Guiding Uniform and Responsible Disclosure Requirements and Information Limits Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4790, the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act. Not only is this bill important to restoring sound financial practices within the financial services sector, it includes two provisions that originated from legislation I introduced in this Congress. The most significant is my bill, H.R. 4823, the American Financial Institution Regulatory Sovereignty and Transparency Act of 2023, better known as the American FIRST Act.

The short title is an apt description of the bill's aim: to put American interests first in bank supervision and remove misguided political influence from our banking system. The American FIRST Act has three important key elements:

First, it removes undue political influence from banking regulations. In recent years, Mr. Speaker, we have seen bank policy used by regulators to further their political interests, not for what is best for banks or their customers. Bank regulators have proposed sweeping supervisory changes without critically evaluating the models they use to forecast climate-related financial risk. When nonbinding FSOC proposals are written into binding regulation, they deserve a high degree of scrutiny from lawmakers.

The truth is that the banking system shouldn't be a race to fill supervisory roles with partisan loyalists. It should be about safeguarding the financial system with a sober eye for objectivity.

Hastily pushing through regulations without a thorough economic analysis can have significant unintended consequences, especially on the average consumer.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, aggressive climate regulations like those proposed by FSOC could have catastrophic effects on our energy sector. Small businesses and families in energy-producing States could face higher energy costs and reduced credit access.

My provisions in this bill will ensure that any regulatory action proposed by FSOC, or the executive branch undergoes a full review process so that the public better understands the trade-offs that they are making.

My colleagues across the aisle call these reporting requirements hoops that regulators will be forced to jump through, but in reality, they are arguing against increased transparency and good governance in banking regulation.

Second, it ensures that bank regulators fall under U.S. authority. Bank supervisors at the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, and others have consistently put the interest of large foreign banks ahead of our own. These policies aren't just abstract. They have significant implications for the stability of our financial system and for American competitiveness abroad.

For example, on May 22, 2022, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a European-based, international organization, lowered transnational footprint standards for the largest European banks, which disadvantaged U.S. banks of the same size. Federal Reserve officials actually endorsed the changes, which put American banks and their borrowers at a significant disadvantage.

My bill addresses this problem by requiring U.S. financial regulators to periodically report on how they engage with their foreign counterparts. It also requires them to conduct a robust analysis before implementing any rule to conform with the recommendations of an international body. Specifically, it mandates that they conduct a thorough economic analysis, projecting the effects on credit markets, employment, and the broader economy before implementing any rules originating from a foreign nongovernment organization.

Third, it depoliticizes Federal Reserve supervision. The American FIRST Act calls for the elimination of the vice chairman for supervision at the Federal Reserve. This role was intended to centralize supervisory power within the Fed, but it has added another layer of complexity. Last year we experienced a significant banking crisis on the Fed's watch, which is hardly evidence that the system is more stable with another powerful bureaucrat in the mix. At worst, the position has unnecessarily politicized bank supervision allowing unchecked partisan bureaucrats to channel credit away from politically disfavored sectors.

Finally, I would also like to highlight another provision in this bill, previously introduced as H.R. 4649. This provision would require transparency from America's largest asset managers when voting the shares entrusted to them.

These large firms have historically relied on external proxy advisory firms to guide how they vote the shares they manage for other investors. Some of these proxy firms are actually foreign owned and managed entities which do not have the soundness of the U.S. economy as their primary interest.

This bill would require these large firms to disclose how often they vote in line with proxy advisory firms and to ensure that their votes are in the best interests of their shareholders.

Once again, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for transparency and good governance and vote ``yes'' on H.R. 4790.

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