Garrett Opening Statement for Financial Services Committee Hearing
Washington,
Jul 24 -
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) released the following opening statement for today’s Financial Services Committee hearing titled “Regulatory Perspectives on the Obama Administration’s Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals-Part Two”:
“Chairman Frank has been critical of the banking industry for opposing the Administration’s plan for a new CFPA.
“But industry is not the only ones with doubts about the proposal. Today we will hear from those responsible for protecting the safety and soundness of the banking industry. Most, if not all, of them have also expressed concerns to one degree or another about the CFPA proposal. In fact, Chairman Bernanke testified to this committee earlier this week in opposition to the new agency.
“Maybe to some, the idea of creating an entirely new federal bureaucracy with dubious benefits to society sounds like a political winner, but I am pleased that the markup of this legislation originally scheduled for next week has been postponed indefinitely, because it’s clear that the more people concentrate on the consequences of this idea, the less they like it.
“As Chairman Frank said on Tuesday, “This is worthy of an actual debate.” I agree – the more we engage in an actual debate on the facts of this proposal, the better. And the more time we have to study it the better, so as not to rush through a bad idea that will limit consumer choice and credit availability, encourage and increase costly and unnecessary litigation, and potentially decrease the safety and soundness of our banking system – all in the name of so-called “consumer protection.”
