Status: Passed in the House of Representatives
SUMMARY: Rolls back the Dodd-Frank regulatory protections that were implemented following the 2008 economic crash. The bill weakens the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB would be restructured as an executive branch agency with a single director who could be removed at will by the President. The bill would remove the CFPB’s authority to police abusive acts and practices, including removing oversight of payday loans and arbitration agreements.
The bill removes the authority that provides regulators with a process for winding down large financial institutions in distress. It would eliminate the ability of regulators to designate large non-banking financial institutions as systematically important, a label that comes with heightened oversight.
The bill would revoke the provision of Dodd-Frank that bans banks from trading for their own financial gain and limits ownership in hedge funds and private equity.
It removes the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule which requires brokers to act in the best interests of their client when providing investment advice.
Banks with a leverage ratio of 10 percent or higher would be exempted from regulatory requirements.
The bill would place all federal financial regulators, except for the Federal Reserve, under the congressional appropriations process.
The bill would limit the Federal Reserve’s independence.
Paulsen voted: YES
TAKEAWAY: Erik Paulsen voted to remove the financial and consumer protections enacted after the economic crash of 2008.