Hensarling: Democrats Played Right Into Wall Street’s Hands When They Passed Dodd-Frank
Washington,
February 6, 2017 -
House Financial Services Committee Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) made the following comments about a press conference held this morning by some Democrats to discuss the Dodd-Frank Act:
For members who spend a good deal of time decrying “alternative facts,” the Democrats at today’s press conference sure engaged in a lot of them. Here’s the truth:
When Dodd-Frank was passed, Americans were promised a healthier economy, an end to bailouts and better consumer protections. Instead, we have the weakest recovery in history, a guarantee of more Wall Street bailouts, and consumer costs have gone up while their choices have gone down. The number of banks offering free checking has been cut in half, fees have risen dramatically, mortgages are more difficult to close, and many auto loans now cost $500 more. Today the big banks are bigger and the small banks are fewer as we lose one community financial institution every day.
Thanks to Dodd-Frank’s red tape, consumers pay more for mortgages, credit cards and auto loans -- that is if consumers can even get access to them. Even President Obama’s director of the Small Business Administration admitted Dodd-Frank makes it harder for small businesses to get loans.
Democrats played right into Wall Street’s hands when they passed Dodd-Frank. As one Wall Street CEO said, Dodd-Frank has created a “moat” of protection around the big banks. Another Wall Street CEO points out that Dodd-Frank’s complex rules and regulations serve to protect Wall Street’s big banks from competition from smaller mid-sized and community banks and credit unions.
Republicans offer a better way. The Financial CHOICE Act holds Wall Street accountable with the toughest penalties in history for those who commit fraud. It ends Wall Street bailouts and requires failed firms to get bankruptcy, not bailouts. Instead of Dodd-Frank’s top-down, political regulations that hurt Main Street, the Financial CHOICE Act offers working families more freedom and opportunity so they can achieve financial independence.
