Earlier in the week, Democrats unsuccessfully sought to remove language from the bill that would bring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under congressional appropriations and remove the bureau's authority to fight "unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices".
The Financial CHOICE Act would allow banks to opt out of many rules set by Dodd-Frank as long as they maintain a sufficient level of capital.
The House Financial Service Committee approved the Financial CHOICE Act 2.0 today, signaling the first concrete move to roll back consumer protections and gut the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The measure will now go to the full House for a vote.
"The Financial CHOICE Act ends bailouts so Washington can never again pick taxpayers' pockets and hand the money over to big banks", said Hensarling in a press statement after the act passed through the committee. Middle class investors, they argue, would lose access to any investment advice. "We'll need our leagues, credit unions, members and other stakeholders to remain on the advocacy offensive to keep this momentum going to ensure that is not more hard to obtain safe and affordable products from credit unions", CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle said. Republicans have opposed the agency since it was created.
Despite years of heated partisan battles over Dodd-Frank, Hensarling said the committee has a track record of working together and could continue to do so after the CHOICE Act clears.
They complained that Dodd-Frank has made it more hard to lend money to people wanting to buy a vehicle or new house, or to start up a business.
Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., called Hensarling's bill the worst he's seen during his 16 years in Congress.
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The nonprofit National Whistleblower Center (NWC) has intensified its educational campaign urging the U.S. Congress to preserve all the protection afforded Wall Street whistleblowers under the Dodd-Frank Act.
"The community banks in the rural parts of America did not cause any of the problems, and yet that's where the heaviest burden of the regulatory regime lies", said Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M. Democrats, citing the Federal Reserve, said commercial and industrial loans from commercial banks are at all-time highs. Unfortunately, he said, Hensarling and Republicans have taken an all-or-nothing approach.
The bill's approval by the House Financial Service Committee was met with strong opposition by consumer advocates, the retail industry, and other lawmakers.
Hensarling's bill would eliminate those powers.
The markup and a preceding hearing reignited partisan debates over the Dodd-Frank Act and the cause of the financial crisis.
"I ask you to focus on small banks and make those improvements", said Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat from Colorado.
Republicans are likely to pass the measure in the House.
The 589-page legislation [PDF], which has received significant opposition from advocates, retailers, and others, is a revision of the previous Financial CHOICE Act introduced by Hensarling past year.
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