WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Jason Lewis (MN-02) issued the following statement after the House passed H.R. 10, the Financial Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers, and Entrepreneurs (Financial CHOICE) Act:
“Today I supported the CHOICE Act to make sure that all Minnesotans have the chance to make their American dream a reality. Dodd-Frank’s burdens have crushed credit availability and hiked compliance costs which are passed on to consumers.
“The Orderly Liquidation Authority- really a disorderly authority- put taxpayers on the hook for Wall Street offenses or gambles gone wrong. The CHOICE Act fixes that, and makes those institutions go into bankruptcy like any other failed business. The bill saves taxpayers billions of dollars over the next decade, and it also gets the government out of the way of private businesses and restores due-process protections for all Americans.
“I was proud to support the CHOICE Act in order to bring relief for struggling small businesses, and local banks and credit unions. When we get big-government off the backs of the American people, we free them to succeed- and that’s what the CHOICE Act will do.”
Background: H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, reforms many of the provisions put in place by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. The Dodd-Frank Act was an attempt to address the financial crisis of 2008; however many of the provisions have failed to address the issue of risk in the financial system and instead put new layers of regulation on small banks and credit unions which impost compliance costs, decreasing jobs and passing on new expenses to the consumer. The Financial CHOICE Act contains provisions, including the following, to end taxpayer bailouts and widen economic opportunity.
- Ends Too Big To Fail and protects taxpayers from bailing out big banks: repeals 'orderly liquidation authority' and makes a new chapter of the bankruptcy code for large, complex financial institutions.
- Stops the Financial Stability Oversight Council from designating firms as 'Systemically Important Financial Institutions'
- Lets the SEC triple the fines for fraud or self-dealing, to ensure we are tough on Wall Street crime.
- Makes all financial regulatory agencies subject to the REINS Act, and puts them under appropriations so Congress has oversight (exception for Federal Reserve monetary policy).
- Requires cost-benefit analysis in financial regulatory rulemaking.
- Restores Due-Process for Americans by allowing a ‘right of removal’ from proceedings under Administrative Law Judges (employed by the agency) to federal court.
- Allows financial institutions to ‘opt out’ of Basel III and Dodd-Frank’s regulations if they choose to hold capital at a strongly capitalized 10% leverage ratio level, so that they have reserves to deal with a crisis.
- Includes nearly 24 capital formation bills to help start-ups and encourage IPOs, including crowdfunding and angel investing.
- Exempts institutions under $50 billion from the oversight of the CFPB, helping local banks and credit unions suffering under increased compliance costs
- Makes the Director of the CFPB removable at the will of POTUS, and brings the agency under appropriations. Removes the CFPB’s law-making power to focus on law-enforcement
- Repeals the DOL Fiduciary rule.
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