WASHINGTON–Long-awaited regulatory relief is on its way, according to several members of Congress.
A bipartisan regulatory relief plan is being worked on, according to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Senate Banking Committee members Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), along with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), who spoke to NAFCU’s Congressional Caucus here.
All three also reaffirmed for Caucus attendees the importance of credit unions in the financial services industry.
"Everything we do needs to be focused on creating a more competitive environment," Heitkamp said, adding that Dodd-Frank has become "too small to succeed" and has created a system that really benefits the big banks that can afford higher compliance costs and operate in economies of any scale.
Rounds said the Senate is working to make changes to Dodd-Frank, but also acknowledged those will be incremental with bipartisan support.
Heitkamp described the Durbin debit card interchange amendment housed in the Dodd-Frank Act as "toxic."
Heitkamp also said she will not support any tax reform measures that remove credit unions' cooperative structure, while Capito said reforming the tax code can spur economic growth. Rounds said that "tax reform is absolutely critical" and that "we won't be able to move this economy without it."
The senators also touched on National Flood Insurance Program reauthorization, infrastructure spending and budget reforms.
Capito, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, also told credit unions she would like the CFPB to be led by a commission rather than a single director.