Media Center

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, Representative Scott DesJarlais, M.D., voted for the Financial CHOICE Act to end bailouts for big banks, strengthen public oversight of federal financial agencies and the Federal Reserve, and lift restrictions on consumer and small business lending, weighing on job and economic growth in Tennessee.   

    “Centralized decision-making in Washington benefits bureaucrats and Wall Street insiders,” said Rep. DesJarlais (TN-04). “To get this economy moving, we’re putting power in the hands of small businesses and middle-class families, struggling to find local banking, savings and investment options, including home and auto loans.”

     The CHOICE Act repeals major parts of Dodd-Frank, the 2010 law Democrats passed on a nearly party-line vote, which created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Earlier this Congress, Rep. DesJarlais, a member of the House Oversight Committee, introduced legislation to replace its unelected director with a bipartisan commission.

     Federal courts are reviewing whether the CFPB’s structure and decisions are constitutional. According to a House investigation, the bureau may have illegally pressured lenders to settle expensive lawsuits, funneling settlement money to itself. As the CFPB has exercised greater control over credit markets, small business and home ownership have declined. 

    Dodd-Frank also mandated taxpayer bailouts for financial institutions the government deems “too big to fail.” Rep. DesJarlais explained that Dodd-Frank really mandated “too small to succeed” for local banks, credit unions, and their customers, unable to cope with heavy regulation. Small banks and credit unions are dedicating more resources to compliance, rather than products and services.

      "We were promised accountability for Wall Street, an improved economy, and an end to taxpayer bailouts,” said Rep. DesJarlais (TN-04). “Instead, Washington did little to punish bad actors, and Washington and Wall Street are closer than ever.

    “The federal government borrows and spends billions, but affordable credit for most people is scarce. Reducing Washington’s power over the economy will increase opportunities for all Americans,” he said. The Financial CHOICE Act would require an audit of the Federal Reserve, stiffen penalties for financial fraud, as well as save taxpayers $25 billion over ten years.

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