AFR’s senior policy analyst Alexis Goldstein joined Democracy Now! to discuss the dangers of S. 2155, a bill the Senate is considering that would encourage discrimination in lending, roll back rules on large U.S. and giant foreign banks, and make further bailouts more likely.
“Congress ought to spend its time addressing the student loan crisis, cracking down on serial lawbreakers like Wells Fargo, and ensuring companies like Equifax pay a meaningful price for massive data breeches — not deregulating the financial services industry,” said Lisa Donner, executive director, Americans for Financial Reform. “Too many Senators seem willing to ignore the lessons of the financial crisis, and what happens when we let big banks write the rules of the economy. Millions of Americans know the costs all too well and will take notice of how members vote on passage of this harmful legislation.”
Of particular concern this year is a perennial rider that has prevented scientific research into gun violence at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This research could help protect toddlers from accidentally firing a weapon, reduce gun-related suicides and help evaluate the effectiveness of public education, background checks and other commonsense measures to reduce needless injuries and deaths.
Strong majorities support the Dodd-Frank law that Congress passed in the aftermath of the financial crisis and oppose the provisions of the deregulation bill currently under consideration.
AFR submitted a statement to the Capital Markets Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee regarding a 2/14/18 hearing examining eleven different proposed bills affecting regulation of derivatives markets. Final AFR Statement For 2-14 Derivatives Hearing
It’s one more reason why it’s so important to have someone with a track record of protecting consumers running the CFPB, not someone who wants to destroy its work.