June 8, 2017
hook for too long. Ultimately, the Financial CHOICE Act is a jobs bill, and it is one that will bring hope back to Main Street. It is easy to talk about the economy and regulations as a series of numbers. It is easy to talk in vague terms about job creators and small-business owners. But what is far more important is identifying the problems that they actually face and actually doing something about those problems to help make a difference to improve their lives. That is what this CHOICE Act is all about. It is why we were sent here: to look out for the people who work hard and who do the right thing. Let’s get this done for them. Let’s get this done for the people who take the risks, who live and breathe their work, for the people who strive and struggle every day for their families. Let’s pass the CHOICE Act today. Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 10 is being called the ‘‘Wrong’’ CHOICE Act by the American public because this bill is truly the wrong choice for all of us. Indeed, this is one of the worst bills I have seen in my time in Congress. This bill is a vehicle for Donald Trump’s agenda to deregulate and help out Wall Street. It destroys nearly all of the important policies we put in place in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to prevent another financial crisis and protect consumers. This bill would create vast harm and lead us right back to the bad old days. We all remember the suffering that resulted from the Great Recession: $13 trillion in household wealth was lost; 11 million people lost their homes; the unemployment rate hit 10 percent. The impact was enormous and felt by all. This bill would pave the way back to economic damage of the same scale—or worse. The ‘‘Wrong’’ CHOICE Act guts the highly successful Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which works to make sure that hardworking Americans are not subjected to predatory practices in the financial marketplace. Since its creation, the Consumer Bureau has returned nearly $12 billion to more than 29 million consumers who have been ripped off by financial institutions. This bill would foolishly put a stop to the Consumer Bureau’s good work and once again leave consumers vulnerable. That is not all. Across the board, the ‘‘Wrong’’ CHOICE Act removes essential Dodd-Frank protections for consumers, investors, and our economy. b 1245 Despite what Republicans will tell you, banks large and small are doing just fine since the passage of DoddFrank. Last year, they posted record profits. Here is the bottom line: Donald Trump and Republicans want to open the door to another economic catas-
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trophe like the Great Recession and return us to a financial system where reckless and predatory practices harm our families and communities. We cannot allow that to happen. Mr. Chair, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ‘‘no’’ on this catastrophically bad bill. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, it has been 7 years since the Dodd-Frank Act was passed, a monumental triumph of ideology over compassion and common sense. All of the promises of Dodd-Frank were broken. They promised us it would lift the economy, Mr. Chairman, but, instead, we are still stymied in the weakest, slowest recovery in the postwar era. They promised us that it would end too big to fail, but, instead, it cynically codified too-big-to-fail banks in the law and backed it up with a taxpayer bailout fund. It promised us, Mr. Chairman—they promised us that it would lead to a more stable economy, but, instead, the big banks are bigger. The small banks are fewer. We are losing a community bank or credit union a day. Our corporate bond market, a key component of financing of jobs, historic levels of volatility and illiquidity. They promised us, Mr. Chairman, that it would help the consumer, but, instead, we see free checking cut in half at banks, bank fees are up. The ranks of the unbanked have increased. For many creditworthy borrowers, they are paying $500 more for an auto loan. Have you tried getting a mortgage recently? They are harder to come by and cost hundreds of dollars more to close. Every promise of Dodd-Frank has been broken. And, Mr. Chairman, we hear about it every day. I heard from Julieann, a banker in Massachusetts, and she wrote, ‘‘ ‘We have experienced a spike in loan declines to women,’ for their investigation identified that women attempting to buy the family home to settle their divorce and stabilize their family were being declined at a high rate due to the Dodd-Frank Qualified Mortgage rules. . . .’’ Dodd-Frank is hurting recently divorced women. I heard from Allen in New Hampshire who talked about his need for a new car, but he couldn’t find a loan from a bank, and he said: But for my local dealer’s efforts on my behalf, there is no doubt I would not be driving my current car, and this was a desperate situation, for I am the sole income earner for my family. My wife is ill, and we have two young children in school. After my old vehicle broke down, I needed to find reliable, replacement transportation so that I could get to work and continue to provide for my family. Please ensure that financing car and truck dealerships are not stymied by DoddFrank’s CFPB.
I heard from Maxine in Salt Lake City, who talked about her company. She said:
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Last February, we were awarded a major catering contract for all food services in the new performing arts center. The new contract will require us to make a major investment in equipment in small wares. We will be able to hire 50 additional staff. Unfortunately, red tape got in the way, turned what should have been a golden opportunity into an unbelievable headache. Three banks informed us that our rating, according to new bank regulations imposed by Dodd-Frank, disqualified us from consideration.
Mr. Chairman, we have letter after letter, email after email, showing how Dodd-Frank is harming working families, harming small businesses, crushing community banks. Fortunately, Mr. Chairman, there is a better, smarter way, and it is called the Financial CHOICE Act. It is going to create hope and opportunity for investors and consumers, and entrepreneurs, and it stands for economic growth for all, but bank bailouts for none. Contrary to Dodd-Frank, and what every Democrat will come here today— my friends on the other side of the aisle—and defend, we will end bank bailouts once and for all. We will replace bailout with bankruptcy. We will replace economic stagnation with a growing healthy economy. We will ensure that there will finally be pay increases, wage increases for working Americans who haven’t seen a pay increase since Dodd-Frank became law. We will replace Washington micromanagement with market discipline. We will ensure that we replace taxpayer money with private money because for every bank who will have a 10 percent simple leverage ratio, which is analogous to having a private insurance policy against bailout, we will let them have that Dodd-Frank off-ramp, and that is so important. But, Mr. Chairman, we are also going to hold Wall Street accountable with the toughest penalties that they have seen, and no more bailouts. Perhaps that is one of the reasons they oppose the Financial CHOICE Act and support the status quo of Dodd-Frank. We will make sure that there is needed regulatory relief for our small banks and credit unions, because it is our small banks who loan to our small businesses, that create the job engine of America, and make sure that the American Dream is not a pipe dream; but, instead, it is a dream and a vision where we will only be limited by our imagination. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chair, the Speaker and Mr. HENSARLING would have you think this is all about community banks being hurt, but let me tell you what this is all about. U.S. and foreign banks have paid more than $160 billion in penalties to resolve cases brought against them by the Justice Department and Federal regulatory agencies for cases involving collusion, fraud against consumers, bribery, and other abuses.
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