Republicans are working on a new version of the Dodd-Frank Act that is going to incapacitate the legal power of the Consumer Bureau.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the target of the next Dodd-Frank Act rewrite. The Republicans are not content with how much flexibility this department has in practicing its duty. As a consequence, GOP will pursue the act of downgrading the Consumer Bureau to the extent of which the White House would be able to control each one of its moves.
Barack Obama Appointed a Consumer Bureau to Deal with 2008 Financial Crisis
House Republicans are currently working on a rewrite of the Dodd-Frank Act. This bill was an important measure that the former President Barack Obama took to deal with the financial crisis of 2007-2008. As a consequence, the financial regulation suffered major changes that only the Great Depression of the 1930s could have evened out. One of the main new directions was to create the Consumer Bureau. This new authority makes sure all financial services and products for consumers are in compliance with the federal law.
However, on Tuesday, a Republican committee stated that a new version of the act would be available by the end of April. The rewrite is going to keep some regulations, but it will definitely eliminate most of them that are in connection with the Consumer Bureau.
The Financial CHOICE Act Will Be Ready in a Matter of Weeks
The Financial Services Committee Republicans has already received an initial draft of the new act. The outline claims that the department would be renamed as Consumer Financial Opportunity Agency. Moreover, its present powers are going to suffer some limitations as well. The agency will no longer be independent, and the President of the United States has the authority to fire the director. Moreover, the president will be able to designate and eliminate a deputy director.
The most noteworthy change will be in regards to the duty of the Consumer Bureau. The department will be able to work with current laws only. This means that the authority will no longer have the power to intervene in unfair business practices. Moreover, a new Office of Economics will be appointed to review all actions the department issues. The office will have no longer the authority to supervise financial markets and neither to publish complaints about companies written by consumers.
The new Financial CHOICE Act will become public in a few weeks. The Republican vision is to protect consumers by holding Washington and Wall Street responsible for market directions. On top of that, the new act intends to end bailouts and improve the American economy.
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