WASHINGTON Top lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee debated the value of the Dodd-Frank Act in dueling reports on Monday, commemorating the financial reform law's fourth anniversary.
Reps. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, the chairman of the banking panel, and Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., released a committee staff report arguing that Dodd-Frank has failed to end concerns about "too big to fail" institutions.
"In no way, shape or form does the Dodd-Frank Act end 'too big to fail,'" said Hensarling in a press release. "Dodd-Frank officially designates an entire category of Wall Street firms as 'too big to fail' and then creates a taxpayer-financed bailout fund for their use."
The report raises concerns with numerous provisions of the financial reform law, warning that it has actually made the "too big to fail" problem worse.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., meanwhile, issued a report by Democratic committee staff lauding the positive impacts of the law, including protecting consumers and reducing financial risk.
"Although many continue to fight implementation of the Wall Street Reform Act, it has already changed the paradigm for how consumers, investors and other market participants interact with our financial system," Waters said in a statement. "It has provided much-needed oversight to Wall Street, given regulators the tools to end the era of 'too big to fail' entities and taxpayer bailouts, and put a new federal agency on the front lines of protecting consumers from bad actors in the financial system."
The banking panel will continue to debate the effects of the landmark law at a hearing on Wednesday, where they will hear from a variety of witnesses, including former Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., one of the law's lead authors.
