Dodd-Frank has been albatross on the neck of America. Now is an opportunity to lighten that load…just a little bit. Dodd-Frank can be credited with the hindering America’s recovery and downright making it worse since it passed.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) has been working to undo some of the damage and that opportunity is finally here. The House Financial Services Committee may take up a bill designed to repeal one of the worst parts of Dodd-Frank, the Durbin Amendment , as early as this week.
The Hensarling sponsored bill is called The Financial Choice Act. Listen to Rep. Hensarling himself describe what it does in his own words:
This is the kind of leadership Americans and Conservatives have been looking for. Enough rhetoric about meaningless things. Let’s get something done that will actually make America better right away.
This bill basically does these very real things. The kind of things that Americans want to see. Believe it or not, this is an actual bill…not just a bunch of speech promises that never happen. Here’s what The Financial Choice Act will do:
It ends taxpayer-funded bailouts once and for all. It stops the cronyism that allows the powerful and well-connected to game our system. It lifts bureaucratic red tape — intended for big banks on Wall Street — off of community banks on Main Street. It requires banks to be well capitalized to prevent another financial crisis and puts in place the toughest penalties in history to protect consumers from fraud and deception. And it will help grow the economy for all Americans — not just those at the top.
All of those things will essentially eliminate the damage done by the Durbin Amendment . So in case you are wondering…just what was the Durbin Amendment ? Here is a description of it:
The Durbin Amendment was included as a last-minute addition to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act on behalf of special interest groups representing big box retailers. Market-manipulating price controls were forced on interchange for debit card transactions. Although retailers promised to pass along savings to consumers in the form of lower prices, they instead have pocketed $36 billion since enactment, turning the amendment into nothing more than a merchant markup that pads retailers’ bottom lines while consumers see no relief at the register.
In addition to hurting consumers, the Durbin Amendment has been shown to victimize small community banks and credit unions who were supposed to have been exempted from the weight of the Durbin Amendment , but shockingly were not. Dodd-Frank in general, but specifically in the Durbin Amendment have severely impacted the ability of our small town banks to do business by the sheer force of regulatory controls.
This new bill would go a long way to revitalize our hometown banks who traditionally have been more suited to helping grow small businesses than the large banks.
For once, a bill that could actually spur economic growth and peel back the regulatory nightmare that has stagnated American small business for years is a real possibility.
I for one, hope to see every single Republican in congress pushing for this reform and doing everything they can to persuade their pro-business Democrats (if there is such a thing) to get on board.
photo credit: President Obama Signs the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act via photopin (license)