Congress Just Did a Huge Bipartisan Solid for Wall Street

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives easily passed a rollback of key regulations introduced in the 2010 Dodd-Frank reform law in the wake of the financial crisis, proving once more that Congress is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the financial services industry, and also that bipartisanship mostly sucks ass.

HuffPost gives a good overview of the damage that the bill will do and why the justification for it is total bullshit:

The package will benefit banks both large and small, limit consumer remedies against credit reporting agencies including the scandal-plagued Equifax, curb the government’s ability to collect data on racial discrimination in the housing market, and allow large regional banks to rely on more risky debt to finance their operations.

Tuesday’s 258-159 House vote came as banks are posting record profits thanks to a stronger economy and lower tax rates. The U.S. banking industry posted a combined $56 billion profit in the first quarter of 2018, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, its best three-month stint in history. Community banks ― smaller institutions in rural parts of the country that proponents of the bill claimed were in need of particular aid ― also posted billions in net profits.

In March, the Congressional Budget Office said that the bill made the chances of a financial crisis “slightly greater,” but it nonetheless passed the Senate in March with the support of 17 centrist and right-wing Democrats who have taken over $10 million combined from the financial services industry over the past five years, some of whom are running in tough re-election races and some of whom aren’t. On Tuesday, some of those Democrats took credit for the bill.

Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota:

“Passage of my bill in Congress a big win for Main Street in rural America,” Heitkamp said. “Too often in Congress, gridlock and partisanship win the day. But I worked for years to negotiate and write this bill with a bipartisan group of senators so we could provide relief for the community banks and credit unions that serve farmers, small businesses, and families across rural America. Reaching compromise doesn’t always come quickly, but with perseverance and by working together, we can get results for North Dakota – and that’s how I try to work every day in the U.S. Senate. I appreciate the efforts of Senator Crapo and others who negotiated in good faith and ultimately came together to help rural America succeed while strengthening consumer protections for veterans and servicemembers, seniors, and everyone who faces the threat of identity theft.”

Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana:

“I’m pleased the House has passed my bipartisan legislation that would make it easier for Hoosier families to get a mortgage and for small businesses to expand, while protecting the safety of our financial system. This bill is an example of what we can achieve when we work together and break through gridlock. Importantly, this package includes several new consumer protections related to student loan borrowers, free credit freezes, credit monitoring for servicemembers, and protections for veterans from VA billing delays and predatory mortgage lending. I look forward to President Trump signing it into law.”

In the House, the bill was supported by every Republican except for North Carolina’s Walter Jones, as well as thirty-three moderate Democrats. With this vote, the bill now goes to the desk of Donald Trump, a president who has hired so many Goldman Sachs alums to serve in his administration that Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein publicly complained about it.