By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Congressman Spencer Bachus (R) from Vestavia stated on Monday that the House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee of the House Committee on Financial Services will be holding a hearing on the cost of new federal regulations on the banking and lending industries.
Representative Bachus said, “More than 400 new rules will be imposed on our economy because of the Dodd-Frank Act. While some of them are necessary, many will serve only to stifle economic growth and employment. As regulators write the rules mandated by Dodd-Frank, we must make certain they do not harm the economy by drowning small business lenders in a sea of red tape.” Rep. is the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
The Chairman of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee is Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R) from West Virginia. Chairman Capito said, “This hearing builds upon field hearings we’ve hosted across the country regarding whether small financial institutions face significant regulatory burdens, and if so, guaranteeing that there is a workable regulatory regime so that these institutions can continue to survive and grow. We must ensure that we have a diverse financial system.”
Chairman Bachus’s statement said that Wednesday’s hearing will begin at 10 a.m. and will be in room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The subcommittee will hear from small banks, who have been negatively impacted by the Dodd-Frank Act.
In his statement, Rep. Bachus said that the subcommittee will examine how the rising costs of complying with new federal regulations was threatening the future of small banks and other financial institutions, and how red tape growth will lead to higher costs, harm the economy, and will eventually lead to fewer small banks and more large banks.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has released a new survey that predicts that Dodd-Frank regulations will decrease “revenues, increase operating costs and squeeze community bank profits. In that survey, nearly 90 percent of banking industry leaders cited over-regulation as the biggest threat to business.”
The Dodd-Frank Burden Tracker estimates that lenders will have to devote more than 24 million work hours each year to comply with just the first 185 of Dodd-Frank’s 400-plus rules. Federal Regulators are still writing the remaining 215 rules.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed by the Democrat controlled Congress following the 2008 economic meltdown. Dodd-Frank gives the federal government vast amounts of control over the economy especially in the financial services sector.
Congressman Spencer Bachus represents Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District. The Sixth District includes all or parts of Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, Chilton, Coosa, and Bibb Counties. Rep. Bachus is seeking his 11th term in the United States Congress. His opponent in the November 6th General Election is retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Penny Huggins Bailey (D) from Leeds.
To read Representative Bachus’s statement in its entirety:
http://bachus.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1279
