Congress approves banking rules rollback
The House on Tuesday passed a plan to roll back banking regulations passed in response to the 2008 financial crisis, sending the bill to President Donald Trump to sign.
The measure leaves the central structure of the post-financial-crisis rules in place, but it would make the most significant changes to weaken the Dodd-Frank banking regulations since they were passed in 2010. It would exempt some small and regional banks from the most stringent regulations, and also would also loosen rules aimed at protecting the biggest banks from sudden collapse.
The measure is nearly certain to become law after its passing in the House 258 to 159 on Tuesday with nearly all House Republicans and 33 Democrats voting for it. The Senate approved the bill in March with bipartisan backing, and White House officials said that Trump plans to sign it in the coming days.
The bill’s supporters say it provides needed relief for community and local banks withering under Washington’s regulations. But critics charge it opens the financial system back up to the abuse and risky behavior that brought the U.S. economy to its knees a decade ago — and does so at a time when financial firms are posting record profits.
The final measure represents a compromise between Trump, congressional conservatives and moderate Senate Democrats. The bill leaves major pieces of post-financialcrisis rules in place, and it does not touch the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a watchdog agency created after the crisis.
Trump had vowed to “do a big number” on the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and some House Republicans had hoped to repeal the law entirely — or at least make major changes to rein in the watchdog agency.
The legislation remained in limbo for some weeks after Senate passage, as Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, held out for changes that would, in some cases, pull back regulations even further. But senators warned repeatedly that sending the legislation back to the Senate could end up killing it.
Senators had assembled a rare bipartisan coalition to pass the bill by winning support from 17 Democrats, including a half-dozen who are up for reelection in November in states Trump won.
Aside from must-pass spending bills, the banking bill stands as the sole example of bipartisan legislation on a major issue in the Senate since Trump became president.