U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, released the following statement after the Senate voted 67-31 to pass S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act:
“The bipartisan Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act that the Senate passed today will provide meaningful relief to Main Street. It will roll back unnecessary and burdensome regulations on credit unions and small community banks while ensuring that larger banks remain subject to the rules I helped put in place after the financial crisis. This bill is the result of years of tough negotiations between Democrats and Republicans and will help small lenders provide mortgages and other credit to hardworking Virginians and small businesses. While this bill does not include everything Democrats wanted nor everything Republicans wanted, I’m proud of my colleagues for putting differences aside, finding common ground, and passing this bipartisan legislation. The House of Representatives should move swiftly to take up and pass this sensible, bipartisan bill.”
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on Senate passage of the bipartisan Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act:
“Large banks have been getting bigger while the number of smaller community banks has declined, making it harder for Virginians in rural and underserved communities to get loans for mortgages, send their kids to college, or start small businesses. This bill helps prevent more of that consolidation and expands new consumer protections for servicemembers, veterans, those with impaired credit, seniors, and people hurt by data breaches. I’m proud that the bill was supported by community banks, minority and women-owned banks, and credit unions.
“I’m disappointed we weren’t given the opportunity to vote on more amendments, including one I proposed to make the bill better, but the compromise bill is still an improvement that will help rural and underserved communities in Virginia while ensuring all banks continue to be rigorously regulated.”
The number of banks in Virginia has decreased by nearly 35 percent since Dodd-Frank was passed into law. This legislation maintains Dodd-Frank’s regulations on big banks and expands protections for all American consumers. The bill keeps in place requirements that all lenders provide demographic data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), and that banks providing 96 percent of American mortgages also comply with elevated HMDA reporting requirements. Senator Kaine filed an amendment to the bill to require even more banks to provide enhanced data on mortgages.
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Chris Graham
