June 8, 2017
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. CHABOT), the chairman of our Small Business Committee. Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, and I want to thank Chairman HENSARLING for his leadership on this important issue. For the last 7 years, Dodd-Frank has blocked small businesses from getting the capital they need to grow and create more jobs. As chairman of the Small Business Committee, it is no surprise that small businesses from all across the country tell me over and over again that this blocking of capital to them by Dodd-Frank is preventing them from creating more jobs which are needed in this country. Whether to pay employees or to buy new equipment, we need to make it easier for small-business owners to gain access to capital. H.R. 10 is chockfull of real reforms, including the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups, or HALOS, Act to encourage and inspire entrepreneurs across the country. The Nation’s 29 million small businesses are working hard to achieve the American Dream. Let’s not let our own government continue to stand in their way. Support this legislation. It is very important. Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. VELA´ ZQUEZ), who is the ranking member of the Small Business Committee. ´ ZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I Ms. VELA want to thank the ranking member, MAXINE WATERS. Here they come again, Mr. Chairman. My colleagues seem to suffer from a case of policymaking amnesia. I was here in 2008 as our Nation stood on the edge of financial ruin. I will never forget those dark days. Thanks to Wall Street making reckless bets and inadequate government oversight, millions of Americans lost their homes and jobs. Tell them about market discipline back in 2008. Main Street small businesses shed employees, and many shut their doors for good. Our economy nearly slid into another Depression. Now, my Republican colleagues may have forgotten that sequence of events, but let me tell you something: The American people have not forgotten. Dodd-Frank has improved accountability in the financial system. It has protected consumers and investors from predatory practices. It stabilizes our markets. And yet here we are talking about gutting this landmark law. The American people are watching. Let’s be clear. If you vote ‘‘yes,’’ you are voting to restore the same conditions that fueled the crisis and collapse of 2008. It is a vote you will regret—and be remembered for. Vote ‘‘no.’’ Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. HUIZENGA), who is a
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:10 Jun 09, 2017
H4719
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE
Jkt 069060
leader on our Capital Markets, Securities, and Investments Subcommittee. Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Chairman, the economic downturn in 2008 caused Michiganders and folks around the country to lose their jobs, families to lose their savings, and even some to lose their homes. Since that time, folks on the other side of the aisle have been attempting to convince the American people that the Dodd-Frank Act is ‘‘the answer’’ to the financial crisis, despite the law failing to actually address the root cause of the downturn. In reality, Dodd-Frank has made it more difficult for hardworking taxpayers to secure a future for themselves and their children by denying them the economic recovery that they deserve. Hardworking Americans rely on capital markets to save for everything from college to retirement. We as Congress must act to eliminate the burdensome and unnecessary red tape created under Dodd-Frank to ensure U.S. capital markets remain the most effective in the world so that all investors can receive the greatest return on their investments. Since Dodd-Frank, our capital markets have become less stable, less efficient, and less liquid, which has made it more difficult for small businesses and American job creators around the country to access the necessary financial resources in order to expand and create jobs. In fact, Dodd-Frank has severed access to the capital markets for Main Street businesses and entrepreneurs who are the heartbeat of the American economy. In order to succeed, small and growing companies need capital and credit—the lifeblood for growth, expansion, and job creation. Yet the government has continued to construct arbitrary walls that cut them off from essential financing as smaller companies are caught in a sea of red tape created by Washington bureaucrats. Enough is enough. In order to increase economic opportunity, we must enact commonsense regulatory reform and restore accountability to Wall Street and to Washington. The House Financial Services Committee achieves this goal through the carefully crafted CHOICE Act, which we are debating here today. The Financial CHOICE Act eliminates Dodd-Frank’s one-size-fits-all regulatory structure which has strangled community financial institutions with overly burdensome regulations that were meant for the largest banks here in America. The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired. Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentleman from Michigan an additional 30 seconds. Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Chairman, by enacting the CHOICE Act, community banks and credit unions can utilize their resources to help their individual customers and small businesses achieve financial independence. If we want small businesses to continue to be the
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 7634
Sfmt 0634
engine of economic growth, we must remove the regulatory red tape that is preventing community lenders from supporting these small business job creators. We hold Wall Street accountable. We hold the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accountable, and we make it more effective to do its job. No government agency should be unaccountable to the American taxpayer. Dodd-Frank was a larger social agenda waiting for a crisis, and I understand that from my friends on the other side; but today, small businesses and hardworking Americans continue to pay the price. The Financial CHOICE Act enacts progrowth reforms, restores accountability, and provides opportunity. I encourage a ‘‘yes’’ vote. Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. AL GREEN), who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member. Mr. Chairman, this bill is a setback because it allows the American public to be subject to rip-offs. It allows you to be ripped off when you get your auto loan. Without your knowing it, it will allow you to pay a higher amount than you should be paying. It allows you to, without your consent, have the money that you place in the bank be taken away from your account, moved over to another place, and used to gamble; if they win, they keep the profits—all done without your consent. It allows, without your knowledge, the person that you are working with to invest your pension and to put his interests ahead of your interests. This is a rip-off bill. We should not support it. The American consumers are placed at risk. This is the time to stand. We must say ‘‘no’’ to H.R. 10. It is, indeed, the wrong choice. Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. WAGNER), who is a fighter on our committee. She is the chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Chairman, I am proud to stand before you today to speak on H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act. I would like to thank Chairman HENSARLING and all my colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee for their hard work on this legislation, including holding 145 hearings on DoddFrank and the CHOICE Act. For nearly 10 years following the financial crisis, our country witnessed one of the weakest recoveries of our lifetimes as Dodd-Frank held small businesses and families hostage and prevented our economy from growing. Now it is harder for families to qualify for a mortgage, obtain an auto loan, and access other forms of credit that they depend on every single day.
E:CRFMK08JN7.029
H08JNPT1
