WASHINGTON—Seventeen members of Congress have sent a letter to the House appropriators requesting language on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s exemption authority be included in the fiscal year 2017 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill.
Broadening and clarifying the Bureau’s statutory ability under section 1022 of the Dodd-Frank Act to exempt credit unions from certain regulations is a major goal of CUNA’s Campaign for Common-Sense Regulation, the trade association stated.
“The CFPB has rarely used section 1022 to make broad exemptions for community financial institutions. When it has, the resulting thresholds have been so low that they have provided little or no relief,” stated the letter, according to a CUNA report. “Last year the Government Accountability Office report concluded that the rules implemented under the Dodd-Frank Act have impacted community banks and credit unions. These institutions, which have cited an ‘increase in compliance burdens,’ have been harmed by the onslaught of new regulations.”
CUNA reported that the language the representatives asked to be included in the FSGG bill would call for the CFPB to report to House and Senate appropriations and financial services committees within 120 days on:
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How it has used its section 1022 authority to exempt certain classes from rulemakings
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Any plans to revisit previous rulemakings to more carefully tailor rules or grant exemptions to rules that have been “especially burdensome”
- The process for the CFPB to consider exemptions for community institutions in future rulemakings.
Meanwhile, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) said he hopes to rewrite the Dodd-Frank Act through a bipartisan bill that advances economic growth.
Speaking at a Chamber of Commerce event last week, Crapo said it is his hope that such a bill can take shape "either late this year or early next year," NAFCU reported.
Crapo noted that he is working closely with committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to find areas of agreement. He predicted that Congress might take up regulatory reform and housing finance reform after it passes a tax reform bill.
NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler last week emphasized the importance of bipartisan support for regulatory relief measures due to the gridlock in Congress. He said he expects the "Financial CHOICE Act" could be delayed until summer – perhaps as late as September – and said smaller regulatory relief measures could be introduced in the interim.