On the recordJuly 22, 2015
Before we get started, I just want to thank the gentleman from Illinois to remind us of what is truly important in life having much to do with our faith and our family, and I thank him for allowing us to be a part of that very special moment for him and his parents and his whole family tonight. Now, to the topic of tonight, Mr. Speaker. This week marks the fifth anniversary of the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, which was passed in the wake of the great financial crisis of 2008. We were told at the time, Mr. Speaker, that it would lift our economy, end too big to fail, and promote financial stability. We now have 5 years of data; we have 5 years of experience. The evidence is overwhelming, Mr. Speaker: 5 years after the passage of Dodd-Frank, the big banks are bigger; the small banks are fewer; the taxpayer is poorer. We will explore over the next hour, Mr. Speaker, all the different ways that regrettably, regardless of what good intentions might have been behind this 2,300-page bill--the most massive rewrite of our financial laws in America since the New Deal, 400-plus new rules that have been promulgated, only two-thirds of which--or not quite two- thirds have been finalized. What this has done in many ways, Mr. Speaker, is to make the American people and our economy less stable, to make us less prosperous and, most importantly, Mr. Speaker--and most regrettably--how this law has made us less free. We need to work together.…
