In Case You Missed It

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Financial Services Committee Chairman unveiled the details of the Financial CHOICE Act – the Republican plan to replace the Dodd-Frank Act and promote economic growth. Support for the plan has been as overwhelming as the job-crushing regulations the bill will repeal. Here is what some experts are saying:

“…a true reform agenda designed to jump-start the economy by unleashing the regulatory shackles that hinder the economy. Central planning of our financial sector has not created jobs, it has killed them.  It has not limited risk(s), it has created more.  It has not encouraged economic growth, it has shackled it. The time has come to allow the power of the market to return us back to a prosperous America and Jeb Hensarling will be leading the way.” Red State

“There is no win for Main Street in Dodd-Frank as it stands. Nobody can convince me that making it harder for responsible Americans with good credit to get a mortgage is good for the economy. There is no way that making credit cards less available and driving up rates through overregulation is good for Main Street….Cheers to Hensarling for standing up for typical Main Street Americans and promoting growth for the US economy.” New York Post

“Chairman Hensarling deserves credit for shifting the conversation surrounding Dodd-Frank from rhetoric to action. Restoring market discipline will be better for all involved than politicized bureaucrats attempting to micromanage the economy.  What’s more, the effort puts conservatives on the side of consumers and families by repealing the law’s Too-Big-To-Fail projection, which President Obama and his liberal allies included to protect massive financial institutions. The Republican-controlled House should move to consider the bill in timely fashion.” Heritage Action for America

“The Financial CHOICE Act is a comprehensive alternative to the current regulatory regime, and if enacted, it would reduce Washington’s overreach and boost economic growth, job creation, and wages across America. The Conservative Reform Network applauds Chairman Hensarling and the House Financial Services Committee for producing the kind of policies necessary to restore the promise of the American dream.” Conservative Reform Network (CRN)

“To replace Dodd-Frank’s heavy-handed and counterproductive approach, Hensarling offers the Financial CHOICE Act. It ends too-big-to-fail and taxpayer bailouts of financial institutions, and replaces complex and arbitrary governance by bureaucrat with transparent rules that respect economic liberty. Congress should embrace his reforms as a counter to the failed, top-down approach of the last decade…..Congress should make enacting his recently announced agenda a priority.” Center for Freedom and Prosperity

“You can support Main Street or the Dodd-Frank Act, but not both. Chairman Hensarling’s CHOICE Act would be a win for Main Street consumers, workers and small businesses. Since Dodd-Frank’s passage, free-checking has decreased while lobbyists’ importance has increased. The CHOICE Act helps reverse this trend. And is there any doubt that the crisis of 2008 would’ve been lessened if Lehman, Bear Stearns and others had a valid bankruptcy option available? Chairman Hensarling’s plan for a revamped bankruptcy code should attract bipartisan support, and if passed bring about a badly-needed increase in market discipline.” Main Street Growth Project (MSGP)

“Chairman Hensarling’s comprehensive blueprint for reform is a bold and welcome opportunity for advancing common-sense regulatory relief that will help promote economic growth on Main Street and throughout the American economy. Chairman Hensarling’s common-sense reforms will free up resources that can be used to make loans, promote economic growth and create jobs in local communities nationwide.” Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA)

“We appreciate the work of Chairman Hensarling and members of the House Financial Services Committee as they strive to remove regulatory impediments that stand in the way of economic growth.” American Bankers Association (ABA)

“Like any 2,300 page bill, the Dodd-Frank Act is imperfect.  We applaud Chairman Hensarling for his persistent commitment to seeking needed changes to the Dodd-Frank Act that will bring balance and consistency to an industry serving millions of consumers.  Most especially, we thank the Chairman for his inclusion of a five-person, bipartisan board at the CFPB in order to provide stable, long-term leadership at the CFPB.” Consumer Bankers Association (CBA)

“We appreciate Chairman Hensarling’s provisions that tackle some of the regulatory burdens shouldered by Main Street, community financial institutions --especially the consideration it gives to credit unions' supervisory concerns. CUNA also strongly supports the creation of a 5-member panel to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and believes the current sole-director structure at the CFPB jeopardizes the bureau’s foundation as an objective, neutral consumer protection agency.” Credit Untion National Association (CUNA)

“The Texas Bankers Association applauds Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling’s efforts to bring meaningful regulatory relief to community banks through the Financial Choice Act. Community banks have been overregulated since the Dodd-Frank Act was passed in 2010… The Financial Choice Act offers changes that will help well-capitalized community banks continue to provide the services upon which their customers and communities depend, while keeping in place regulations that will protect consumers from fraud and deception.” Texas Bankers Association (TBA)

“The Electronic Payments Coalition applauds Chairman Hensarling’s vision and hard work on The Financial CHOICE Act which provides commonsense reforms that promote economic growth for all Americans.” Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC)

“The Financial CHOICE Act outlined two weeks ago by House Financial Services Committee Chair Jeb Hensarling includes…reforms with good economic rationale: It would encourage banks to have more capital by offering them in return relief from complex regulations which slowdown the economy. It would restore the regular constitutional role of the Congress by requiring congressional approval of major financial regulations based on cost-benefit analysis. It would reform the bankruptcy code with a new chapter to prevent bailouts and financial spillovers of failed financial firms. And it would require the Fed to report on its strategy for monetary policy. In general, the act emphasizes the use of incentives and market mechanisms operating through the rule of law to raise economic growth.” – John Taylor, Economist
 
“Chairman Hensarling’s [Financial CHOICE Act] represents a significant effort to reform Dodd-Frank.  Although the proposal is not expected to advance as stand-alone legislation this year, we anticipate that it is likely to inform Dodd-Frank Act reform efforts going forward.” – KL Gates

“As we reported last week, Congressman Jeb Hensarling, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, proposed sweeping reforms to Dodd Frank.   The LSTA welcomes Chairman Hensarling’s commitment to reforming the risk retention provisions of Dodd-Frank.  Chairman Hensarling recognizes that dynamic, job-creating American companies rely on the loan financing provided by collateral loan obligations (CLOs) to grow their businesses and create jobs and that that source of financing is seriously threatened by the Dodd-Frank risk retention rules.  His proposal includes an approach that would remove a major impediment to business lending and support the continuation of securitizations in an asset class that performed very well during and after the financial crisis.  We look forward to engaging in a robust discussion on the need for these reforms.” – LSTA

“Access to capital remains a challenge for startups and growing firms, and Chairman Hensarling’s Financial CHOICE Act addresses critical areas to improve capital formation and strengthen the capital and financial markets. For example, onerous Dodd-Frank regulations are unfairly burdening small banks, which has tightened loan availability and unnecessarily raises the costs of capital for small businesses. The Financial CHOICE Act makes key revisions that will allow community banks to fully get back to business, financing the startups and local small businesses that are critical to the sustainability and growth of local communities and cities.” – SBE Council