Choice Act holds Big Banks accountable

When Democrats passed the Dodd-Frank Act in the wake of the financial crisis, they promised it would lift the economy, make our financial system more secure and end bailouts. None of this has come to pass. Americans have suffered through the weakest recovery since World War II. The big banks have gotten even bigger, the small banks have become fewer, and our markets have become more fragile — all increasing risk to our financial system. Dodd-Frank promises more taxpayer-funded bailouts for the Wall Street banks that government bureaucrats officially designate “too big to fail.”

Simply put, Dodd-Frank has failed to keep its promises.

After six years and 145 hearings on Dodd-Frank and its failures, House Republicans came up with a better way. It’s called the Financial CHOICE Act (HR 10), and it stands for creating hope and opportunity for investors, consumers and entrepreneurs.

Far from being a “big bank giveaway,” as a Houston Chronicle editorial “Don’t be distracted” (Page A16, Wednesday) suggested, the Financial CHOICE Act holds Wall Street accountable with the toughest penalties in history for fraud and insider trading. It also ends bailouts so Washington can never again pick taxpayers’ pockets and hand the money over to big banks. Perhaps that’s why the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have all reported that big banks aren’t supporting our bill and instead want Dodd-Frank to remain in place.

Furthermore, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the regulatory relief in the Financial CHOICE Act will benefit community banks and credit unions and that big Wall Street banks cannot or will not meet the bill’s criteria for significant regulatory relief. The CBO also found that the Financial CHOICE Act will cut the deficit by $33.6 billion over 10 years. No surprise, because when you end bailouts, you save taxpayers money.

Dodd-Frank also failed to keep its promises when it comes to consumer protection.

True consumer protection respects consumers’ economic rights, provides them with more choices and ensures consumers have access to competitive, transparent and innovative markets that are vigorously policed for fraud and deception. Americans deserve the opportunity to choose the checking account they want, the mortgage they want, the credit card they want. No unelected, unaccountable bureaucrat in Washington should be able to take that away from them. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Dodd-Frank’s rogue agency known as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has done.

The CFPB has an important mission. Properly designed and led, it is capable of great good. That is why the Financial CHOICE Act re-establishes the CFPB as a constitutional civil enforcement agency that is responsible for actually enforcing the consumer protection laws written by Congress instead of making up its own law in an unfair, deceptive and abusive manner with no accountability. In short, the Financial CHOICE Act ensures that Washington’s shadow regulators come out from the shadows and that government is held accountable to We, the People.

Hard-working taxpayers want Congress to end the bailouts. They want Congress to hold both Washington and Wall Street accountable. They want Congress to make our financial system safer, stronger and more secure. And they want a healthier economy, with equal opportunity for all. That’s what they will get with the Financial CHOICE Act.

Hensarling, a Republican representing the Dallas area in the U.S. House of Representatives, is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.