2017: Fitzpatrick Voted For Legislation That Would Have Repealed
Significant Portions Of Dodd-Frank, Including Repealing The Volcker
Rule. In June 2017, Fitzpatrick voted for the Financial Choice Act.
According to NPR, "House Republicans voted Thursday to deliver on their
promise to repeal Dodd-Frank --- the massive set of Wall Street
regulations President Barack Obama signed into law after the 2008
financial crisis. In a near party-line vote, the House approved a bill,
dubbed the Financial Choice Act, which scales back or eliminates many of
the post-crisis banking rules. [...] Hensarling's nearly 600-page bill
would defang Dodd-Frank by repealing the so-called Volcker Rule, which
prevents government-insured banks from making risky bets with
investments." The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a
vote of 233 to 186. The Senate took no substantive action on the
legislation. [House Vote 299,
6/8/17; NPR,
6/8/17;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
10]
The Volker Rule Prevented Banks That Have Federally Insured
Depositors From Using Their Own Money For Proprietary Trading And
Thus Preventing Banks From Repeating Some Of The Mistakes That Lead
To The Great Recession. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The
measure repeals the Volcker rule included in Dodd-Frank, which
prohibits banks that hold the funds of federally-insured depositors
from using their own funds for proprietary trading to increase their
own profits, or from maintaining certain relationships with 'risky'
hedge funds and private equity funds. The goal of the Volcker Rule
is to prevent banks from making the types of speculative investments
that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. Critics, however, say
the rule does not actually address any of the problems that led to
the financial crisis and that it is unwieldy and essentially
unworkable, while supporters of the rule say it is needed to prevent
banks from gambling with the taxpayer-backed funds of depositors."
[Congressional Quarterly,
6/7/17]
Repealing The Volker Rule Would Increase Large Banking Intuitions
Profits By More Than $2 Billion In 2018. According to the
Washington Post, "The Volcker Rule, which restricts big banks'
ability to make certain risky financial bets, would be repealed.
Doing away with that provision alone could boost profits at big
banks by more than $2 billion next year, according to Nomura."
[Washington Post,
6/9/17]