No to Wall Street Deregulation

If you want to prevent the next financial crisis, this week could be your chance. Once they are back from recess, the House is planning to vote on the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10), a bill that will deregulate Wall Street.

The so-called “Financial CHOICE Act,” introduced in April 2017 by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), is a bill currently being considered by the House of Representatives. Although the Act’s sponsors tout it as being focused on financial reform and Wall Street accountability, in reality it eliminates major consumer safeguards created in the wake of the disastrous financial crisis of 2008. The bill would weaken regulatory powers that pre-date the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, and eliminate long-standing rights of shareholders to hold companies accountable for corporate misbehavior.

In essence, the Financial CHOICE Act would:

  1. Destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and obliterate consumer protections as we currently know them, including allowing banks to gouge consumers with debit card fees;
  2. Deregulate the banks and financial institutions whose greed brought on the 2008 financial crisis and resulting economic downturn;
  3. Eliminate opportunities for ordinary shareholders to formally engage with the companies in which they are invested.

House Republicans are hoping to sneak this bill through without Americans knowing. The Financial CHOICE Act allows for risky corporate behavior and practices that benefit Wall Street, and would take away power from regulators that should be able to protect us from corporate greed.

CALL YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE. ASK THEM TO VOTE NO ON THIS BILL AND PREVENT ANOTHER FINANCIAL CRISIS.

SAMPLE CALL DIALOGUE

Caller: Good morning/afternoon! Can you let me know Rep. Mary’s position on the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10)?

OPTION 1: OPPOSES

Staffer: Thank you for calling. Rep. Mary opposes Rep. Hensarling’s bill.

Caller: That’s great! Please tell Rep. Mary thank you for opposing the bill. I’d like to hear her speak out on the House floor or in the media against repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act. She needs to make it clear that she wants to shield Americans from bad behavior by Wall Street and predatory lenders, and to keep the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as an effective oversight and enforcement agency.

[If applicable to you:]  As an ordinary investor, I have shareholder rights that this bill will completely obliterate, and I would like to hear her stand up against any changes to the Shareholder Proposal Rule.

Staffer: I will certainly pass on your message to Rep. Mary.

Caller: Please do. This is extremely important to me and I will be watching closely for her public statements in opposition. Thank you for your time.

OPTION 2: SUPPORTS

Staffer: Thank you for calling. Rep. Mary supports the Rep. Hensarling legislation.

Caller: That is outrageous and I’m very disappointed to hear that. This bill would make it easier for big banks and predatory lenders to rip people off, and it would increase the likelihood of another financial crisis.

[If applicable to you:] It will take away my rights as a shareholder to engage with the companies in which I am a part-owner, and that puts my community and my investments at risk.

[I/my spouse/sibling] lost [my/his/their] house/job/retirement account due to the 2008 financial crisis which was caused by the reckless, unregulated behavior of big banks and lenders that this bill wants to reinstate.

The CFPB has won $11.8 billion in relief for over 29 million Americans by standing up to Wall Street and all sorts of predatory lenders. Is Rep. Mary interested in causing another financial crisis and recession? Because that’s what will happen if he/she sides with Wall Street and predatory lenders instead of with his/her constituents. After 2008, we watched 8 million Americans lose their jobs and 4 million more lose their homes [including myself/my spouse/my sibling].

Staffer: I will certainly pass on your concerns to Rep. Mary.

Caller: Please do. This is extremely important to me and I will be watching closely. Thank you for your time.

OPTION 3: DODGES / HAS NO POSITION

Staffer: Thank you for calling! I’m not sure if Rep. Mary supports or opposes the Hensarling bill, but I’m happy to take down your concerns.

Caller: I’m disappointed to hear that and would ask Rep. Mary to oppose this bill.

Here are my concerns. The bill would destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has cracked down on predatory lenders and big banks that break the law and obtained $11.8 billion in relief for over 29 million Americans. This bill would give those predatory lenders and big banks a free hand to exploit American consumers. This lack of oversight led to the 2008 mortgage crisis and 2009 financial crisis during which [I/my spouse/my sibling] lost [my/his/their] [job/house/retirement savings].

[If applicable to you:] I am [an ordinary investor/a retiree with my savings invested], which allows me rights as a shareholder that the Financial CHOICE Act would take away. For decades, shareholders have engaged with publicly-traded companies through filing of shareholder proposals  that have protected the environment from further degradation, employees from discrimination, children from slave labor, and much more. As a part-owner in the company, I need the formal mechanism to engage with companies and fellow shareholders that the Act seeks to eliminate.

I expect Rep. Mary to publicly state her opposition to this destructive bill and put the needs of her constituents above the desires of big banks and predatory lenders to profit.

Staffer: I will certainly pass on your concerns to Rep. Mary.

Caller: Please do, and please take down my contact information to let me know when Rep. Mary has made up his/her mind. I’m eager to hear what he/she decides.