Providing for Consideration of H.R. Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk Act of and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Regulation At Improvement Act of 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Buck) for the time, and I appreciate consideration of the rule here today.

Mr. Speaker, both of the bills being considered under this rule amount to real relief for our Nation's community banks and credit unions.

H.R. 1116, the TAILOR Act, which passed out of committee with bipartisan support, will direct Federal financial regulators to tailor their regulations to the risk profile and business model of our institutions, meaning that regulation intended for the largest financial institutions will no longer burden the smallest of our institutions.

Our community banks and credit unions have long suffered the consequences and costs of complying with extensive heavyhanded and onerous regulations. They were created after the 2008 financial crisis. While many of these regulations are necessary for financial institutions of all sizes, many are not.

Complying with manifold regulations has significantly hampered the ability of our community institutions to offer credit to small businesses, help families get a mortgage, and extend loans to retirees and the recently employed. As one community banker wrote to me: ``We have seen time and again the impact of this regulatory environment consume many hours and resources of our compliance, credit, and audit teams despite the relatively simple business model we follow.''

By requiring financial regulators to consider the cost of compliance on smaller institutions as well as whether or not a regulation is necessary for an institution based on the size and risk profile of that institution, the TAILOR Act will go a long way to alleviate the burden of heavy regulation on our community banks. In turn, this will lead to renewed economic growth for our local communities that rely heavily on the presence of community banks and credit unions in their own hometowns.

The other bill being considered under this rule, H.R. 4545, which also came out of committee with bipartisan support, the Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act, will provide certainty for community banks and credit unions that they will have independent recourse should a bank examination result in a determination that they disagree with.

If a bank or a credit union receives an examination decision that it finds unfavorable, the only recourse it has under the current structure is to appeal that decision directly to the same regulator that arrived at that decision in the first place. The Exam Fairness bill included in this rule will change that reality by creating a new Office of Independent Examination Review that will serve as an independent appeals office, providing banks and credit unions with uniform and predictable avenues to appeal examination determinations of significant consequence.

At this independent office, sober review of the agency's determination, transparency, and timeliness will be paramount, meaning that financial institutions will no longer have to wade through long delays in their appeals process and will no longer have to fear retaliation from a financial regulator because they appealed the examination results. Mr. Speaker, this amounts to new assurances to community banks and credit unions that they will have fair recourse in the examination process should they disagree with an examiner's findings.

I would like to thank the Speaker for advancing this rule.

I urge my colleagues to support the rule so that our community banks and credit unions can realize real relief.

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