US House passes bill to roll back financial regulations

WASHINGTON - US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to replace the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act established after the 2008 financial crisis to prevent another meltdown.

The House passed the Financial Choice Act along party lines by a vote of 233 to 186. The bill isn't expected to receive sufficient support in the Senate in its current form since Democrats have universally opposed it.

The bill would allow banks with a simple leverage ratio of 10 percent or higher to be exempted from a number of regulatory requirements, including Dodd-Frank's heightened standards for larger lenders.

It would restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, repeal the Volcker rule that restricts banks from speculative trading, and remove the so-called orderly liquidation authority, which provides regulators with a process for winding down large financial institutions in distress.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would reduce federal deficits by $24.1 billion over the 2017-2027 period.

"Of all the regulations that were imposed on our economy in the Obama era, Dodd-Frank was the worst. In the House, we just threw it off," said Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and the lead author of the bill.

Republican lawmakers considered the bill as a job creator, because they believe the numerous requirements in Dodd-Frank Act have restrained the lending ability of banks, community banks in particular, which hurt small businesses.

However, Democrats said the bill would bring about an economic catastrophe by eliminating vital regulations on the financial system.