House reg relief vote now in sight

The House is expected to hold a vote next week on a Senate bill that would overhaul key aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act, ending an impasse between the two chambers.

A spokesperson for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., confirmed that the House will take up the legislation next week. The vote could come as early as Tuesday.

The bill, authored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, makes several key changes to Dodd-Frank, including raising the threshold for banks to be automatically designated as systemically important financial institutions from $50 billion to $250 billion. It would also revise new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data reporting requirements for smaller banks and exempt community banks from the Volcker Rule ban on proprietary trading.

The bill garnered support from moderate Democrats in the Senate, including Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Mark Warner of Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana and Joseph Donnelly of Indiana. Eleven Democrats ultimately voted for the bill, which passed the Senate by a vote of 67-31 on March 13.

But the bill stalled in the House, in part because of concerns from House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, that the measure did not go far enough in amending Dodd-Frank. Senate Democrats, who were key to helping the pending legislation pass the upper chamber, vowed to vote down any House amendments to the bill, effectively stalling the measure.

Hensarling’s opposition showed signs of fading, however, amid vocal pressure from the banking industry, particularly community banks.

The House is expected to approve the bill, at which point it will be sent to the president's desk for signing.