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House Passes Two Bipartisan Bills to Relieve the Red Tape Burden on Job Creators


Washington, Jul 9 -

The House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly passed two bipartisan Financial Services Committee bills to reduce the red tape burden for our nation’s job creators and to fix unintended consequences of derivatives provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act. 

H.R. 1564, the Audit Integrity and Job Protection Act, introduced by Rep. Robert Hurt (R-VA), prohibits the Public Company Accounting and Oversight Board (PCAOB) from mandating the automatic rotation of a public company’s independent external auditor, an idea the PCAOB explored in its August 16, 2011, Concept Release on Auditor Independence and Audit Firm Rotation.  H.R. 1564 passed the House 321-62.

“I am pleased to see the Audit Integrity and Job Protection Act was passed by the full House of Representatives yesterday with broad, bipartisan support, and it is my hope that our colleagues in the Senate will recognize the importance of preventing the threat of federal over-regulation and take action on this legislation to do so,” said Rep. Hurt.  “I thank Chairman Hensarling for his leadership on this issue, and I look forward to continue working with the Financial Services Committee toward the goal of removing the roadblocks posed by excessive federal regulations so that America’s small businesses can focus on creating jobs in the Fifth District and across the country.”

“Boards of directors, management and shareholders of companies should ultimately make the decision about which accounting firms should audit a company’s financial statements -- not bureaucrats in Washington, DC,” said Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). 

The Financial Services Committee approved this bill on June 19th by a unanimous 52-0 vote.

H.R. 1341, the Financial Competitiveness Act of 2013, introduced by Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN), is a bipartisan bill that requires the Financial Stability Oversight Council to examine how differences in the international implementation of Basel III capital rules related to derivatives will affect the health of the U.S. financial system. Furthermore, the legislation requires U.S. regulators to report to Congress with recommendations on how to develop greater uniformity in the standards and on how to minimize any adverse impact on both U.S. financial institutions and end-users of derivatives.  H.R. 1341 passed the House 353-24.

“The U.S. economy is in a fragile state. Our job in Congress is to undo hurdles, fees, or foreign advantages that may cost the U.S. economy valuable jobs,” said Congressman Fincher. “The decision by the European regulators to exempt themselves from the CVA leaves the United States at a distinct competitive disadvantage. This bill will clarify the impact the CVA exemption for E.U. financial institutions will have on the U.S. economy. We need folks around the world to know America is open for opportunity and advancement."

“FSOC needs to ensure that our financial system remains competitive and our farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and other Main Street Businesses have access to deep, liquid, and efficient markets,” said Chairman Hensarling. 

The Financial Services Committee approved this bill on May 7th by a unanimous 59-0 vote.