House Republican legislation meant to replace the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law is headed to the floor soon, the chairman responsible for the bill said Thursday.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, told reporters that the panel is scheduled to vote on the sweeping legislative package Tuesday and the full House will vote on it “shortly thereafter.”
Although there is not more definite timing for the legislative package, the timetable is moving up amid uncertainty about other top Republican legislative goals, such as repealing Obamacare.
And Republicans also are eyeing relatively swift action to overhaul the bailed-out government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo of Idaho suggested Thursday that reforming the housing finance system could happen this year.
Hensarling responded by saying that he, the Treasury Department and Crapo are all committed to getting reform of housing finance done, a combination that hasn’t held in the past. For Fannie and Freddie to remain in government hands nine years after their bailouts, Hensarling said is “unacceptable to me, it’s unacceptable to the secretary, it’s unacceptable to the Senate Banking Committee chairman, so I’m very anxious to dive into that issue yet again.”
The first priority, however, is passing the Financial Choice Act in the House. The bill would cut back many of the Dodd-Frank rules for banks that opted to maintain a high level of capital. It would also touch most other aspects of the financial system, overhauling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and making changes to the Federal Reserve.
Hensarling officially introduced the legislation on Wednesday. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin issued a lukewarm statement on it Thursday, saying that he welcomed its reintroduction.
The Treasury is engaged in following an executive order issued by President Trump calling for a review of financial rules.
But Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, Crapo and Hensarling have been meeting regularly, Hensarling said, including for breakfast Thursday morning.
The results of the executive order would have similarities to his own legislation, he predicted.
The Choice Act, a broad representation of a conservative vision for the regulatory system, faces dim prospects in the Senate as currently written. While Hensarling said he still aims to see what Crapo might be able and interested in passing, he has also suggested that the path for sending bills to Trump’s desk would be narrower measures aimed to clear the Senate.
