Reichert Urges Better Enforcement, Modernization In Financial Reform Bill

Press Release

Congressman Dave Reichert (WA-08) today supported legislation to improve consumer protections and modernize the nation's financial regulatory system without additional government spending and excessive new government bureaucracy. The House of Representatives instead passed the largest overhaul of the system since the 1930s, spending billions to create an elaborate government bureaucracy with unprecedented powers. Reichert opposed this legislation, which despite bipartisan opposition passed by a vote of 223-202.

"We need to better enforce our existing laws and modernize an outdated financial regulatory system to ensure that authorities can prevent many of the consumer scams and abuses that contributed to these tough economic times," Reichert said. "That's why I helped offer a bipartisan amendment to allow existing, experienced regulators to coordinate better, protect consumers, and help small lenders extend credit to families and small businesses. Our current regulatory structure must serve consumers, lenders, and financial businesses better, not waste billions more taxpayer dollars to create a massive government bureaucracy, headed by a czar, with limited congressional oversight."

Reichert helped offer a bipartisan amendment providing a superior protection of American consumers by enforcing current laws with experienced regulators rather than creating a new agency with a "czar" to oversee all financial products. Under the current bill, a new bureaucracy would be created to review and approve consumer financial products while having unprecedented, virtually unchecked authority to restrict product choices for consumers. The alternative offered by Reichert would protect consumers through new coordination of existing, experienced regulators while better coordinating existing standards.

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