Heitkamp & Bipartisan Group of Senators Announce Regulatory Reform Plan to Help Protect Consumers & Rural Communities in North Dakota, Support Economic Growth

Press Release

After years of bipartisan work, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced a bipartisan agreement on legislative proposals to improve our nation's financial regulatory framework, promote economic growth, and protect consumers in North Dakota's rural communities.

Heitkamp announced the agreement that she worked on over several years with U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Banking Committee members Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Mark Warner (D-VA). The bill so far has support from nine Republican senators, nine Democrat senators, and one Independent senator.

In the past 30 years, the number of community banks and credit unions have dropped by about two-thirds, yet more than 80 percent of North Dakota deposits still go to community banks, reinforcing that small financial institutions remain a key resource for North Dakota families.

The bill comes after three years of negotiations that Heitkamp has been part of to help give community banks and credit unions the relief they need to better serve consumers across North Dakota, while also strengthening consumer protections. In 2015, Heitkamp and a bipartisan group of Senators came close to finalizing a deal, and she's been working to find a path forward ever since. The bill comes after more than 20 Senate Banking Committee hearings on regulatory reform and economic growth since 2015 that Heitkamp has been part of, and more than 30 discussions she has had with top financial regulators about the issue. Heitkamp has also introduced individual bills over the years to help support community banks and credit unions.

"Our bill is an example of how if Democrats and Republicans put partisanship aside and work together, we can reach real compromises that support the country," said Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Banking Committee. "Every day I come to work in the U.S. Senate, I'm fighting for rural America -- and that's what our bipartisan bill is about. It would provide needed relief to community banks and credit unions, so they can continue enabling small businesses to get financing to operate, helping farmers get loans to support their farms, and allowing families to buy homes in rural communities across our state. And it does all of this while strengthening protections for consumers."

"A strong and vibrant economy is important for American consumers, businesses, and the stability of the financial sector," said Senator Crapo, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. "The bipartisan proposals on which we have agreed will significantly improve our financial regulatory framework and foster economic growth by right-sizing regulation, particularly for smaller financial institutions and community banks. I thank all of the senators who have joined with us to move this forward, and look forward to continuing our work to achieve a robust, bipartisan legislative product."

"Community banks like Cornerstone Bank support small businesses, families, and farmers across North Dakota, but our efforts to grow and support our communities have been challenged by burdensome regulations," said Gary Petersen, Chairman of Cornerstone Bank. "For years, Senator Heitkamp has fought to make sure we have the relief we need to support consumers, and we greatly appreciate her bipartisan work in the U.S. Senate to reach a deal that serves North Dakota and addresses our concerns."

"This is a major victory for consumers not only across the United States, but especially in rural areas such as the Dakotas," said Jeremiah Kossen, President and CEO of Town & Country Credit Union. "Senator Heitkamp's bipartisan bill will ease the burden of regulation for credit unions and allow millions of Americans better access to mortgages and other loans, and we appreciate her efforts to strengthen the local financial institutions that keep rural America strong."

Click here for additional statements of support from North Dakota and national financial institutions.

In the U.S. Senate, Heitkamp has been a leader in supporting local banks and making sure they have opportunities to succeed without facing undue regulations. In August 2013, she brought Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Gruenberg to North Dakota to hear directly from bankers in the state about the importance of local and community banks to helping small businesses and communities thrive. In March 2014, Heitkamp urged President Obama to carefully consider the concerns of community banks when naming a nominee for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and called on him to nominate someone to the Board who understands the lifelines community banks play in rural areas so those voices are heard.

In 2015, Heitkamp brought the head of the federal agency overseeing credit unions to North Dakota to hear directly from local credit union leaders about their concerns with potentially burdensome federal regulations, and to learn more about the positive impact these smaller financial institutions have on communities and businesses across the state.

Also in 2015, legislation introduced by Heitkamp was signed in to law to reduce unnecessary burdens on community banks and local financial institutions by eliminating redundant, costly, and often ignored annual banking notifications, and instead require banks to alert customers only when privacy and information-sharing changes actually occur.

The bipartisan bill would:

Improve consumer access to mortgage credit;
Provide regulatory relief for small financial institutions and protects consumer access to credit;
Tailors regulations for banks to better reflect their business models;
Protect consumers' credit by including a fraud alert in consumers' files for one year and providing a free credit freeze alert for parents to put on their children;
Protect veterans' credit by prohibiting a credit reporting agency from including medical debt in reports;
Protect seniors by extending immunity from liability to certain people who disclose suspected exploitation of seniors;
Protect tenants from foreclosure by a re-imposing bill to protect tenants that was repealed in 2014; and
Protect consumers from cyber security threats by requiring the Treasury Department to submit a report to Congress on the risks of cyber threats to financial institutions and the U.S. capital markets.
Legislative text is in the process of being finalized and will be released upon completion. Click here for a section-by-section summary.

Last spring, the Senate Banking Committee issued a request for legislative proposals from organizations, companies, and consumers aimed at creating economic growth. The Committee subsequently held a series of hearings exploring the proposals, and has been negotiating and drafting a reform package since that time.

Other U.S. Senators who helped introduce the bill include: Bob Corker (R-TN), Tom Cotton (R-AL), John Kennedy (R-LA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), David Perdue (R-GA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Tim Scott (R-SC), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Gary Peters (D-MI).

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