Patrick McHenryChairman

Washington, May 31, 2018 -

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) released the following statement today after the Federal Reserve proposed to revise the Volcker Rule that heavily impacted markets, businesses, investors, and job creators.

"Regardless of whether someone supports the Volcker Rule or wishes to repeal it—as the Financial CHOICE Act would—any Volcker Rule that is on the books should not be unnecessarily complex and burdensome. And most importantly, it should not operate in a manner that ultimately restricts Main Street business from obtaining funding to create jobs and grow. Thus, I am encouraged that the litany of regulators currently charged with writing and implementing the Volcker Rule finally have taken a 'first effort' to better tailor the Rule. Doing so certainly will enhance regulatory clarity and reduce some of the significant compliance costs and uncertainties of the current Rule.

"Nonetheless, I take Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randy Quarles at his word that today’s proposal 'is not the completion of our work,' and I look forward to the regulators’ future efforts to fix the needless complexities of the Volcker Rule that have chilled market making and increased costs for Main Street. In the meantime, the House has already acted to streamline the Volcker Rule’s burdens and complexities by passing H.R. 4790, the 'Volcker Rule Regulatory Harmonization Act,' bipartisan legislation sponsored by Representative French Hill (R-AR) and cosponsored by Representative Bill Foster (D-IL). The Senate should follow the strong 300-104 bipartisan vote and work with the House to see this bipartisan bill become law.”