Congress has been busy in June as the House and Senate majorities work towards a reconciliation bill that slashes consumer protections and move through deregulatory nominations. The Senate also voted on a deeply flawed, industry-favored “un”stablecoin bill.
Senate Advances Deregulatory Financial Regulators
On June 4th, the Senate voted to confirm Michelle Bowman as Vice Chair of Supervision of the Fed 51-46, along a party line vote. Better Markets raised a number of concerns throughout the nomination process, including her decision to hire Wall Street lobbyists before her confirmation. Read our fact sheet on her nomination that lays out 10 reasons why she is the wrong pick to lead bank regulation.
On June 10th, Senate Agriculture Committee held their nomination hearing on Brian Quintenz to Chair the CFTC. Prior to the hearing, Better Markets released a fact sheet detailing his deregulatory record and concerning ties to industry, signaling a willingness to put industry concerns above those of the public interest. During his hearing, Mr. Quintenz did nothing to put those concerns to bed, and instead continued to stand by his previous decisions, showing again that he is the wrong choice to lead the agency. Be sure to read our fact sheet on his nomination hearing.
Senate Passes Dangerous “Un”stablecoin Legislation
On June 17th, the Senate passed the dangerous, industry-friendly, “un”stablecoin legislation named the GENIUS Act. This bill puts consumers, investors, and the economy at greater risk. The bill fails to address a number of key concerns that Better Markets has identified. GENIUS promotes the use of “un”stablecoins for payments yet fails to hold these coins to the same standard as traditional payment systems. This bill is wholly inadequate and will harm to consumers as these products become more intertwined with our traditional financial sector. As the GENIUS Act moves to the House before becoming law, stay tuned to Better Markets for more updates on this harmful legislation.
House Holds Hearing on Sarbanes-Oxley
On June 25th, House Financial Services Capital Markets Subcommittee held a hearing entitled “Reassessing Sarbanes-Oxley: The Cost of Compliance in Today’s Capital Markets.” Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), was passed in the wake of the collapse of Enron and WorldCom to better regulate the accounting industry. The collapses of these companies were costly to investors, workers, and the economy. In the House Majority’s deregulatory spree, they are looking to roll back the important investor protections created by SOX. Better Markets created a fact sheet that shows just how dangerous and costly to consumers this deregulatory effort will be. Be sure to read the full fact sheet entitled, “The Cost of Noncompliance with Financial Regulation.”
Congress Moves Towards Reconciliation to Slash CFPB Funding
Throughout June, both the House and the Senate have been working through their reconciliation bill, which allows legislation to be passed through the Senate with a simple majority. However, the bill must only include budgetary provisions, not focused on policy. Throughout this process, House and Senate Republicans have repeatedly tried to defund the CFPB, which protects consumers from predatory financial institutions. The final language includes cutting the budget for the CFPB almost in half, after their attempts to zero out the budget failed. Better Markets will continue to track and push back against attempts to defund and weaken this important agency focused solely on consumer protections and Main Street.
