House Republicans will “soon put forth” the Financial Choice Act, legislation designed to repeal and replace the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said Wednesday.
Speaking at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s legislative summit, Hensarling said that the Choice Act will achieve the goal of taking “Dodd-Frank and throw[ing] it on the ash heap of history.”
Hensarling told reporters that reintroduction of his Choice Act would come within weeks.
Release of a Feb. 6 memo that detailed “changes to be made to the introduced version of the Financial Choice Act in the 115th Congress” got the rumor mill churning that reintroduction of the bill to derail the Dodd-Frank Act was imminent, but reintroduction kept getting pushed back.
In detailing some of the Choice Act’s provisions, Hensarling told USHCC members that ensuring capital was available to all businesses, big and small, was a priority. Also, he said, “importantly, [the bill will] have a full capital formation title; we plan to make sure credit unions and community banks flourish” by providing regulatory relief for them.
“We will ensure bank bailouts for none” under the act, he added.
The act will also “make sure every regulation has to pass a rigorous cost-benefit analysis,” Hensarling said, adding that the legislation will “make sure that regulators have to ensure what they’re doing actually helps the economy.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who also spoke at the event, noted the regulatory reform is the “second major priority” for Congress as well as the Trump administration. When talking with Cabinet members, “the first word out of members’ mouths is regulatory reform,” Cruz said. The commitment is real, genuine and passionate,” adding that his “office is working with administration on this.”
The first priority for Congress and the administration, he said, is repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.
While there’s “active debate between the House, Senate and administration,” Cruz said, “The house bill needs more work, [it] doesn’t get the job done. I’m working to improve that bill.” He stressed that health care reform “must drive down costs.”
The third priority, tax reform, will move ahead “this summer [or] fall,” Cruz said. “I think we will see fundamental tax reform.”
The fourth priority for 2017, he said, is “confirming a strong, conservative justice” to the Supreme Court.
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