Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, and to urge my colleagues to support its passage.

In just a few minutes, we will have the first vote to vote on cloture to bring this bill to the floor, cloture on the motion to proceed--a very critical vote. Again, I encourage all of my colleagues to support bringing this bill forward to the floor for a full debate and vote.

First, let me thank each of the cosponsors of this bill, including the many members of the Banking Committee, for their interest and involvement in the many discussions, hearings, personal negotiations, and conversations we have had to get to this point. Originally introduced by 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats, this package of commonsense reforms now has 26 Senate cosponsors, including 16 members of the Banking Committee.

Community banks and credit unions across the country have long struggled to keep up with ever-increasing regulatory compliance and examiner demands coming out of Washington. In local economies, this places a strain on small businesses looking to open or to grow.

In fact, when the Dodd-Frank legislation was initially proposed and we were debating it on the floor of this Senate, I held a news conference in Idaho, on Main Street in one of our cities. I said that this bill was not targeted at Wall Street, as it was being marketed; instead, it was being targeted at Main Street--our small financial institutions and communities. That has turned out to be exactly the case. Since the passage of Dodd-Frank, our big banks have profited wonderfully, but our small banks, our small financial institutions-- credit unions and community banks--have suffered terribly.

S. 2155 is aimed at right-sizing the regulation for financial institutions, primarily community banks and credit unions, which makes it easier for consumers to get mortgages or obtain credit. It also increases important consumer protections for veterans, senior citizens, victims of fraud, and those who fall on tough financial times.

Congress has held numerous hearings in prior years exploring many of these issues, and the product before us today is the result of a years- long process and careful vetting.

This bill has received widespread support from commentators, regulators, businesses, and institutions representing millions of hard- working Americans and consumers, including over 10,000 community bankers, more than 100 million credit union consumer members, and thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs, among others.

The reforms in this bipartisan bill help tailor the current regulatory landscape, while ensuring safety and soundness and relieving the burden on American businesses that are unfairly being treated like the largest companies in our economy.

The passage of this legislation holds real promise for local economies across America, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support its passage.

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