Financial Services

Economic prosperity and new jobs are created when small businesses have the freedom and flexibility to grow and innovate.

Too often, Washington bureaucrats stifle economic growth with excessive regulations.

As a Member of the House Financial Services Committee, I’m focused on regulatory relief.  The 400 new rules and three unaccountable bureaucracies created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation are hurting the economy by limiting the financial choices available to small businesses and ordinary American families.

One provision of Dodd-Frank makes it harder for small businesses to get the loans they need to grow and create jobs.  As a result, I introduced the Right to Lend Act (H.R. 2323), which will repeal unnecessary regulations on small business loans.

Dodd-Frank is also crushing community banks and credit unions by imposing excessive compliance regulations on small, community-based financial institutions.  As many community banks merge or fold, this limits your choices when applying for a mortgage or checking account and makes it harder for small businesses to obtain loans.

To force Washington bureaucrats to pay attention to how their rules impact small businesses and job creation, I introduced the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Small Business Advisory Board Act, which was approved by the Financial Services Committee in June.  In addition to giving small business owners a seat at the table, the legislation makes permanent “advisory boards” advocating on behalf of credit unions and community banks.

“Regulation D” is an early-1980s rule limiting bank customers to only six online/automatic transfers from savings to checking accounts each month.  In July, the Financial Services Committee unanimously approved my Regulation D Study Act (H.R. 3240), which directs the Government Accountability Office to provide recommendations on how to update Regulation D to accommodate the modern world of online banking and smartphone apps.

To help protect American taxpayers, the Financial Services Committee approved the PATH Act (H.R. 2767), which will responsibly wind down taxpayer liability for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Hardworking American taxpayers initially absorbed nearly $200 billion in losses, and the federal government should get out of the mortgage business before another taxpayer bailout becomes necessary.  The PATH Act also shrinks the Federal Housing Administration, returning to its roots of assisting first-time homebuyers and low-to-moderate income families.  According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, this legislation would reduce the deficit by $5.7 billion.

The Financial Services Committee is responsible for providing oversight to the Federal Reserve, and I have been involved in questioning then-Chairman Bernanke and current Chair Yellen on the Federal Reserve’s continuing use of “extraordinary measures.”  These emergency tactics, first implemented after the economic collapse in 2008, were of some benefit during the crisis, but their ongoing use is now impeding the recovery and negatively impacting American families.

As an experienced small business owner, my goal is to work toward common sense solutions that help consumers, create jobs, and grow the economy.