WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders have a deal to enact a Senate bill easing the 2010 financial regulations but also to consider separate House measures to provide additional relief, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday.
“I had a good meeting with [Senate Majority Mitch McConnell] over the break on this and so we’ve got an agreement to be moving different pieces of legislation," Ryan said during a press conference.
Ryan said the House "will be moving the Dodd-Frank bill," signaling that his chamber will pass as-is the bill reforming provisions of the 2010 law, which passed the Senate in March with support from moderate Democrats.
But the Senate may also consider separate reg relief provisions that originated in the House, Ryan said. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, has tried to add over two dozen measures to expand reg relief.
“We’re ... going to be moving in the Senate a package of bills that we think will actually add to this that the Financial Services Committee has acted on as well,” Ryan said.
In a statement, Hensarling hailed the agreement between the two chambers.
“My goal has always been to get as many of our pro-growth bipartisan House bills on President Trump’s desk as possible —and I have been working with my colleagues in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle for many months now to make that happen," Hensarling said.
"I am excited that our negotiations over the last few weeks have culminated in the Senate agreeing to vote on our House bills. With the important relief for community financial institutions in S. 2155 and the strong pro-growth capital formation provisions that have passed the House over the last six months, I am confident we can create regulatory policy that will help us achieve sustained 3% economic growth.”
The House has faced increasing pressure from industry representatives and others to leave the Senate reg relief version — sponsored by Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho — untouched. Crapo had negotiated his package with a group of moderate Senate Democrats, who have signaled they could walk away from the bill if it is expanded. That could damage the industry's hope of any reg relief bill passing, since Senate filibuster rules require 60 votes for passage.
As for when the House would pass the Senate bill, Ryan said, “Not this week.”
