With the Financial CHOICE Act set to go for a vote before the full House of Representatives later this week, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chimed in on the discussion to explain why the act is so important.
The act, spearheaded by Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, is the leading act to replace the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
So far, the act has only garnered partisan support, failing to gain a single Democrat vote in the Financial Services Committee. The committee passed the Financial CHOICE Act, H.R. 10, back in May in a completely partisan vote (34-26).
From there, the act moves to the full House for a vote, which is scheduled for this week. The House is currently made up of 238 Republicans and 193 Democrats.
Helping assist in the Republican effort to pass the act, the House speaker published a list of “5 Reasons to Support the Financial CHOICE Act” on his website.
Here are only two of his explanations from the list. Check out the website for the full five.
1. It reins in Dodd-Frank.
No one argues that Wall Street needs some regulation. While the Dodd-Frank Act may have had good intentions, it overreached and in practice hurt Main Street and consumers while providing more protections for Wall Street. The Dodd-Frank Act was designed to grow the size of government exponentially—and it did. It has more rules and regulations than any other Obama-era law. But instead of instilling sensible regulation on the financial industry, it cozied the federal government up with big banks. What was the effect? Big banks on Wall Street have gotten bigger, while putting untenable burdens on community banks across the country.
2. It delivers relief to Main Street.
Small, community banks give the majority of small business loans in this country. Since Dodd-Frank, these banks have struggled. Many community banks have gone under. That has hit Main Street hard, since families and small businesses can’t get the loans they need to get off the ground. The CHOICE Act will give regulatory relief to banks that keep 10% in cash reserves, which delivers relief while protecting consumers.
Two other points on the list should sound pretty familiar. Ryan highlights how the act will cut the deficit by $24 billion over the next 10 years, along with how it will also rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which the two links go more in-depth on.
The House will begin discussion on the act on Wednesday. However, timing on final passage depends on how many amendments are offered and how long it takes to debate them.
