FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or njacobs@bettermarkets.com

Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, released the following statement regarding the House bill passed by the appropriations subcommittee, which slashes and politicizes funding for the financial protection agencies:

“Demonstrating the power, influence and brazenness of Wall Street and its lobbyists, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services today passed a bill that will make Wall Street’s CEOs and bankers squeal with delight.  If America’s investors and savers knew what the Committee was doing, they would consider pulling their money out of the markets and banks. 

“Strong, independent, effective and properly funded financial regulators are the foundation for our capital markets and banking system.  They are the cops on the Wall Street beat, pursuing predators and criminals while reducing recklessness, ensuring a level playing field and enforcing fair rules. They are also a key reason for the confidence of American investors, which is critical for capital formation, economic and job growth, and rising standards of living. 

“That is what is at stake when politicians underfund and politicize financial regulatory agencies, which is what the House Appropriations subcommittee did today when it passed a bill that will put handcuffs on the Wall Street cops rather than the Wall Street predators.  Cutting the budgets of agencies like the SEC, CFTC, FDIC and CFPB is like removing the cops from the high crime areas of a city.  Everyone knows what will happen once the cops are off the street. The same is true when it’s Wall Street. 

“Putting budgets for agencies like the FDIC, CFPB, OCC and others under the Congressional appropriations process, as the House bill proposes, will politicize funding and be a gift to Wall Street’s lobbyists to further defund and handcuff those agencies.  It would be like letting Al Capone set the budget for the Chicago Police Department.  Additionally, cutting funding to prevent the implementation of the Volcker Rule will only encourage reckless, dangerous and economically useless proprietary trading with taxpayer backed savings accounts.  That will increase bankers’ bonuses but will also increases the risk of future taxpayer bailouts.

“The financial protection rules were necessary to prevent another catastrophic financial crash, but they require independent and properly funded regulators.  The House bill needlessly and foolishly puts that at risk.” 

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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies – including many in finance – to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.com.