House approval of legislation to rollback banking regulations handed down under Dodd-Frank was lauded by Republican members of California’s congressional delegation last week as a win for the U.S. economy.
U.S. Reps. Darrell Issa, Kevin McCarthy and Mimi Walters said passage of the Financial CHOICE Act, H.R. 10, signaled an end of “too big to fail” bank bailouts and would hand down tough penalties for financial fraud while holding regulators and bankers accountable.
“The Financial CHOICE Act will restore sanity to our financial sector and curbs Dodd-Frank regulatory overreach which has become an enormous barrier to economic recovery,” Issa said. “Dodd-Frank has allowed big banks to grow bigger, small banks to become fewer and failed to make our financial sector any safer.”
Lawmakers said repealing Dodd-Frank, financial regulations put into place by the Obama Administration after the 2008 financial crisis, would help small businesses and increase accountability for Wall Street and Washington.
Introduced by U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs (CHOICE) Act would boost banking transparency, restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to promote accountability, reduce federal deficits by $24 billion and provide regulatory relief to community banks.
“Repealing Dodd-Frank with the CHOICE Act lifts people back in so they can participate in America’s economy,” House Majority Leader McCarthy said. “It will reestablish the severed ties that link communities to the money they need to start businesses and hire employees. Bringing back the community banks that Dodd-Frank destroyed means that more people, not just the wealthy, will have access to credit. But if we want everyone to be a part of the American economy, we don’t want people to face the same risks they did before. We want people to be treated fairly.”
Following the 2008 financial crisis, McCarthy added, it was natural for people to question a system in which banks got bailouts while the American people go nothing — but Dodd-Frank “actually codified bailouts into law and made taxpayers a slush fund.”
Walters noted on Facebook that monthly banking fees increased 111 percent under Dodd-Frank, which led to unnecessary costs for small businesses and families.
“In the wake of Dodd-Frank, the United States experienced its worst economic recovery in 70 years, harming working and middle class Americans,” Walters said.
“Local community banks and credit unions shut their doors, making it harder for small businesses to hire, grow and reinvest in their companies. It promised consumer protection, but instead gave Americans fewer choices and reduced access to capital, resulting in diminished economic opportunity and a lower standard of living for all Americans,” she said.
Taxpayer-funded bailouts are unfair to hardworking families and individuals, Walters said. “The CHOICE Act ends bailouts, holds Washington accountable and builds a healthier, stronger economy for all.”