Bipartisan Work of the Financial Services Committee

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAVIDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to applaud the hard work and great success of the House Financial Services Committee these the past 2 years in the 115th Congress.

Under the leadership of Chairman Jeb Hensarling, the Financial Services Committee became the most productive committee in Congress. Over 44 bills signed into law originated from our committee, including S. 2155. It began as the Financial CHOICE Act, Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers, and Entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately, the whole bill hasn't made it into law, but the core of that bill was dealing with the unintended consequences and, frankly, whether they were intended or not, the harmful consequences of Dodd- Frank.

Under Dodd-Frank, we found that the biggest banks got bigger and the smallest banks became fewer. We found that banks were not too-big-to- fail, but some of them became too-small-to-succeed under the burden of Dodd-Frank's regulatory framework. So much so that even Barney Frank, whose name is part of the Dodd-Frank Act, came to support the reforms for community banking.

I am very proud to have participated in regulatory relief that helped thousands of community financial institutions help lend to their communities. It is making a difference today as we watch the impact in our economy. Indeed, it is, in some measure, fitting that the title began with ``Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers, and Entrepreneurs,'' because that is what is happening in this amazing economy.

There is more good news that is happening in our economy than is probably going to get covered anywhere. Some of it is out there for the C-SPAN viewer to find.

You might not see in the news that we have the strongest sanctions that have been imposed on Russia since it has been Russia. Post-Soviet Union, we have never had a stronger posture toward Russia than we do today.

The Financial Services Committee helps implement those because the Department of the Treasury has an Office of Foreign Asset Control. As part of the Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee and as part of the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee, we look at how to choke off these sources of funds, whether it is Russian oligarchs, Iranian bad actors, North Koreans, or others.

Frankly, I believe we only have tapped the surface on the potential that sanctions have. Indeed, we may be able to apply sanctions to our trade policy and, very targeted, deal with bad actors, like those who are dumping steel, rather than just putting a uniform tariff out there. We can be precise. Instead of maximizing collateral damage, we can minimize it.

But that shows that there is plenty of work left to do. What we are here to say is that there are plenty of great things that did, in fact, happen.

With respect to trade, one of the things the Financial Services Committee got to do was take a bipartisan delegation trip to China. We talked with folks in Japan, in Hong Kong, in China, and in South Korea about the importance of trade, not just in a way that draws in our Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, but with all of our trade policy.

The reality is that we were able to send a message to the people in China, to the leadership of China--their Vice President down to their leadership in the trade negotiations--that with respect to China, there is no separation between Congress and President Trump, and with respect to China, there is no separation between Republicans and Democrats on trade.

Our hope is that we can continue to trade, and we can continue to prosper together. As a former Army Ranger, I never thought I would go to China under friendly terms and conditions. I am quite thankful that we were able to do that. I hope that we can continue that peace and prosperity together.

But the days of the American people being taken advantage of, whether it is by China or any other Nation, I hope has long passed. Clearly, today, that is the trend. Not only has the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, FIRRMA, passed, and that gives us this review, but we have an administration that is aggressively implementing a policy that puts that into effect.

There are plenty of things that did pass our House that haven't yet made it into law. A staggering number is 115. While 44 bills were signed into law, 115 passed our committee and haven't yet been taken up across the building in the Senate. Unfortunately, and often despite overwhelmingly bipartisan support in the House, many of these bills have yet to receive the same attention in the Senate.

One example of this is a bill I introduced, the Market Data Protection Act. This passed the House of Representatives unanimously, and it is yet to receive a vote in the Senate. This deals with the protection of government-controlled data by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In fact, our EDGAR database was hacked. We are simply asking that the SEC do the same thing and certify to Congress in the same way they would expect a publicly traded company to certify to them, that they have dealt with the risk and they now have a secure network.

Just earlier tonight, we passed yet another extension of the Flood Act. This bill has been passed by our committee for a year and a half. It has been over a year since it passed the House with very modest reforms.

One of the sticking points seems to be that the Senate can't live with rebuilding someone's home three times after it has flooding. We will rebuild it not once, not twice, but a third time, and then after that, we are saying, you know, maybe you should move.

But that is too much to ask, apparently, for the Senate. We can't even get a vote on it. It is time for the Senate to act.

Another is JOBS 3.0. This is a bill that provides new 21st century framework for capital formation. You think capital formation, that sounds like Wall Street, that sounds like a big, Republican, stereotypical talking point bill. It passed with more than 400 votes in this body, incredibly bipartisan, very modest reforms, commonsense, for early stage capital formation, and it hasn't yet been voted on in the Senate. There is still time in this Congress, and I sure hope they can deliver on it.

There are a lot of things that we haven't been able to get to. In spite of being the most productive committee in Congress, there are still things that have been left undone. My hope is that we can continue to collaborate in a very bipartisan way as we experience a transition.

As sad as I am to be headed to the minority as a member of the majority party today, I am very sad that Chairman Hensarling is leaving Congress. This week, we were able to see his retirement ceremony where a portrait was unveiled. But the most important thing that happened there is, frankly, I think everyone in that room was inspired.

I think one of the most unfortunate things about Congress is the way it is perceived by the American people. There are more truly good men and women who serve in this body, in both parties, than I would have ever believed before I got here, and one of the very best is Jeb Hensarling. I am thankful to count him as my chairman, as a mentor, and as a friend. I look forward to seeing how God continues to bless this great man and how God continues to bless this body and our great Nation. It is now time for deeds, not words.

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