Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Jody Hice (R-GA) today praised the passage of H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers, and Entrepreneurs) Act, landmark legislation which includes a number of provisions to end bank bailouts, promote economic growth, and provide much-needed regulatory relief for community banks and credit unions.

“Spurred by the housing collapse and financial meltdown in 2008, Dodd-Frank was a misguided approach that created an environment of overreach and overregulation that has hampered our financial sector,” said Congressman Hice. “This has frozen the flow of commerce, breeding uncertainty for American businesses and hindering their ability to grow and create jobs.”

“Granting the federal government unprecedented regulatory powers has harmed hardworking families and local financial institutions,” Hice continued. “The CHOICE Act is an important step toward empowering Main Street to achieve financial independence, and I applaud its passage in the House.”

Background (Courtesy of the House Financial Services Committee):

The Financial CHOICE Act would enact a number of significant financial service reforms:

·         Mitigate “too big to fail” policies and bank bailouts by repealing most of Title I and all of Title VIII of Dodd-Frank.

·         Stop the federal government from seizing troubled financial firms through orderly liquidation and return to a time-tested bankruptcy system by repealing Title II of Dodd-Frank.

·         Fundamentally reform the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB):

• Rename it to the “Consumer Law Enforcement Agency”;

• Restructure the agency as an Executive Branch agency with a single director removable by the president at will and make the agency subject to Congressional  and appropriations oversight; and

• Eliminate the CFPB’s sweeping market-monitoring function and require the agency obtain permission before collecting consumers’ personally identifiable information.

·         Repeal the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule.

·         Rein in the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending authority by making it more difficult for the Fed to conduct bailout-style loans to insolvent firms.

·         Unleash small business creation, innovation and entrepreneurship by eliminating the misguided Volcker rule, which has limited capital formation over the past few years.

·         Subject all new major rules imposed by financial regulatory agencies to congressional approval under the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act.

·         Strengthen penalties on Wall Street for those who engage in fraud, insider trading, and other corrupt practices.

For an executive summary of the Financial CHOICE Act, click here. For a comprehensive summary, click here.

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