financial Services Committee is set to debate a proposal to replace the Dodd-Frank financial reform law tomorrow. The legislation, known as the Financial CHOICE Act, was introduced by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) in late June.
If passed, the new bill would allow Congress to set the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s budget, and replace its single director, Richard Cordray, with a bipartisan commission. It would also repeal a provision allowing financial regulators to identify which large institutions, often referred to as “systemically important financial institutions,” according to the legislation, merit closer oversight.
“Dodd-Frank’s particular brand of regulatory complexity and government micromanagement has made basic financial services less accessible to small businesses and lower-income Americans, by saddling America’s small and medium-sized community financial institutions with a crushing regulatory burden,” the proposed bill states.
Democrats are expected to disagree with CHOICE Act’s proposed changes, according to a published report.
“While the bill claims to end taxpayer bailouts, it would actually put us right back to where we were in 2008, when the largest banks had an implicit taxpayer guarantee,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California), ranking member of the committee, said in the report. “Instead of spending so much time and energy trying to repeal Dodd-Frank, we should be building on its reforms and ensuring that our regulators can implement them effectively. That is the work this committee should be focused on.”
The committee will meet tomorrow to not only debate the proposal but consider possible amendments to the act and vote on whether it will go next to the House floor.
Read the full CHOICE Act here.
