WASHINGTON–Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is not optimistic that Congress will pass any legislation this year that overhauls Dodd-Frank.
McConnell said he believes Republicans will not be able to secure enough votes in the Senate to make any sweeping changes to the legislation.
The House Financial Services Committee has already passed the Financial CHOICE Act, which includes broad changes to Dodd-Frank, many of which credit unions support. That legislation is now headed to a House floor vote. But even if it passes the House, companion legislation would still need to pass in the Senate.
“I’d love to do something about Dodd-Frank, particularly with regard to community banks but that would require Democratic involvement,” Kentucky’s McConnell told Bloomberg News. “I’m not optimistic.”
Legislation to change Dodd-Frank would likely need to go through the Senate Banking Committee, which is led by Mike Crapo (R-ID). McConnell told Bloomberg that Crapo has indicated that there isn’t much Democratic interest in revisiting it.
“So far, my impression is the Democrats on the banking committee believe that Dodd-Frank is something akin to the Ten Commandments,” McConnell was quoted as saying.
McConnell told Bloomberg the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act has had the unintended consequences of hurting the nation’s smallest banks. The senator added that if Congress doesn’t act, it will be up to the Trump administration to do what it can to mitigate Dodd-Frank, which he called a “disaster.”