Just last week the White House was claiming that the crushing regulatory burden of the Dodd-Frank Act wasn’t harming community banks – not one bit. Community bankers, credit union leaders and small business owners told us that’s absolutely not true. Today’s report from Bloomberg (Headline: Bank Mergers Heading for Seven-Year High, Pushed by Costly Rules) once again exposes how feeble the White House’s spin is: Here’s an irony: U.S. regulators looking to avoid bailouts of too-big-to-fail banks have passed so many rules that regional and local lenders are combining to stomach the costs. The res... Read More »
Like Captain Renault, Americans are shocked – SHOCKED – that a report by the White House says a law supported by the White House doesn’t hurt community banks, no matter what. Well, over the last few years Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee have asked community bankers, credit union leaders, and small business operators what THEY think about the Dodd-Frank Act. After all, as our nation loses one community financial institution each day, they are the ones who have to somehow comply with Dodd-Frank’s crushing regulatory burden. Here are some of their voices: “Community banks a... Read More »
Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling just rolled out the Financial CHOICE Act, a plan to replace the failed Dodd-Frank Act and grow the economy for all Americans. And, like clockwork, left wing Democrats found the nearest possible microphone to trot out stale talking points about “Wall Street” and criticize the plan before they even knew what was in it. Just like President Obama, we’re in “myth-busting” mode. Here are some of their fact-free whoppers – and reality. ------------------------------------- Claim: Senator Elizabeth Warren claimed the Financial CHOICE Act is nothing... Read More »
You’d be hard-pressed to find a consumer willing to pay more and wait longer only to receive a worse result. But that is what’s passing for consumer protection these days in the eyes of the CFPB and its new proposal to outlaw arbitration. For the non-lawyers in the room, arbitration is a form of dispute resolution where parties agree to settle a claim with the help of an independent mediator, rather than hiring a lawyer, joining a class action lawsuit and waiting – sometimes for years – before our overcrowded court system can hear their case. But the CFPB is trying to prohibit this more cost ... Read More »
1. The Administration just published a rule to “protect consumers” which sounds great at first… 2. But then we realized that it’s 1,000 pages long. 1-0-0-0 pages… 3. And it doesn’t actually protect consumers at all. 4. The truth is this rule limits consumers’ choices and will make financial advice more expensive and less available – which is just wrong. 5. American consumers are already hurting and Washington bureaucrats shouldn't make it harder and more expensive for them to plan for retirement, send a child to college or open up their own small business. 6. And when the Administration’s own... Read More »
The Debt Clock // Treasury Secretary Jack Lew testifies as the national debt continues to climb. The Hoosier // Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN) prepares to question a witness during a March hearing. The Gipper // Chairman Jeb Hensarling waits near a portrait of a young Ronald Reagan as he prepares to address the Conservative Political Action Conference. “Maximize Pressure on Congress” // Secretary Jack Lew answers questions about a blistering new report that revealed the Treasury Department misled the public about the debt limit in order to “maximize pressure on Congress." Article I // Chairman Jeb H... Read More »
April Fools. We are not fans of Dodd-Frank and we’re doing something about it. Under Dodd-Frank (a.k.a. Washington’s Financial Control Law), Wall Street’s “too big to fail” banks have gotten even bigger, while community banks that had nothing to do with the financial crisis are being crushed under bureaucrats’ one-size-fits-all regulations. The harm to consumers has been very real. We can do better. In the coming months, Republicans on the Financial Services Committee will advance a bold alternative that will offer greater opportunity to all and demand more accountability from Washington and ... Read More »
WASHINGTON -- February may be the shortest month of the year, but the Financial Services Committee made every moment count – hosting 8 hearings, 1 markup, and passing bipartisan legislation to modernize federal housing programs, stop executive overreach and provide regulatory relief for Americans on Main Street. 7 photos from the Month of February: The Debt // Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen makes her first public comments since the Fed’s decision to raise interest rates and since the national debt eclipsed $19 trillion. The Markup // Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) leads a markup of the Co... Read More »
READ ON ADOBE SLATE Robert Sherill was a drug dealer. He was young and he made some serious mistakes. In his own words, “When I needed money, I sold drugs.” Eventually his crimes caught up with him and after several years in prison, he emerged resolved to build a better life for himself. The only problem was that no one would take a risk on Robert. He couldn't get a job. He couldn't get a loan. He couldn't even get a bank account. The deck was stacked against him. It was against these odds that Robert decided that if he was going to turn his life around, he needed to start his own business. E... Read More »
House Committee: Treasury Played Politics in Debt Ceiling Debate "The U.S. Treasury for political purposes tried to suppress the existence of backup plans that would allow the government to continue making some payments in the event of a partial government shutdown, according to a newly published report from the House Financial Services Committee." Secret Fed Docs Show Obama Misled Congress, Public During Debt Limit Crises "Federal Reserve Bank of New York officials secretly conducted real-time exercises during the 2011 and 2013 debt-limit crisis that demonstrated the federal government could... Read More »
