House Speaker Paul Ryan released the GOP’s blueprint to roll back regulations put in place by the Obama administration Tuesday, saying the red tape put in place is strangling economic growth.
The plan would eliminate the Dodd-Frank Act, the landmark Wall Street reform legislation passed in 2010, regulations put in place under the Clean Air Act and make changes to the net neutrality rules currently in place.
Major changes would be made to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – put in place under Dodd-Frank – as it would be converted into a bipartisan, five-member commission.
The lawmakers said while the CFPB was intended to regulate the finial sector, it has resulted in “micromanaging consumers’ everyday lives,” “enriching class action trial lawyers” by preventing class action lawsuits and crushing would-be homebuyers with its qualified mortgage rule.
The blueprint named several bills they hope to move on quickly to lighten the burden on small banks – which have been disproportionately affected under Dodd-Frank.
If the plan is successfully carried out, the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, which places additional red tape on financial advisers, and the agency’s overtime rule would be blocked from implementation.
Republican lawmakers slammed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for its regulatory burdens as being some of the most costly and having led to the loss of thousands of American jobs.
The proposal states legislation like Rep. Pete Olson of Texas’ bill, the Ozone Standards Implementation Act, would keep the environment safe without imposing unnecessary and costly burdens that crush businesses throughout the country.
The plan also blasts the Federal Communications Commission for regulations like its “general conduct standard,” saying the red tape is preventing economic growth.
“The Internet has thrived without government meddling, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is still dead set on over-regulating it anyway,” the plan reads. “While there is certainly a place for bright-line rules that protect consumers, what the government proposes would stifle innovation and mean fewer choices.”
The proposal also calls for reforms to ensure union elections are fair.
According to GOP aides, the agenda Ryan is laying out is reflective of what he thinks he can accomplish if presumed GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is elected.
“House Republicans will continue to pursue agency-by-agency reforms to help overcome agency-specific inadequacies in identifying whether and when federal regulation is actually required; provide incentives to rely on non-regulatory approaches when they are more cost-effective; and to incorporate greater flexibility to rely on state and local regulatory approaches and adopt federal regulatory approaches based on what has already been proven to work in the states,” the plan reads.
Trump has been vocal about his distaste for Dodd-Frank, saying he plans to dismantle it is he takes the White House.
Republicans are slated to roll out their Constitution plank of their six-part agenda, called “A Better Way,” Thursday, and blueprints on taxes and healthcare next week.
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