Family farm. The big banks dont Pay Attention to that, only Community Banks do. A couple years later with the help of these kinds of loans from these local banks, these socalled pipe dreams in these small towns and Rural Counties become successful businesses. They become job creators. These are the ultimate Success Stories that our communities in america are built upon. This is why the financial choice act is so important. It helps Community Banks and the Small Business that is absolutely depend on them, it helps them thrive. It protects consumers by increasing accountability and transparency over the wider financial sector. And it also repeals too big to fail. The rules codified by doddfrank that have left taxpayers on the hook for too long. Ultimately the financial choice act is a jobs bill. It is one that will bring hope back to main street. It is easy to talk about the economy and regular regulations as series of numbers. It is easy to talk in vague terms about job creators and Small Business owners, what is far more important is identifying the problems that they actually face and actually doing something about those problems to help make a difference to improve their lives. That is what this choice act is all about. It is why we were sent here to look out for the people who work hard and do the right thing. Lets get this done for them. Lets get this done for the people who take the risks, who live and breathe their work. For the people who strive and struggle every day for their families. Lets pass the choice act today. Thank you, i yield bafment i yield. The chair the gentlelady from california ms. Waters i yield myself such time as i may consume. The chair the jeaked is recognized. Ms. Waters h. R. 10 is being called the wrong choice act by the American Public because this bill is truly the wrong choice for all of us. Indeed, this is one of the worst bills i have seen in my time in congress. This bill is a vehicle for Donald Trumps agenda to deregulate and help out wall street. It destroys nearly all of the important policies we put in place in the doddfrank wall street reform and Consumer Protection act, to prevent another financial crisis and protect consumers. This bill would create vast harm and lead us right back to the bad old days. We all remember the suffering that resulted from the Great Recession. 13 trillion in Household Wealth was lost. 11 Million People lost their homes. The Unemployment Rate hit 10 . The impact was enormous and felt by all. Is bill would pave the way back to economic damage at the same scale or worse. Choice act guts the highly successful Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which works to make sure choice hardworking americans are not subject subjected to predatory practices in the Financial Marketplace. Since its creation, the Consumer Bureau has returned early 12 billion to more than 29 Million Consumers who have been ripped off by Financial Institutions. This bill would foolishly put a stop to the Consumer Bureaus good work and once again lead consumers vulnerable. Thats not all. Across the board the wrong choice act removes essential doddfrank protections for consumers, investors, and our economy. Despite what republicans will tell you, banks, large and small, are doing just fine since the passage of doddfrank. Last year, they posted record profits. Heres the bottom line. Donald trump and republicans want to open the door to another economic catastrophe like the Great Recession and return us to a Financial System where reckless and predatory practices harm our families and communities. We cannot allow that to happened. To happen. I urge all my colleagues to vote no on this catastrophically bad bill. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling i yield myself such time as i may consume. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Hensarling it has been seven years since the doddfrank was passed, a monumental triumph of ideology, compassion and common sense. All of the promises of doddfrank were broken. It promised us it would lift the economy, but we are stymied in the weakest and slowest recovery in the postwar era. It has codified too big to fail into law and backed it up with a taxpayer bailout fund. It promised us, they promised us that it would lead to a more stable economy. But instead, the big banks are bigger, the small banks are fewer. We are losing a Community Bank or credit union a day. Our Corporate Bond market, a key come pont of financing of jobs. They promised us, mr. Chairman, that it would help the consumer, but instead we see free checking cut in half at banks, banks fees are up. For many credit worthy borrowers, paying 500 for an auto loan. Have you tried getting a mortgage recently . They are harder to come by and cost hundreds of dollars to close. Every promise of doddfrank has been broken. Mr. Chairman, we hear about it every day. I heard from julie ann a banker in massachusetts and said we experienced a spike in loans to women. Women attempting to buy the family home to settle their divorce and stabilize their families, were being declined at a high rate due to the doddfrank qualified mortgage rules. Doddfrank hurting recently divorced women. I heard from alan in new hampshire, who talked about his need for a new car, but he couldnt find a loan from a bank and he said but for my local dealers efforts on my behalf, there is no doubt i would not be driving my current car. And this was a desperate situation for im the sole income earner for my family. My wife is ill and we have two Young Children in school. After my old vehicle broke down, i needed to find reliable, decent transportation to continue to provide for my family. Please ensure that financing car and truck dealerships are not stymied by doddfranks cfpb. I heard from maxine in salt lake city, who talked about her company. Said last february, we were awarded a major catering contract for Food Services in the new performing arts center. It requires to make an investment in equipment. We will be able to hire 50 additional staff. Unfortunately red tape got in the way. It should have been a golden opportunity. Three banks informed us that our rating, according to new Bank Regulations imposed by doddfrank disqualified us from consideration. Mr. Chairman, letter after letter, email after email, harming working families, harming Small Businesses, crushing Community Banks. Fortunately, mr. Chairman, there is a better, smarter way. Its called the financial choice act and going to create hope and opportunity for investors and consumers and entrepreneurs and stands for Economic Growth for all but Bank Bailouts for none. Contrary, contrary to doddfrank and what every democrat will come here today, my friends on the other side of the aisle in defense, we will end Bank Bailouts once and for all. We will replace bailout with bankruptcy. We will replace economic stagnation with a growing healthy economy. We will ensure that there will timely be pay increases, wage increases for working americans who havent seen a pay increase since doddfrank became law. Well replace washington micro management with market discipline. We will ensure that we replace taxpayer money with private money, because for every bank who have a 10 similar leverage ratio which is analogous to having a private insurance policy against bailout, we will have them that doddfrank offering. And that is so important. Mr. Chairman, we are going to hold wall street accountable, toughest penalties they have seen and no more bailouts. Maybe thats one of the reasons they oppose the financial choice act and like the status quo of doddfrank and make sure there is regulatory relief for our small banks and Credit Unions because small banks who lend to our Small Businesses that create the job engine in america and make sure that the American Dream is not a pipe dream but instead a dream and a vision where we will only be limited by our imagination. I reserve. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters the speaker and jeb would have you believe Community Banks would be hurt. U. S. And foreign banks paid more than 160 billion in penalties to resolve cases brought against them by the Justice Department and federal regulatory agencies. The cases involving collusion, fraud against consumers, bribery and other abuses. There were 144 major cases of 100 million or more against 26 large and foreign banks. Bank of america, 56 billion. Morgan, 15 billion. Wells fargo and you know about what they did, 11 billion. Morgan stanley, 5 billion. This is about ripoffs. And so this bill would prevent us from being able to assess these kinds of penalties on those who are ripping off the American Public. With that, i yield one minute to mr. Clay, Ranking Member of the Financial Institutions subcommittee. The chair the gentleman from missouri is recognized for one minute. Mr. Clay mr. Speaker, i rise today to oppose h. R. 10, a dangerous assault on American Consumers that would gut the landmark doddfrank wall street reform act. If the wrong choice act is allowed to be inflicted on working families, the reckless fan shal speculators who sold out the American People on wall street would be given a free pass to perpetrate future financial abuses that will reap billions for them and rob average americans of their Financial Security again. The wrong choice act would take of ck to the pre2008 era unchecked, reckless financial abuses that resulted in the worst recession since the great depression. And let me remind you of the crushing costs of that National Economic emergency. Over eight million jobs lost, 10 unemployment, seven million home foreclosures and trillions of dollars wiped out. No proponent of this bill can look the American People in the face and tell them that this is better for consumers, because its not. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, at this time, im pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, mr. Goodlatte. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Goodlatte i thank chairman hensarling for introducing this important piece legislation. It replaces the liquid occasion authority with a new bankruptcy procedure developed by the committee on the judiciary in the Financial Institution bankruptcy act. In 2008, our economy suffered one of the most significant financial crisis in history. Experts from the regulatory communities have examined how to prevent another similar crisis from occurring and alimb fate the possibility of using taxpayer monies. The Judiciary Committee has advanced the review of this issue to better equip our bankruptcy laws to resolve failing firms while encouraging greater diligence in order to reduce the likelihood of another financial crisis. This act is the culmination of a multi year bipartisan process that incorporated the views of a wide range of leading experts and relevant regulators. The choice act includes the provisions that the act providing balanced approach in the resolution of a financial firm. It ensures that Share Holders bear the losses related to the failure of a financial company. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to mr. Perlmutter, Ranking Member of the terrorism and illicit finance subcommittee. The chair the gentleman from colorado is recognized. Mr. Perlmutter i rise in opposition to h. R. 10, the bad choice act, which brings back the wild west to our Financial Markets and hurts consumers. The bad choice because this takes us back to a time when we were losing 800,000 jobs a month and not imagining 200,000 jobs a months. Colorado had 10 unemployment. Takes us back to a time when the ock market was 6500, not 21,000. It takes back no discipline. The markets were in chaos. People got hurt. This kind of return to bad legislation and bad regulation is not good for america. And we should all vote no. With that, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling i yield two minutes to a real leader on our committee, the gentleman from missouri. The chair the gentleman from missouri is recognized. Mr. Luetkemeyer im proud to stand with the chairman and stand in support of h. R. 10. This bill offers a responsible approach to Financial Regulation that will protect consumers and allow the American Economy to flourish. It makes meaningful reforms that ensure transparency, restore rule of law and help gain access to move towards Financial Independence and be the entrepreneurs they are and be able to realize their dreams. Mr. Chairman, we lose one Community Bank or credit union a day, every day. These are the institutions that lend to families and Small Businesses. These are institutions that are the backbone of each of our communities and something must be done to reverse this trend. There has been a considerable amount of discussion on both sides of the aisle on the need to help community Financial Institutions. The legislation we are considering today provides that opportunity. For every member in congress to cast a vote to Credit Unions and Community Banks. Usingl increase access to rules that should have never been applied to Financial Institutions in the first place. It makes important reforms. And Unaccountable Agency that embodies the washington knows best mentality that the nation is so tired of seeing and instead creates a more responsible framework that protects consumers instead of special interests. Financial choice act offers a new model for financial opportunity and responsible regulation. Its time to take steps to remove the boot from our nation lenders. Former fed chairman said it would have a stimulus effect. It will help grow our economies. I want to thank the chairman for his leadership and urge my colleagues to support h. R. 10. I yield back. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to mr. Kildee, the vice Ranking Member of the committee on Financial Services. The chair the gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Kildee i thank the Ranking Member for yielding. Look, i understand the president of the United States himself has no real understanding of american history, but that is no excuse for this body for ignoring even the recent history of this country and returning us to the conditions to the Regulatory Environment that not only preceded but contributed to cause the worst financial crisis that i have experienced in my lifetime, the Great Recession. Millions of people lost their homes. Millions of people lost their jobs, lost everything they worked for because they were completely unprotected against institutions and organizations that were predators against them. And this proposed legislation would take away those very protections and return us to a time when institutions, organizations can use unfair and deceptive practices and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under this legislation would be barred, would be barred from going to bat for those people being taken advantage of. This makes no sense. We ought to reject it. I urge my colleagues to join me in doing so. Mr. Hensarling i yield one minute to the gentleman from ohio, mr. Chabot. The chair the gentleman from ohio is recognized for one minute. Mr. Chabot i rise in strong support of h. R. 10, the financial choice act, and i want to thank chairman hensarling for his work on this important issue. For the last seven years doddfrank has blocked people to grow and create more jobs. As chairman of the Small Business committee, its no surprise that Small Businesses from all across the country tell me over and over again that this blocking of capital to them by doddfrank 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 chalk full of real reforms, including the helping angels lead our startups, or halos act, to encourage and inspire sbures across the country. The nations 29 million Small Businesses are working hard to achieve the American Dream. Lets not let our own government continue to stand in their way. Support this legislation. Its very important. I yield back. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to ms. Velazquez, Ranking Member of the Small Business committee. The chair the gentlelady from new york is recognized for one minute. Ms. Velazquez thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to thank Ranking Member maxine waters. Here they come again, mr. Chairman. My colleagues seem to suffer from the case of policymaking amnesia. I was here in 2008 as our nation stood on the edge of financial ruin. I will not forget those dark days. Thanks to wall streets reckless bets and inadequate government oversight, millions of americans lost their homes and jobs. Talk about market discipline in 2008. Main street, Small Businesses, employees shut their doors for good. Our country almost slid into another great depression. My colleagues may have forgot the sequence of events will you let me tell you something. Doddfrank has protected consumers and investors from predatory practices. It stabilized our markets and yet here we are talking about gutting this landmark law. The American People are watching. Lets be clear. If you vote yes youre voting to restore the same conditions that fueled the crisis and collapse of 2008. It is a vote you will regret. Vote no. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, im happy to yield two minutes to the gentleman from michigan, mr. Huizenga, chairman of the Capital Markets subcommittee. The chair the gentleman from michigan is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Huizenga the economic downturn in 2008 caused michiganners and others 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 doddfrank act is, quote, the answer to the financial crisis, despite the law failing to actually address the root cause of the downturn. In reality, doddfrank 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 everything from college to retirement. We as Congress Must act to eliminate the burdensome and unnecessary red tape created under doddfrank, to ensure that u. S. Capital markets remain the most effective in the world, so that all investors can receive the greatest return on their investments. Since doddfrank, our Capital Markets have become less stable, less sufficient, 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, doddfrank has served 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, 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 through this goal through the carefully crafted choice act, which were debating here today. It eliminates doddfranks onesizefitsall regulatory structure that has strangled community Financial Institutions with Overly Burdensome Regulations which were meant for the largest banks here in america. By enacting the choice act, Community Banks mr. Hensarling i yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. The chair the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. Mr. Huizenga Community Banks and Credit Unions can utilize their resources to help individual customers and Small Businesses to achieve Financial Independence. If we want Small Businesses to continue to be the engine of Economic Growth, we must remove the regulatory red tape thats preventing Community Lenders to support these communities and job creators. We hold wall street accountable and 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. Doddfrank 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 chair the gentlemans time has expired. Mr. Huizenga i encourage a yes vote. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to mr. Green, Ranking Member of the subcommittee on oversight and investigations. The chair the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. Mr. Green thank you, mr. Chairman. I thank the Ranking Member as well. This bill is a setback because it allows the American Public to be subject to ripoffs. 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, and 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, to put his interests ahead of your interests. This is a ripoff 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. I yield back. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, i am very pleased to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from missouri, mrs. Wagner, a real fighter on our committee, chair of the oversight and investigations subcommittee. The chair the gentlelady from missouri is recognized for two minutes. Mrs. Wagner thank you, mr. Chairman. And mr. Speaker, im proud to stand before you today to speak on h. R. 10, the financial choice act, and id 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 doddfrank held Small Businesses and families hostage and prevented our economy from growing. Now, it is harder for families to qualify for a mortgage, obtain that auto loan and access other forms of credit that they depend on every single day. The only beneficiaries from doddfrank have been washington bureaucrats who have grown more powerful and big banks whove only grown bigger at the expense of your personal freedoms and your freedom to make your own Financial Decisions. Doddfrank has failed the American People. Instead, the choice act, which stands for creating hope and opportunity for investors, consumers and entrepreneurs, represents a better way from this Republican Congress that will provide americans with the financial opportunities that they deserve. The choice act is about helping main street, not wall street, and will increase lending in our communities, open up our economy and end taxpayerfunded Bank Bailouts and hold wall street and washington accountable. It will allow us to impose the toughest penalties on wall street executives who engage in fraud, deception and selfdealing. Unlike before, executives who commit financial crimes will be held accountable rather than innocent taxpayers and shareholders. Americans deserve relief from the Regulatory Burden and lack of Financial Options that doddfrank has created. Americans deserve the right choice act. I urge my colleagues to support h. R. 10, and i yield back the balance of my time, mr. Speaker. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters thank you. I yield one minute to ms. Moore, Ranking Member of the Monetary Policy and trade subcommittee. The chair the gentlelady from wisconsin is recognized for one minute. Ms. Moore thank you, sir. Mr. Speaker, i rise in opposition to the wrong choice act. This is a bad bill, and i suspect the republicans are pushing it through with only one hearing because they want to push it past the beleagueured public who lost trillions of dollars of wealth and home value during the last recession. And republicans talk about freedom and Community Banks is not fooling anyone. This legislation unleashes every bloodthirsty, greedy wall street superpredator back to the American People to feast on our misery like they did predoddfrank. And in contrast, you will actually hear the g. O. P. Blame predatory borrowers and say they caused the crisis, like blaming hungry children for famines. If this bill passes with the mere 10 capital requirements, the Financial System will become brittle, preen to systemic crisis prone to systemic crisis, a system thats less fair and riped with fraud. Didnt we learn our lesson in 2008 . 2008 taught us we cannot have sustainable Economic Growth. I urge my colleagues to reject this bad bill and i yield back. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, i now am pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from kentucky, mr. Barr, chairman of the Monetary Policy and trade subcommittee. The chair the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Barr thank you. Mr. Chair, the doddfrank act is a failure, period. It is estimated to reduce economic output by nearly 1 trillion over the next decade, and it contains more regulatory restrictions than all of the other regulations enacted by the Previous Administration combined, including obamacare. The financial choice act provides an offramp, muchneeded relief to doddfranks growthrushing regulations. Growthcrushing regulations. They can opt for the relief that they are willing to obtain if they meet a 10 simple leverage ratio, a level that ensures they can weather economic downturns without the help of taxpayer bailouts. This legislation also reins in the primary culprit of the regulatory onslaught thats caused one in five community Financial Institutions in my state of kentucky to close. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This is done by giving congress the power of the purse over the bureau for the first time, making its director removeable by the president , requiring it to conduct costbenefit analysis and enhancing its mission to focus on Consumer Protection through competition and choice. This legislation also delivers important regulatory relief to community Financial Institutions by incorporating the tailor taylor act, which requires them to tailor their relations based on the size of the Financial Institutions instead of the typical onesizefitsall washington model. Additionally, the financial choice act ends stifling doddfrank regulations that constrain lending for manufactured homes by including the preserving access to manufactured housing act. It also further reduces the chances of a mortgage crisis by giving Financial Firms an incentive to retain 100 of a mortgages risk and greater flexibility to lend by including my portfolio lending and mortgage access act. And finally, this legislation places the steepest penalties in history on Financial Firms that actually break our laws. So it ends toobigto fail, it includes tough penalty penlts, the toughest penalties in industry for financial fraud and other misdeeds but it preserves Consumer Protections through competition and choice and access to the credit americans need to build our economy. And i want to thank chairman hensarling for his leadership on this issue and i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, we got to stop some of this misrepresentation. Exempt from cfpb supervision and enforcement, wall street reform, that is doddfrank, recognizes Community Banks and Credit Unions have a small number of employees than the Consumer Protection track record, thus they are carved out from the Consumer Bureau supervision. It focuses on the largest banks that they wont talk about here and nonbanks that compete with small banks and Credit Unions. I will yield one minute to mr. Meeks, a Senior Member of the Financial Services committee. Mr. Meeks mr. Speaker, how soon do we forget . The bill before us today is an afront to the American People. This bill is flawed. It would set america up for more severe financial crises in the future. It is plain and simply the wrong choice. Let me give you one example. Under the wrong choice act, many banks would be free from Regulatory Oversight if they merely maintained a 10 leverage ratio. Lets bake that down. If this bill was in 2008, onethird of the banks that evently failed will be free from Regulatory Oversight all together. To be clear, 125 banks that failed during the crisis would meet this bills low requirement according to not me but an independent clearinghouse analysis. You dont have to be a finesier that this is an insult to American Families who lost everything and im talking about families who saw their net worth drop 10 million, the largest loss of wealth in the history of the United States. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling i proudly yield one minute to a gentleman on leave from the Financial Services committee, one we proudly call our own, distinguished the gentleman from california, the majority leader, mr. Mccarthy. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mccarthy i thank the gentleman for yielding. I first want to thank chairman hensarling and the entire Financial Services committee for the work they have done on this bill. They have listened to members and they listened to constituents throughout this country. They studied the issue and found the very best policy. Now, we all know we need Economic Growth, but we also know that growth means little if wages will not rise, if jobs will not return, and if more businesses close than open. If a rising tide misses all boats, we need to make sure every american is in the boat. Repealing doddfrank with the choice act, lifts people back in so they can participate in americas economy. It will reestablish the severed ties that link communities to the money they need to start businesses and hire employees. Bringing back the Community Banks that doddfrank destroyed, means that more people, not just wealthy, will have access to credit. But if we want everyone to be part of the American Economy, we dont want people to face the same risks they did before. We want people to be treated fairly. In 2008, people lost everything. Aided by misgovernment in washington policies. Some played fast and loose and put everyone else at risk. Its only natural people look around and ask, why do we have a system where when things go wrong, banks need to get bailouts, but the American People get nothing . Its not a fair system. And doddfrank made it worse. It actually codified bailouts into law and made taxpayers a slush fund. And on top of all that, the regulations it created, we all know were just ridiculous. Why is it that the rich and powerful get to gain the complicated rules produced by their friends in the bureaucracy while everyone else faces a mount mountain of paperwork that no human being has a chance of understanding. And we all know thats not fair. All this ends up is boxing out Small Business owners and normal americans who cant hire lawyers to sift through it all. The choice act levels the Playing Field and makes both wall steet and washington accountable so that their bad decisions dont cost the taxpayer their money. And it makes things simple so you dont need an Ivy League Law degree to understand the rules that govern our lives. Now america is a nation for the people. Everyone has a shot. Everyone should be treated the same. Everyone has a chance to succeed. The choice act brings us a little closer to that america one more time. And i yield back. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters yes, mr. Speaker. I will yield one minute to one of our Senior Members of the Financial Services committee, mr. David scott. The chair the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. Mr. Scott thank you very much, Ranking Member. Ladies and gentlemen, i love this country. And the heart and soul of our country is our Financial System and this bill is a dangerous bill to our economy. Let me tell you why. First of all, it takes away all of our Consumer Protections. Secondly, i want to give you an example. Before we had doddfrank, a bank that is insured by the taxpayers could go in and use their customers money, take their customers money out to invest n risky bets and then when the bets go south, its the taxpayers that have to pick up the freight. Secondly, let us use this example. Because of the impact and the complexities of our Financial System, so much of the cause and effect of the downturn were the big banks. So what doddfrank did was provide stress tests to be able to go in and simulate and confer with the bank to prevent it from going overboard. Wake up, america. I have talked with our senators and they assured me that this bill is dead on arrival. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling i yield two minutes to the the gentleman from new mexico, mr. Pearce. The chair the gentleman from new mexico is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Pearce thank you, mr. Speaker and thank you, the gentleman from texas. Credit is one of the most powerful devices of our Financial System that was designed over time by societies. In some countries, credit is not available to those who need it the most, the people at the bottom end of the ladder. In United States, credit is available no matter how bad your Credit Rating might be. It was available until the doddfrank regulation created the cfpb. In the Second District of new mexico, 50 of the homes are manufactured housing. The doddfrank immediately began to show they had no clue about how rural sorkts and put into place regulations that choked off the access of most of our homeowners to manufactured housing. That wasnt enough for the cfpb. They began then to set forward qualified mortgages which then choked off traditional mortgages to many people in the Second District of new mexico. Many people in new mexico will buy their first mobile home and then live in that and over their lifetime, they will buy eight or 10 more. Usually the people who cant get credit any other way, cfpb shut that down. Seniors living in their senior years with less income, but people who need the loans the most having one more source of credit dried up to them, the rules that affect the rural mortgages, Small Businesses were so punitive that the economy in new mexico has never yet come back. Its not just that the choice act is the right choice in the rural areas, in our areas, its the only choice. I would support h. R. 10 and ask my colleagues to vote yes on the bill. I yield back. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i yield 1 1 2 minutes to bobby scott. The chair the gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott mr. Chairman, i thank the gentlelady for yielding and rise in opposition to the wrong choice act. In addition to what else is wrong with the bill, there are two significant problems with it impacting the jurisdiction of the education and Work Force Committee where i serve as the Ranking Member. First, the bill essentially eliminates the cfpb. The bureau has played a crucial role in making sure that student loan borrowers are treated fairly and receive the protections that they deserve. T has shut down fraudulent scams and secured hundreds of millions of dollars in loan forgiveness for borrowers taking out costly private loans of the the bill repeals the fiduciary role which ensures that Financial Advisers put their retirement clients interests first. Those who are getting ready to retire seek assistance in what would be the biggest financial decision in their lives. Many of these set aside a few hundred dollars a month now have hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest and counting on their Financial Adviser to do right by them and their families. This rule simply says they have to do right by the families and workers and not what may generate the highest fees. Mr. Chairman, this bill undermines key policy priorities impacting Student Loans and Retirement Savings. We should stand up for students and retirees and reject this bill. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield back. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling i yield two minutes to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. Duffy. The chair the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. Mr. Duffy this debate oftentimes can become confusing because banking law is confusing. And we hear both sides take different positions on the financial choice act and on doddfrank. But i think the way you cut to the fat about was doddfrank great law and does the choice act actually make this law way better . I think we have to look at a couple of simple factors. Big banks brought us to the crisis in 2008. And the question to my friends across the aisle, have big banks because of doddfrank gotten smaller or have big banks gotten bigger because of doddfrank . The answer big banks have gotten bigger. In wisconsin, the small Community Banks and Credit Unions that help provide capital to our families, they are going out of business and big wall street banks dont set up shop in rural wisconsin. The little guy is getting hurt. Big guys are doing really well. You have to ask yourself, look at who supports the financial choice act, independent Community Bankers, National Association of Credit Unions, credit union National Association. Credit unions and small banks support this bill. Who doesnt support this bill . Well, if you look to the Washington Post, a quote there, hensarling, our chairman, faces opposition from big banks c. E. O. s. They hate the choice act. Another quote, big banks have an unexpected message for president elect trump, dont trash doddfrank. So big banks hate this bill and little banks and little Credit Unions, they love it. So if you want to know where people stand on this, go to your small Community Banker and go to your he credit union and ask them about doddfrank and they will get you an earful and ask them if you like choice act . They will give you a small clap. Lets join together and pass h. R. 10 and give a win to the little guy. I yield back. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from texas reserves. The gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters the gentleman doesnt support this bill. Civil rights groups, veterans groups, pension plarns and company Share Holders. We also received a petition urging a no vote from more than 220,000 concerned americans and let me just say aarp hates this bill. Thats who opposes the bill. I yield one minute to mr. Sherman, a Senior Member of the committee on Financial Services. The chair the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. Mr. Sherman unfortunately they have been held hostage and this added to a bill that contains a pharmacy of poison pills. The gentleman from new mexico oints out that we need to do something with manufactured housing. I support that bill. Liberate that bill. Dont put it in a bill thats going to die in the senate. The gentleman from wisconsin talks about too big to fail. Please cosponsor the sherman bill to break up that bill rather than this bill that makes them stay too big. I look forward to working in a bipartisan way to support the Financial Accounting foundations efforts to have standards for governmentissued debt. This bill takes that away, and i look forward to working in a bipartisan way to have different and lesser standards for community Financial Institutions like Credit Unions and local banks. Instead, this highly partisan ll takes us down the wrong highway. Its a highway to a bill that will go nowhere in the senate, and then well resume our efforts to improve Financial Regulation in this country. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady from california reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, im pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from illinois, mr. Hultgren. The chair the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. Mr. Hultgren thank you, mr. Chairman. I especially want to thank chairman hensarling and the entire committee in getting us to this point to pass h. R. 10, the financial choice act, a very important bill that will reform significant parts of doddfrank thats failing. The financial choice act is an important recognition of the many mistakes policymakers made leading up and responding to the financial crisis. Theres no doubt the American People demanded changes from washington when the financial crash led to higher unemployment, huge drops in home values and lost hope in communities. But instead of reforms that increased competition and decrease systemic risk, the doddfrank act grew government and piled new regulation on Community Banks and Credit Unions and enshrined too big to fail into law. 42 Community Banks and 106 illinois Credit Unions have closed their doors since doddfrank was signed in 2010. This is unacceptable. Im grateful that regulatory relief legislation has that i championed is included in the financial choice act. Things like the Community Bank reporting relief act and many other provisions that will provide great relief to our local Financial Institutions. Thats what the financial choice act is all about, giving opportunities back to local communities to make good Financial Decisions for their future. Thank you, mr. Chairman, with that i yield back. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from texas reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you. Continuing to remind those who oppose this bill, the fornse of foreign veterans of foreign wars of the United States of america opposes this bill. I yield now three minutes to the distinguished democratic whip, mr. Hoyer. The chair the gentleman from maryland is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Hoyer i thank the gentlelady for yielding. I rise in opposition to this legislation, which i know does not surprise the chairman. Ive been here for some time. I was here in the 1990s. I was here in the 2000s, and frankly we took the referee off and we in the 2000s didnt put the referee as toughly on the field in the late 1990s when we should have. Some warned us about that and we kept our eyes shut. And keeping our eyes shut cost millions and millions and millions of people their jobs, their homes and their security. Let us not return to the time of taking the referee off the field. This bill does that. It is a dangerous piece of legislation. The bill, which my republican colleagues have put forward, will put the American People at risk once again of having to bail out institutions if they lose money or risk investments. Let me say to my republican friends, i share their view that Community Banks ought not to be treated as too big to fail banks. However, having said that, this the akes the referee off field one more time. It would effectively eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that is now the American Peoples watchdog. We spent a lot of time this year in the last five months passing bills on the congressional review act, reduced Consumer Protections, civil rights protections, teacher protections, environmental protections. All were doing is spending our time taking away protections for the American People and their future. Have we learned nothing, mr. Speaker . Those who fail to learn from history, it is often said, are doomed to repeat it. Let us not doom our citizens to repeat it. Let us not fail to learn the lessons of 2008. Let us not doom ourselves to repeating the mistakes of the past. The American People, average investors and retirees, along with those who use our markets to save for college and purchase their home, they deserve and now have commonsense protections. Nobody, nobody is seeking to punish or limit what Financial Firms do well and thats create and raise capital. But we must ensure that there are referees on the field to protect investors and taxpayers and citizens and, yes, our families and our children. This bill does the opposite. I urge my colleagues to reject it, and i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back. The gentlelady from california reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, i yield myself 10 seconds just to say that perhaps the gentlelady from california is unaware that f. W. Has tweeted that it lauds representative hensarling to protect veterans and we are so happy that the financial choice act has been enduresed including the concerned veterans for america because what we do to protect their freedoms. At this point i am very happy to yield to the gentleman from florida, proud member of our committee, one minute. The chair the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I thank the chairman for yielding and i thank the chairman for bringing this muchneeded bill to the floor. Mr. Chairman, i rise today in support of the financial choice act, a bill that will provide the muchneeded relief from harmful, complex and excessive Regulatory Environment created by the doddfrank act. In the seven years since the passage of the doddfrank act, our nation has suffered from an anemic Economic Growth, increasing unprecedented level of jobkilling regulations. Mr. Ross all the while small banks and Credit Unions have suffered. In fact, Community Banks are closing at the rate of one per day. Many of our my constituents in small and rural towns in the tampa bay area rely heavily on their Community Banks for their Financial Services. When their closing their doors due to excessive regulation, my constituents lose access to essential services and opportunities. Simply put, doddfrank has failed. The financial choice act represents an alternative and effective approach to Financial Regulation which will protect taxpayers and Bank Bailouts, empower investors and hold government bureaucracies accountable. This legislation makes it easier for hardworking americans to save and invest for retirement, college and their future. It will also increase access to and reduce the cost of credit for families that want to purchase a home or start a business. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of this bill and helping washington get off the backs of Hardworking Taxpayers. I yield back. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from texas he yields reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i yield one minute mr. Capuano, a Senior Member of the Financial Services committee. The chair the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. The gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Capuano i was going to talk about volinger rules. Its not about the details. Its about the concept. Main street versus wall street. If you make me make a choice i am with main street. I know the radicals are against this bill. The radicals like the v. F. W. Ill just read what they said. If enacted the financial choice financial choice act of 2017 would put those who have taken an oath to defend this country, end our way of life in financial harms way. In light of this number, half of the nearly 1. 7 million members of the v. F. W. And its auxiliary, i call on you to oppose h. R. 10. The other radical group that opposes this bill is the aarp, representing 38 million americans. And the communication workers of america with 700,000 members. And the brotherhood of teamsters representing i think 900,000. And of course the california teachers association, which represents 900,000 people who also invest 202 billion in our country. All that being said, i guess im shocked that im sitting here thinking that the doddfrank act is some kind of a failure. Bottom line is we put an end to the wild west of wall street and were on to a nice, steady Playing Field. We should be able to adjust it but we should not throw it out. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady from california reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Hensarling i thank you, mr. Chairman. Apparently the gentleman forgot that the big wall street banks also oppose this, according to the wall street journal, Washington Post and new york time and i am happy to yold one minute to the gentleman from new york, mr. Pittenger. The chair the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. Mr. Pate injury thank you, mr. Chairman mr. Pittenger thank you, mr. Chairman, for your leadership. I rise in support of h. R. 10, the financial choice act. North carolina has lost 50 of its banks since 2010. While three Community Banks have consolidated just in the last month. Monthly banking fees have increased 111 . As well, doddfrank created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which even the liberal d. C. Court of appeals calls unconstitutional and a threat to individual liberty. Doddfrank has made the wall street banks even bigger and more powerful. And doddfrank has contributed to the slowest, weakest economic recovery in 70 years. Impeding the access of capital and credit in the market for Small Business. Maintaining the status quo is not acceptable. Financial choice act will impose the toughest penalties in the history for fraud on wall street. It will end taxpayer bailouts for wall street and allow your Community Banks and Credit Unions to focus on serving you and your local business, which will help create jobs and grow the economy. The financial choice act means opportunities for all americans and bailouts for none. Thank you and i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from texas reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you. Continuing to answer, mr. Duffy, who opposes this bill, the fleet association, which includes the marine, navy and coast guard, and with that i yield to mr. Lynch, a Senior Member of the Financial Services committee. The chair the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one minute. Mr. Lynch i thank the gentlelady for yielding. I have to say, mr. Speaker, that this is the single worst piece of legislation that i have seen in my time here in congress, and i have been here a while. I have to congratulate the gentleman from texas on putting group of terrible ideas together. This bill basically destroys the work we did to try to secure the banks after the financial crisis of 2008. It harms consumers. It lets off bad actors and hamstrings our financial regulators and i believe it will lead to the next financial crisis. This bill will destroy the only Consumer Protection agency in the United States government by handing over the ability to defund the operation to the people who were committed to opposing its very creation. It also repeals the department of labors fiduciary rule that simply requires that Financial Advisors put the interest of its clients first rather than its own. And finally, it is important to emphasize the choice act rolls back the accountability and reporting standards for Credit Rating agencies. As gretchen morganson discussed in the fair game column on may 7, to sum up, mr. Chairman, this is an awful bill. This is a real stinker. Hope that my colleagues here vote against it. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, i am happy to yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Rothfus. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Rothfus i thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank him for his leadership on this legislation. Today is a good day. It is yet another day where we turn the page on the antigrowth policies of the last eight years that have given us the slowest economic recovery in 70 years. I urge my colleagues to vote against the stagnant status quo with a vote for the financial choice act. With all the debate were hearing, understand this, the heart of this bill is about regulation, accountability and growth. Restoring healthy, robust growth that will create jobs, lift wages and through the creation of new taxpayers will increase revenues to the federal treasury that will help pay for critical programs like social security, medicare, Veterans Benefits and national defense. We have a moral obligation to restore healthy Economic Growth. The opponents of this bill, the status quo defenders, are seemingly ok with slow growth and fewer opportunities. Mr. Chairman, take a stand for stronger growth. Take a stand for young people who want more Job Opportunities. Take a stand for young families who want a new home. Take a stand for seniors and veterans funded through a healthy growing economy. Take a stand for a better way. Take a stand for a brighter future. Vote for h. R. 10. Vote for the financial choice act. And i yield back. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to mr. Delaney. Mr. Delaney mr. Chairman, during the financial crisis 19 of the 20 largest Financial Institutions required a bailout or significant investment by the taxpayers. Clearly reform was needed and doddfrank was that reform. Since doddfrank, Consumer Protections have improved materially. The Banking System is safer and more sound and our banks and markets have far outpaced their international competitors. Doddfrank is working. Is it a Perfect Piece of legislation . Of course not. Any Time Congress does something large and transforms an entire industry, we should sign up as a body for 10 years of fixes, which is what we have not done and let the American People down. Are we fixing doddfrank today . No. We are pursuing a misguided, time consuming repeal effort. I urge my colleagues to reject the choice act and urge my republicans to work with democrats on bipartisan reforms to doddfrank that build on its strength and solve and improve weaknesses in the legislation. I yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling im happy to yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Lance. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Lance thank you, mr. Speaker, i rise in support of the financial choice act. In response to the Great Recession, Congress Passed the doddfrank law and while well intentioned, various doddfrank provisions and regulations are encouraging some of the behavior that led to the financial crisis. The law permits wall street to receive bailouts and has constricted credit lending for consumers and Small Businesses. It has drastically hurt Community Banks throughout this country. And they had absolutely nothing to do with the financial crisis. 2,000 Community Banks have closed nationwide since doddfrank, including 4 in new jersey. Doddfrank has institutionalized too big to fail for wall street while telling Community Banks on main street that they are too small to succeed. Congress agrees on the need for strong regulation of our Financial System. The financial choice act will bring balanced reform to our nations Financial Institutions and i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to mrs. Beatty, a member of the Financial Services committee. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Beatty i stand here and i join my colleagues in opposition to the financial choice act. It is the wrong act. And let me just say this to you, certainly it does not provide choice, and nor does it create hope and opportunity for investors and for consumers and entrepreneurs. Im from the great state of ohio, and you may have a sign that says people are for it, i have letters from progress ohio and from policy matters ohio. I also have a letter here from the National Consumer law Center Advancing fairness in the marketplace for all. And let me just tell you what they are saying. They are saying that it is breathtaking the assault on hardworking americans. The assault on businesses that want to level the Playing Field to improve the economy. Mr. Speaker, and Ranking Member, this is ridiculous that we stand here, if it was such a good choice, we would have had more meetings on it. If it was such a good choice for hardworking americans, we would have worked with republicans and democrats to make it a fair choice, to make it a right choice. I stand here today and tell you it is the wrong choice for consumers. It is the wrong choice because it aadvice rates the Consumer Protection bureau. It is against the people. The chair the gentleladys time has expired. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling i yield one minute to the gentleman from indiana, mr. Messer and chairman of the republican policy committee. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Messer thank you, mr. Speaker, despite the rhetoric and whatever its intentions, since doddfranks passage, Home Ownership is down, way down. Lowest level seen in over 20 years. Car loans and Small Business loans are much harder to get, too. Simply put, doddfrank has been great for federal regulators and even big banks, but very bad for hoosier consumers. The financial choice act changes that. T ends too big to fail and enables Financial Institution to escape one size fits all and that will help hardworking hoosiers get more affordable loans. The financial choice act includes my bill the rights of the cfpb act which means anyone pursued by this federal agency will have their rights protected and get their day in court. I urge support of the financial choice act and i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from texas reserves. The gentlelady from california. The aters we were told by opposition by the oversight. Lets take you Community Banks showed strength in ress detention, commercial and industrial loans and Small Business lending. In fact, overall loan growth at Community Banks has been faster than at bigger banks. In the Fourth Quarter of 2016, lending was up 8. 3 . With that, i yield to the gentleman from illinois, a member of the Financial Services committee, mr. Foster. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Such time as i may consume. Thank you, Ranking Member waters, and for your leadership on this. Nine years ago, i was there in 2008 when our Financial System collapsed. As a new member, the sole scientists on the Financial Services committee, i wondered how we could have gotten into a place like that. With our Financial System clogged with toxic assets based on trillions of dollars in mortgages that never had a chance of being repaid. We saw giant banks leveraged. Huge financial corporations so complex that they had thousands of Business Units that even their c. E. O. s was unaware of it. When i look at the choice act that republicans are about to ram through on a partyline vote, i understand perfectly. I see all the same forces of mindless deregulation and free market ideology and overriding mania for tax cuts for the rich and stripping protections for ordinary families and refusal to learn the history and replace them with alternative facts. I urge my colleagues to stand up for working families and protect our economy by opposing this bill today. Thank you. And i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling im happy to yield one minute to the gentleman from colorado, mr. Tipton. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Tipton i want to thank chairman hensarling for offering the legislation under consideration. The final choice act reforms the supervision of our Financial System that the doddfrank act failed to do. Among other provisions, this legislation requires regulatory agencies to take actions to fit the risk profile and Business Model of supervised institutions. Not only will this ensure obligations for banks and Credit Unions with various risk profiles but saves valuable time and resources for bank exercise. Community banks are facing an increasing Regulatory Burden. This has had devastating impact on small banks. Stifleling the creation of new banks in areas that need access to credit. A report highlighted a problem noting that the Regulatory Environment tends to be one size fits all and concluding that the Regulatory Oversight should match the risk level of the institution po posed to the economy at large. It will stop Compliance Costs and decreasing Financial Services. I thank the gentleman from texas for his efforts on this legislation and urge my colleagues to support it. And i yield back. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters how much time do i ave remaining . The chair the gentlelady from california has 21 minutes remaining and the gentleman from texas, 15 minutes remaining. Ms. Waters it has been asked about who opposes this bill, i wanted to make sure that we include in our information to them, the religious organizations, the congregation of st. Joseph, the seventh generation interfaith coalition, the dominican sisters of houston, sisters of mercy, Interfaith Center on corporate responsibility, Christian Brothers investment services, National Association of evangelicals, the American Baptist association. All urge a no vote on this terrible bill. And with that, i will give one minute to mr. Heck, a Senior Member now. He has been there for a while, of the Financial Services committee. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Heck im voting no on the wrong choice act all of us are. Just like health care, this legislation takes the approach that the best way to proceed is with the most extreme bill possible, a bill that attracts no democrats and even makes moderate republicans deeply uncomfortable. One reason, the doddfrank bill act set up an office at cfpb to protect Service Members. That office has done great work in educating and educating Service Member families. I worked with republicans to support and inhans it. This bill makes that office optional, optional and it specifically strips the funding for its financial counseling project. Its appalling. It hurts my constituents and makes my republican friends deeply uncomfortable. Its one of scores of provisions that make clear this isnt a bill designed to help americans. Its an ideological document. It hurts men and women in uniform. And oh, by the way, millions of others. Its a terrible approach. Please vote no on the wrong choice act. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Hensarling im happy to yield one minute to my friend and neighbor, the gentleman from texas, mr. Williams. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Williams thank you for your leadership on this issue. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has cost millions of dollars in regulatory costs since the inception. I actually own a business. Im a Small Business owner and i can tell you its horrible legislation. Although this is rogue Unaccountable Agency it hides behind issues that they protect consumers. The ability to exempt small Financial Institutions from any rule they impose. Doddfrank gives them authority to do so. Because they lack congressional oversight and have a director who cannot be removed at will, they do absolutely nothing. My colleagues are looking for a reason to vote for this bill they should look no further for the reforms. Im happy to see the committee incorporate a provision i introduced last congress which would apply the rains act to all financial agencies. Over the last 12 years, 55 billion in regulatory costs have been levied by our Financial Industries and it must end and end now. The financial choice act is a win and purely a winner who are sick of tired of the heavyhanded washington. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. In god we trust. I yield back. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters members on the op side of the aisle have come here talking about what they are doing for small banks and how they are against the big banks. Let me tell you about a letter sent yesterday from the American Bankers Association and said we are pleased this legislation contains provisions that a. B. A. And our members, banks have long supported. Who are their members . Ctigroup, bank of america. I yield one minute to a senior progressive champion of the Financial Services committee, mr. Ellison. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Ellison since doddfranks passage, the economy has created 16 million jobs, over 85 months. Business lending, business lending has increased 75 and banks large and small are posting alltime record profits. Community banks are outperforming and Credit Unions are expanding their membership. And oh, because of the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 29 Million People have seen 12 billion get back into their pocket and not into those of improper and illegal practicing Financial Services firms. You want to know why do we have the wrong choice act before us today . Because they want the money. Not with the not the 12 billion that went back to the 29 million veterans and farmers and students and citizens and people who need that kind of help for their families, they want their money going back to the big financial interests and that is the purpose of the wrong choice bill. Its just its between the many and the money and this wrong choice act stands firmly on the side of those who would line their pockets in the top 1 . The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, im happy now to yield one minute to a real workhorse of the Financial Services committee, the gentleman from maine, mr. Poliquin. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Poliquin thank you very much, mr. Speaker. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, i represent the most honest, hardworking families in this country in the great state of maine. I also represent tens of thousands of Small Business owners in our state that create thousands and thousands of jobs for our families. And you know, in the state of maine, mr. Speaker, we know the difference between right and wrong, and it is wrong to force taxpayers to bail out huge wall street banks that take too much risk when it goes wrong. Now, the small Community Banks and Credit Unions that dot our landscape in maine did not cause the most recent recession. And these reforms that were passing today in the choice act reduce unnecessary paperwork and costs that will help our small Community Banks and Credit Unions lend money to our Small Businesses and families. Also, i am proud to say that the choice act keeps in place very strong protections, mr. Speaker, for consumers of Financial Services while at the same time imposing the toughest penalties ever for fraud and inside dealings for folks that participate in this industry. Its no wonder, mr. Speaker, that huge Money Center Banks of wall street are not for the choice act, but i am and i encourage everybody to vote for this choice act. Its a great bill for rural area. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to a new member of the Financial Services committee, mr. Gonzalez. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Gonzalez thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you, Ranking Member waters. Mr. Speaker, i rise in opposition to h. R. 10. While this bill may contain some language i agree and helpful to our Community Banks as well as some of our Credit Unions, it would be very harmful to our seniors and the elderly. Additionally, the choice act, as written, would be dead on arrival in the u. S. Senate and a monumental waste of time for this chamber. As a public servant, were called to serve the citizens of our great nation, those who raised us, those who consistently told us, those who force a new path and a better way of life. One of the best measures of a nation is how it cares for its elderly. As a country we made a promise to our elderly to protect them and ensure they would have relyable access to resources and reliable access to resources and to live a dignified later in life. In my book a promise made is a promise kept. My colleagues seek to renege on this promise and leave elderly americans vulnerable to exploitation schemes. One in five elderly americans have been victims of financial abuse, accounting for a cost of over 36 billion annually. We cannot abandon our elderly when their resources and ulledly their independence is threatened. When we must stand with them and enable the Consumer Bureau to protect the elderly. Thank you. I yield back. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, i am very happy now to yield one minute to an incredibly talented from our committee, the gentlelady from utah, mrs. Love. The chair the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Mrs. Love thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in support for the financial choice act and urge a vote for. American workers, farmers, business owners, households, savers and investors all deserve the flexibility and access to credit that the choice act puts in place for our Financial System. As a former mayor, i know that families, cities and counties need access to credit. Whether its a city that wants to build a library or Community Park or family that wants to buy a house or a farmer that needs a new tractor to plow her field, we need a Financial System thats strong, innovative but most of all accessible. Right now under doddfrank that isnt the case. For example, one of my constituents in utah owns a catering business thats very successful, but the growth of her company has been stunted because she ran into red tape and delays after applying for a Small Business loan. That is not how things should work. Community banks provide the majority of small bank loans and theyre closing at the rate of one per day. Middle to lowincome americans are getting higher fees, Less Consumer service and less access to credit than ever before. Everyone deserves a chance to realize their version of the American Dream and the choice act is a bold step towards achieving that dream. Thank you. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i now yield one minute to a new member of the Financial Services committee, mr. Cris. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Crist the bill before us is broken, members. I was governor of florida when the financial crisis and foreclosure crisis rolled through my state like a hurricane. Unrestrained greed on wall street cause a preventable disaster because at no point did anyone say, this is simply wrong. I remember 2008 and 2009, the bailouts, the foreclosures, the long painful road to recovery, the financial crisis exposed a broken regulatory system, allowing wall street to gamble with main streets future. With this bill, members are being asked to, again, trust the very people who brought us to this financial crisis. Dont put them back in charge. Do not let them do it again. Please vote no. I yield back. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, im now happy to yield one minute to the gentleman from arkansas, mr. Hill, the committee whip. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Hill thank you, mr. Chairman, in guiding the financial choice act through the committee and the house. Mr. Chairman, id like to submit to the record ask unanimous consent to submit to the record a letter from the Arkansas State bank department. The chair be covered under general leave. Mr. Hill mr. Chairman, this debate today, lets hear what a commissioner of banking says from arkansas. Im writing in support of h. R. 10, the financial choice act. As a state bank regulator, ive seen the huge burden doddfrank has placed on Community Banks. Since the financial crisis, Community Banks in arkansas have curtailed or discontinued lending activities, particularly residential mortgages, which has been detrimental to the consumers they deserve. That is a compelling endorsement from a regulator, not from a member of congress. When you look at working families in arkansas, recently i was told about an Army National guard member from North Little Rock in my district who was informed he would not receive a loan to purchase a manufactured home that would have been twice as large and less expensive than the 60yearold house he was renting for his family. Or a hairstylist that we got a note from from Nevada County and her husband, a welder, were denied a loan to purchase a new home despite having verifiable income. Thats why we need to repeal and replace that with the financial choice act. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to a new member of the committee. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. I thank the gentlewoman for her tireless work. Mr. Speaker, the choice act is nothing more than a misguided attempt to return to the days where bad actors could put the entire Financial System at risk. Theres bipartisan support to provide regulatory relief for Community Banks and Credit Unions. Just last week, i met with Credit Unions in my district and they talked about the need for thoughtful, tailored regulation. Unfortunately, that kind of thoughtful reform is not whats before us today. Instead, we have a bill before us that is a fundamental attack on working families in america. This bill will make it harder to go after bad actors in the Financial Market by hamstringing regulators and would completely gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It would eliminate important programs that ensure that taxpayers will not be on the hook for future bailouts. It makes our Financial System a whole lot less secure. Mr. Kihuen the district i represent was one of the hardest hit in the entire country during the financial crisis. My constituents sent me here to ensure we dont repeat the mistakes of the past which is exactly what this bill does. Mr. Chairman, this bill has been named the choice act, and i think its a fitting name. Each of us here today have a simple choice, do we side with the American Families or side with the big corporations and big special interests. Thank you, mr. Chairman. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling i yield one minute to another hardworking member of this committee, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. Emmer. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Emmer i thank the chairman for yielding. Nearly seven years ago the American People was promised that the doddfrank act would end washington bailouts, protect consumers and lead to a more prosperous economy. Instead, the big banks and the influence of the federal government have continued to get bigger while smaller, local Community Banks and Credit Unions are closing up shop and our country continues to struggle with anemic levels of Economic Growth. This is why the financial choice act is so important. This legislation gives us an opportunity to return the power to the little guy or gal who wants to create a better life for themselves and by doing so for all of us. It takes steps to end the failure of excessive and redundant bureaucracy, and it would give our entrepreneurs the opportunity to access the startup capital they need to grow and thrive once again. Im especially pleased this bill includes provisions from my microoffering safe harbor act, Home Mortgage disclosure act and the Financial Stability Oversight Council reform act. These three bills improves opportunity and accountability for all. I appreciate the chairmans continued efforts to make this goal a reality. I want to thank chairman hensarling for all of his work, and i look forward to supporting the financial choice act, and i hope all of us will do the same. I yield back. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters thank you. I now yield one minute to the gentlelady from florida, ms. Denny. The chair the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Denny do we have a role as congress to protect American Families . In my home state of florida, its hard to go anywhere without meeting family who was affected by the foreclosure crisis. Many not only lost their homes, but their life savings. Through doddfrank, congress created the Consumer Bureau to go after the bad actors that made tough times worse for homeowners in florida, by giving the Consumer Bureau the authority to go after Mortgage Companies for deceptive practices, threatening people who were behind on payments and putting them into Debt Collection when they were eligible for loan modification. Mrs. Demings it allowed attorney generals to file Consumer Protection lawsuits against bad actors on behalf of families and their states. The choice act would repeal these important Consumer Protections and return us to a time when families were being unfairly forced into foreclosure. Mr. Chairman, we cant go back. This is america where we take care of our own. Dont we . If congress doesnt protect American Families, who will . I urge my colleagues to do the right thing and reject this bill. I yield back. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling i yield one minute to a new member of the committee, the gentleman from michigan, mr. Trott. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Trott thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, one of the things about the financial crisis is the government had to step in with taxpayer dollars and bailout the financial industry. Once doddfrank was enacted, however, we were told, dont worry. There will never be another bailout. Rest assured, the Orderly Liquidation Authority under title 2 will give the fdic all the tools it needs to resolve a failed Financial Institution. Indeed, title 2 does give the fdic the ability to borrow from the treasury all the taxpayer dollars it needs to reorganize a failed Financial Institution. Kind of sounds like a bailout to me. The choice act truly ends the risk of a taxpayerfunded bailout. Under the choice act, a failed bank will go through bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a tested, transparency process. Judges sitting in open court instead of unelected bureaucrats sitting behind closed doors will make consistent, predictable decisions based on decades of case law. More importantly, it puts bankruptcy bankruptcy puts the risk of failure on the banks shareholders and creditors, not the taxpayers. I urge my colleagues to support the choice act and truly put an end to the possibility of yet another taxpayerfunded bailout. I yield back. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Cartwright. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Cartwright i thank the gentlelady. Mr. Chairman, my colleagues have already done a good job of talking in great detail why this bill is really a festival of bad choices, of wrong choices for america, but i want to focus on one issue in particular executive pay. This wrong choice act actually takes away provisions that rein in irresponsible pay to executives, the very people who decide decisions to get us into this entire mess in the first place. Number one, this bill eliminates a rule barring incentivebased executive pay that encourages inappropriate risks. It puts the average american in danger of having to pay for another bank bailout, giving out bonuses for putting our national Financial Stability at risk is flat wrong. Number two, it eliminates a requirement for corporations to disclose how their c. E. O. s pay compared to their average employee. This bill eliminates transparency. Number three, if you can believe it, this bill even abolishes a rule to require whether executives and Board Directors are allowed to bet against their own stock. This bill takes us back to the days of enron. I urge my colleagues to vote no on this irresponsible legislation. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling happy to yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, new member of our committee, mr. Loudermilk. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Loudermilk thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Today we know a major factor leading up to the worst economic crisis in our lifetime was the heavyhanded and meddlesome politics of the federal government. Unfortunately, the Previous Administration responded to that crisis not by limiting the intrusion of the federal bureaucracy, but by increasing it. They implemented doddfrank under the guise of protecting the consumer. In reality, this bill empowered government, created new bureaucracies, made the big banks bigger and virtually ended the creation of new Community Banks. In the wake of financial crisis, georgia lost more banks than any state in the nation. Unemployment scrokted and hundreds of businesses went under under. Instead of creating opportunities for georgians to pick themselves up and start again, doddfrank continued to suppress our economic recovery. Today nearly a decade after the end of the recession, there is still 47 counties in georgia without a local Community Bank, and three counties without a single bank branch at all. The financial choice act will reverse these burdensome regulations and once again sow the seeds of prosperity on main street not just wall street. The bill will end bailouts of big banks by taxpayers and unleash our economic potential by opening the economy to everyone. I urge my colleagues to support the financial choice act. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentlewoman from california. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to the gentleman from texas, mr. Doggett. The chair the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. Mr. Doggett this bill is all about obstructing effective Law Enforcement that challenges predatory payday lending, that protects military families from unjustified foreclosures, and addresses the burden of mounting student debt. Republicans give prompt new power to fire the chief cop on the beat who protects consumers financial gful practices. We have seen how well that worked with trump and the f. B. I. Have you learned nothing about giving trump more power . Financ practices. We have seen how well that worked without the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, wells fargo would never have been penalized for its multimillion dollar fraud. Republicans here want to shield wall street granting it free rein to run over people across america and later reward it with even more tax breaks. They tolerate almost any wrongdoing, any crazy trump tweet so long as they can get more tax relief and less Consumer Protection. Enough is enough. Its time to say no to this sorry bill and offer protection to the people of america from financial wrongdoing. I yield back. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, may i inquire how much time is remaining . The chair the gentleman from texas has eight minutes remaining. The gentlelady from california has 12 minutes. Mr. Hensarling to better balance the time. I reserve. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to the gentlelady from illinois, ms. Schakowsky. The chair the gentlelady from illinois is recognized for one minute. Ms. Schakowsky senior citizens, beware the financial choice act. This bill repeals the best interest rule which ensures that americans, that are saving for retirement, get Financial Advice in their best interests. That advice has real costs. Steven, a 69yearold veteran vietnam veteran in illinois lost 147,000 in Retirement Savings when he got advice that hand somely profited his socalled Investment Advisor but devastated him. This bill guts the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which prevents financial exploitation of senior citizens. In december, the cfpb took an action against three crooked reverse Mortgage Companies that deliberately failed to tell seniors that they could lose their homes. The financial choice act is dangerous. Its dangerous for older americans. Its dangerous for all americans. And its dangerous for our entire economy. It puts us all at risk. Its the wrong choice for america. I urge my colleagues to vote no. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling reserve. The chair the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i now yield one minute to the gentlelady from oregon, ms. Bonamici. The chair the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Bonamici thank you. I thank the ranking minority member for yielding. I rise today in strong opposition to the financial choice act because it will gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and roll back important protections for seniors, for students, for hardworking families across the country. The cfpb protects americans from unscrupulous financial practices and deceitful debt collectors. Since its creation, its assisted more than 29 Million Consumers, many of them seniors. With mortgages, credit cards, Debt Collections. Unfortunately, seniors are especially vulnerable to financial fraud and abuse. This bill would roll back the cfpbs ability to identify and stop unfair and abusive Debt Collection and telemarketing practice, and this harmful bill would also prevent the cfpb from cracking down on predatory payday lenders who take advantage of struggling families by issuing loans at exorbitant rates. I worked as a Consumer Protection attorney and worked with too many families who lost their homes, too many seniors who were harassed by debt collectors, too many people who were victims predatory payday lending and got into the quicksand and not able to get out. We cannot allow this shortsighted bill to stop the good work of the cfpb. The bill is called the choice act but its the wrong choice. I urge my colleagues to pose it. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling reserve. The chair the gentlelady from california. Minnesota. Mr. Elliss i yield one minute to the gentlelady from california. The chair the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Barragan i rise today in opposition to the wrong choice act. This bill has a hidden provision that strips away oversight per payday lenders. Payday lenders are like loan sharks, charging upwards on 400 interest on loans. Its outrageous. They prey on vulnerable lowincome borrowers who are already struggling to get by. From how a woman california got trapped. Her mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and lost her job. So she had to take out a loan to buy food. The payday learned garnished her wages and charged skyhigh Interest Rates and fees. She ended up paying back thousands more than she borrow all because she needed food her an her mother. Lets protect our weernings families. Lets not takeway oversight of this abusive loan industry. I urge my colleagues to oppose h. R. 10. Its the wrong choice. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, at this time im pleased to yield one minute to a new member of our committee, the gentleman from new york, mr. Zeldin. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. I rise in mr. Speaker, in strong support of the choice act, and i thank chairman hensarling for his strong leadership. Imposing regulations meant for large transnational firms on Community Banks and Credit Unions may make sense to bureaucrats in washington, but the hardworking families on long island it means you cant buy that first home or you cant get that Small Business loan. Today we have the opportunity o remove the barriers to job creation and prosperity that have given us the weakest economic recovery in american history. The choice act will end taxpayer funded bailouts, restore accountability, and jumpstart innovation and job creation. I strongly support this legislation and i urge its adoption. Thank you. I yield back. The chair gentleman from minnesota. Mr. Ellis mr. Speaker, we yield one minute to gentleman from maryland, mr. Sarbanes. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Sarbanes i thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, in 2008 our Financial System cratered, bringing the broader World Economy to its knees. Millions of americans lost their homes. Millions more lost their jobs by no fault of their own. And 13 trillion in wealth and savings was lost. So we went to work fixing the glaring holes in our nations financial regulatory system. Among other things, we enacted tougher mortgage standards. We brought the Derivatives Market out of the shadows. We stopped the casinolike bets at our investment banks, and we created a consumer focus Protection Bureau. Unfortunately, what we couldnt do was eradicate greed. And sadly today greed is rearing its ugly head once again. The Republicancontrolled Congress is about to pass h. R. 10, the wrong choice act, a bill that would throw away the lessons of the 2008 financial crash and unleash the demons that nearly took down the World Economy. I urge the house to reject this bill. Yield back. The chair gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, im happy to yield one minute to another new member of our committee, the gentleman from West Virginia, mr. Mooney. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Mooney thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of h. R. 10, the financial choice act. This critical piece of legislation rolls back onerous obamaera regulations on the Financial Services industry that are strangling Small Businesses and hurting hardworking american taxpayers. As i held round tables across West Virginia, i heard from Small Business owners and job creators that obamaera regulations make it harder for Community Banks to make loans to Small Businesses and first time home buyers. The financial choice act will remove stifling federal regulations from outoftouch washington bureaucrats and return financial decisionmaking to you, the individual consumers, and to the small Community Banks. I know that President Trump is committed to supporting the reforms in the financial choice act. I look forward to continuing to work with our president to grow our economy and bring much needed relief to West Virginia consumers and Small Business owners. I want to thank chairman hensarling and my colleagues on the Financial Services committee for their leadership on this important legislation. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from minnesota. Mr. Ellis mr. Speaker, id like to yield one minute to the gentleman from vermont, mr. Welch. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Welch i want to say to my republican colleagues, i have heard a lot of advocacy for the small banks. Im with you. Those folks did not cause the depression. And we have to give them relief. But what this bill does is essentially use the good reputation of those small lending institutions in all our communities to create an opening for the bad actors that did cause this enormous recession. And it invites them to go back to their bad old days. The Business Model of our small banks is to help our folks in small communities. The Business Model of some of to wall street banks is play could seeno poker with taxpayer money. Thats what happened. We had institutions on wall street that were putting together packages to play could seeno poker of bad l that they shorted for one investor and sold them as triplea rated pension worthy investments for pensions for our firefighters and teachers. That is absolutely outrageous. Were allowing that to occur again. We can help the small banks, we should help the small banks, but we shouldnt give them a free pass. There is one good thing in this bill. The ry blood to see that durbin rule continues to exist. That was a crackdown. We finally got some relief for our retailers on the durbin the transaction fees on debit cards. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, im very happy to yield two minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina, a huge fighter for freedom and a fighter against federal price controls, mr. Budd. The chair the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Budd i thank the chairman. Mr. Chairman, i draw a distinction between political costs and real costs. In no city in the country are the political costs treated as more real than washington. The truth is that for the other 99 of the country, the real costs are what count. The real costs of the durbin amendment have been amply documented. Community banks have see interchange revenue fall 20 . The lowincome consumer has seen his checking fees double. The small ticket merchant has seen his interchange costs increase. For those of us who campaigned on a platform of free markets and limited government, which is most of our party, i suggest that a principle is followed only when it costs nothing is not much of a principle at all. The principle that government shouldnt be setting prices ended up having a political price of its own. And for some that was the only reality of this debate. I only wish that i could say the same for the one Million People the durbin amendment has driven out of the Banking System. With that, i yield to the gentleman from missouri, mr. Luetkemeyer. Mr. Luetkemeyer i thank the gentleman from North Carolina and associate myself with his remarks. The dash yun amendment has not helped consumers and hurt them. Its hurt some banks and Credit Unions. The only entities who benefited are the retailers who despite their promises to congress have not lowered costs and some studies show they have increased costs. Congress should not be in the business of price fixing. Price controls will never work and always have a negative consequence. Im committed to returning free market principle that is deliver real results for consumers w that i yield back to the gentleman. Mr. Budd id like to yield back to the chairman. Mr. Hensarling when government fixes market prices, consumer welfare suffers. Its no surprise that the durbin amendment resulted in a net loss of perhaps 25 billion for consumers. But in a larger sense, what we have is a legal dispute between two parties. This is an issue that belongs in the courts, not congress, which is why we sought to repeal the durbin amendment. I remain hopeful congress will correct this mistake, and i will work towards that goal in the future. I yield back to the gentleman from North Carolina. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. Mr. Budd and i yield back. The chair the gentleman from minnesota. Mr. Ellison one of the elements of the wrong choice act that is particularly troublesome to me, and there e many, is repealing section 953b of the doddfrank wall street reform and Consumer Protection act. Now, people watching this debate, mr. Speaker, might find that to be just legislative talk, but its really substantively really important. Section 953b, was a victory fo investors, consumers, workers and the general public. You see, mr. Speaker, the law requires that publicly traded firms disclosed a ratio between what they pay their c. E. O. And what they pay their median worker. I think this is important information. A c. E. O. Of an s p 500 Company Makes on average about 331 for every 1 a typical rank and file worker makes. In some companies, this ratio can reach as high as 1,000 to 1. Investors should be able to are consider if a c. E. O. Provides able to consider if a c. E. O. Provides more to employees before investing in a firm. Exactly exorbitant c. E. O. Pay, excessive c. E. O. Pay can impact dividend. It can impact all kinds of decisions, lead to risk taking, and it is a good idea for investors and the general public to know that information. So while executives are making critical decisions about the direction of their companies, quality employees ensure those decisions are being properly implemented. This pay ratio information benefits investors by giving them valuable information for ascertaining whether or not a companys employees are being treated fairly and therefore able to retain employees, a Stable Company and a company that values its people. The ratio helps them to decide how to cast their say on pay, advisory votes on executive compensation. Research shows that the higher the c. E. O. To median worker pay ratio the more likely the c. E. O. Is to pursue the kind of risky investments that brought the financial the Global Financial crisis to bear. The institute on policy studies found that nearly 40 of the c. E. O. s on their top 2,500 excuse me top 25 highest paid list over a 20year period wind up being fired, sought a bailout or forced to pay fraudrelated fines. Moreover, lower ratio of c. E. O. To worker to median worker play implies more investment in Human Capital and a longer term outlook on a corporation. According to the center for audit qualities annual investor survey, 46 of investors say they consider c. E. O. Compensation in their decisionmaking. The current culture of paying c. E. O. s hundreds of times and even thousands in some limited cases more than typical employees hurts working families, is detrimental to employee morale and goes against the research which shows us what is best practice. So with that, mr. Speaker, i will yield i reserve. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, i yield one minute to a new member of our committee, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Kustoff. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Kustoff thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of h. R. 10, the financial choice act. For seven years now, doddfrank has stalled our Economic Growth. While Community Banks and Credit Unions did not cause the recession, theyve carried most of the burden following the crisis. These smaller Financial Institutions are the lifeline of local businesses, farmers, entrepreneurs and anyone striving for true Financial Independence. The financial choice act will bring relief from onerous rules and regulations that have hamstrung the ability to loan and to borrow money. Once businesses can access more capital, theyll be able to grow, hire more employees, contribute more to their communities. I want to thank chairman hensarling and this committee for working tirelessly to bring the American People the relief that they need. I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. Thank you. The chair the gentleman from minnesota. Mr. Ellison mr. Speaker, i yield one minute to the gentlelady from california, ms. Barbara lee. The chair the gentlelady is ecognized 1. The gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Lee i want to thank the gentleman for his most diligent work on behalf of the American People and also to our Ranking Member, congresswoman maxine waters. I just want to thank her for really educating this house and the public of the dangers to consumers of this horrible bill which, of course, i stand in opposition to. It really is a wrong choice for American Families. Shapefully, this bill gives wall street a handout while stealing from the pockets of everyday americans. It would drag us back to the days where wall street and billionaires get richer while struggling families are left out in the cold. This bill significantly undermines both the Consumer Bureau and the rules it put in place to prevent predatory lending and subprime loans, particularly in communities of color. Families lost a generation of wealth prior to doddfrank and have yet been able to recover, but this bill also, i must say, pits wall street recklessness back in charge and it will leave consumers out in the cold again. So it will take us back to where we were before, and we cannot go back. Thats why were asking for a no vote. It destroys protections for seniors and jeopardizes their financial safety. So i hope that we vote no on this bill. The chair the gentleladys time has expired. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, i am now very happy to yield to another new member of the committee one to the gentlelady from new york, ms. Tenney. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Tenney i rise in support of h. R. 10, the financial choice act. As a single parent and Small Business owner, i know from my own experience that the only way for hardworking americans to achieve Financial Independence is by building an economy from main street up, not wall street down. The choice act not only imposes the toughest penalties in history for financial fraud on wall street, it saves taxpayers 30 billion with a b. The choice act also eliminates taxpayerfunded bailouts while proving choices providing choices for consumers and a real opportunity for Economic Growth. As an upstate new yorker, our region suffers from economic challenges caused by excessive regulations such as the choit act such as the doddfrank act that have crushed Small Businesses yet Small Businesses create nearly 70 of the new jobs. This bill will increase access to capital for Small Businesses and startups, our job creators. It will increase Job Opportunities and positively benefit new yorks 22nd district. I urge all my colleagues to vote to support our job creators and to vote for the financial choice act. I yield back. The chair the gentleman from minnesota has three minutes remaining. The gentleman from texas has 2 1 4 minutes remaining. The gentleman from minnesota. Mr. Ellison you know, mr. Speaker, does it make sense that after eight years of a piece of regulation, doddfrank, that has brought us increases in g. D. P. , increases in jobs and stability in Financial Markets that we would now repeal that piece of legislation to go back to a time when we saw that deregulation strategy bring us the Great Recession . It just doesnt make any sense to take the position that what we need is more wide open wild west, youre on your own kind of financial rules and laws in our country. The fact is before doddfrank was passed, we had an abysmal Consumer Protection system. We really had seven or eight different agencies that were sort of responsible but not really. Consumer protection was not a priority of the federal government, and as a result of it, we saw proliferation of mortgages that got people who really couldnt handle that particular mortgage they got or the products were just fraudulent. To get into a situation where they ended up going into foreclosure. We saw the secondary market package up some of these bad mortgages. We saw rating agencies say we were good equity products and when these products started to fail, what we saw is those big banks that trafficked those equities get bailed out and we saw citizens lose their homes. The fact is going back to the bad old days is just a bad idea. To bring us back to a time when we didnt have any Consumer Protection, when we didnt have any responsibility placed on the shoulders of management, when we didnt say that we were going to look after these rating agencies and we didnt say that these systemically important large institutions were going to get a little bit more scrutiny, when we before the time that we did that, we saw ruin in the economy. Let me just remind the American People, we had many states with unemployment above 10 because of the deregulation, laissez faire attitude that prevailed in the american Financial Services legal system. Those bad old days nearly ruined so many families, and they are just now starting to recover. But under doddfrank we have seen month after month of private sector job growth. Weve seen Economic Activity increase. Fast enough for me . No. I think we need much more, but over 170 billion in record profits from 2016, i can tell you one thing, this claim on the other side that the that banks and Financial Services sector is being crushed simply isnt a true statement. Its just not right. Business lending is up 75 since doddfrank. Data from the Federal Reserve show aggregate bank lending has increased from about 1. 2 trillion in 2010 to 2 trillion in outstanding business loans. And i yield back. Vote no on the wrong choice act. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling mr. Chairman, weve now had seven years of history with doddfrank, and what do we know . We know that the big banks are bigger. We know that the small banks are fewer. The gentleman cites some statistics about lending, but what he left out is we are losing a Community Bank or credit union a day, and theyre not dying of natural causes. They are dying of the dreaded doddfrank disease. Our Small Businesses continue to suffer. It takes small banks to lend to Small Businesses, the job engine of america, and small Bank Business lending hasnt recovered and it cant recover as long as doddfrank is on the rolls of the federal register. I got to tell you, mr. Chairman, it is time, it is time for a better way. It is time to help our struggling families. Thats really what this is all about. Weve had seven years of doddfrank, and yet, working americans havent received a pay increase. Their Small Businesses cant get loans. Struggling families have not seen their savings recover from the great financial panic which, oh, by the way, was brought about government in the first place with dumb regulation to put people into homes they couldnt afford to keep. And lets also remember that doddfrank is actually hurting the consumers it claims to help. Free checking cut in half. Credit cards, theres few of them. They cost 200 to 300 basis points more. Have you tried to get a mortgage lately . They are harder to come by. They cost hundreds of more dollars to close. Instead, what we have is washington elite now making the decision on whether or not we get to put a credit card in our wallet, whether we get to put a mortgage on our home. No, mr. Chairman. There is a better way. Its why we must enact the financial choice act. There will be Economic Growth for all. Bank bailouts for none. We will once again have an america that is only limited by the size of its dreams. I encourage all, all to support the financial choice act, and i yield back the balance of my time
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