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18 CHANGES TO DODD- FRANK MAY BE FAST- TRACKED Changes to Dodd-Frank Act made by the Fi- nancial CHOICE Act, which was passed in the House earlier this month and now awaits passage in the Senate, could come sooner than expected if a spending bill continues to move through the House. e bill, which was recently pushed through the House Appropriations Finan- cial Services Subcom- mittee, contains nu- merous riders that echo requirements from the Financial CHOICE Act, including limiting the Consumer Finan- cial Protection Bureau's supervisory authority by capping what the bureau can spend its budget money on. It would also roll back the Volcker Rule, which bars banks from using their own accounts to make what could be considered speculative and risky investments that don't directly benefit the banks' cus- tomers. Sections of the Truth in Lending Act are also amended. Passing of the spending bill was met with mixed reaction from subcommittee members and passed on a party-line vote. Rep. Tom Graves (R-Georgia) acknowledged that the bill takes sig- nificant power away from the federal government, which is one of the main goals of the Financial CHOICE Act. Attaching riders to funding and/or budget legislation is an old, yet controversial, way law- makers pass legislation that otherwise might not make it through the entire process of becoming a law. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-New York) said of the bill, "is bill embodies the worst of the damage [deregulation] would inflict on American families and the worst of a broken and secretive process." One example of the way the bill could loosen regulations on banks would be to reclassify the definition of a small bank holding company by raising the consolidated asset threshold, thereby allowing more institu- tions to be classified as small banks and not subject to the same regulations. From the bill: "CHANGES REQUIRED TO SMALL BANK HOLDING COM- PANY POLICY STATEMENT ON ASSESSMENT OF FINANCIAL AND MANAGERIAL FACTORS SEC. 919. (a) IN GEN- ERAL.—Before the end of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enact- ment of this Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall revise the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement on Assessment of Financial and Managerial Fac- tors (12 CFR part 225—appendix C) to raise the consolidated asset threshold under such policy statement from 23 $1,000,000,000 (as adjusted by Public Law 113–250) to $10,000,000,000." e bill will next be considered by the full Appropriations Committee, although no further action is scheduled. The best defense for a better neighborhood Real People, Real Results www.assero24.com/defense "This bill embodies the worst of the damage [deregulation] would inflict on American families and the worst of a broken and secretive process." —Rep. Nita Lowey (D-New York)

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