House Republicans have come together to pass legislation that would overhaul and replace the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
On Thursday, members of the House of Representatives
voted to pass the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 by a vote 233 to 186. Eleven legislators didn’t vote.
Just one Republican voted against passing the legislation. There were no Democrats who ventured onto the other side of the isle.
CHOICE is the acronym for “Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs.”
The
House Financial Services Committee issued a statement indicating that banks, community banks and credit unions have expressed strong support for the act.
But according to the committee statement,
large banks withheld support for the bill as Wall Street CEOs have publicly said they don’t support repealing Dodd-Frank.
“Every promise of Dodd-Frank has been broken,” Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said in the written statement. “Fortunately there is a better, smarter way. It’s called the Financial CHOICE Act. It stands for economic growth for all, but bank bailouts for none.”
Hensarling said the proposed law would replace bank bailouts with bankruptcy.
The statement indicated the
Congressional Budget Office reported that the Financial CHOICE Act would reduce the deficit by $33.6 billion over 10 years.
But the CBO also reportedly said that the largest banks wouldn’t be likely to raise enough capital to meet the bill’s requirement for substantial regulatory relief.
In a written statement, the American Bankers Association applauded
passage of the bill and called it an important step toward making much-needed regulatory reforms.
But the trade group was disappointed that a provision to repeal the Durbin Amendment was removed.
Now the Senate must craft companion legislation.
