Warren vows fight as U.S. Senate begins
debate on Dodd-Frank rewrite
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[March 07, 2018]
By Pete Schroeder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Senator
Elizabeth Warren promised to fight a U.S. Senate bill easing bank rules
introduced following the 2007-2009 global financial crisis as the
chamber moved on Tuesday to begin debating the draft bipartisan
legislation.
Warren, long a consumer advocate, warned customer protections would be
eroded as the Senate moved closer to passing the first rewrite of the
2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law.
The Senate voted on Tuesday morning 67-32 in favor of debating the bill,
paving the way for the chamber to potentially pass the proposed
legislation by the end of the week.
Moderate Democrats who support the legislation rejected Warren's claims,
saying on Tuesday it offered critical relief for small and mid-sized
lenders and that they expected it to quickly pass the Senate.
Despite her sway among liberal Democrats, Warren's efforts are unlikely
to derail the bill, according to analysts, who on Monday put the chances
of it becoming law at around 90 percent.
The bill, authored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, has
the support of 13 moderate Democrats, which, given broad Republican
backing, should be enough to assure passage in the 100-seat chamber.
Several senior Democratic senators, including Warren and Sherrod Brown,
have come out against it.
Crapo said Tuesday he was considering making modest, bipartisan
additions to the bill, and also said he was in talks with members of the
House of Representatives in an effort to include some of their preferred
provisions. Lawmakers in the Republican-led House still would need to
pass the bill for it to become law.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Senate Democrats who helped write the
bill dismissed criticism that it helps large banks, saying it would free
up small community banks and credit unions to lend more to small
businesses.
"If we're going to continue to have access to capital in rural areas of
our country, this bill needs to pass," said Senator Jon Tester, adding
the increased risk to consumers and the financial system was "very,
very, very minimal."
Republican critics say Dodd-Frank went too far and curbs banks’ ability
to lend, while many Democrats say it provides critical protections for
consumers and taxpayers.
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Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) questions Jerome Powell on his
nomination to become chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve during a
hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Committee in Washington, U.S., November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua
Roberts
Republicans have tried for years to revise the law but only recently
have some Democrats begun to support tweaks.
Crapo’s bill would ease the capital and operational burden on
smaller lenders, but also includes a number of provisions beneficial
to all but the largest U.S. banks.
Most notably, the bill would raise the threshold at which banks are
considered systemically risky and subject to stricter oversight to
$250 billion from $50 billion.
It also exempts banks with less than $10 billion in assets from
rules banning proprietary trading.
Tester, however, said Senate Democrats would abandon the bill if
House lawmakers add more radical de-regulatory language.
However, a spokeswoman for Representative Jeb Hensarling, who leads
banking policy in the House, said Tuesday "the House’s voice will be
heard in this debate."
Senator Heidi Heitkamp, another key backer of the bill, said she
expects leaders in the House, as well as the White House, will
safeguard the bill so it can make its way to President Donald
Trump’s desk for signing into law in coming months.
(Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Additional reporting by Rick Cowan;
Writing by Michelle Price; Editing by Frances Kerry and James
Dalgleish)
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