Randy Neugebauer: Financial Services Committee Approves Financial CHOICE Act

by Eric

randynLetter to DOJ and BOP about Private Prison Directive
Last Friday, I was joined by five other Members of Congress in asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for detailed answers to questions raised by the DOJ’s August directive to phase out the use of private prisons. Texas 19 is one of several districts that stands to be adversely impacted by this directive, and we need to know how the BOP will implement this change in policy. Local officials have contacted me to express concern for their communities’ future economic security, especially since these private prisons are large employers both in Big Spring and in Garza County.

Both of the prisons in our area with BOP contracts primarily house criminal aliens. In addition to the local economic concerns, this directive also raises national security concerns because it sends the message that law enforcement for criminal aliens is not a priority for the federal government. If the federal government reduces the space currently used to incarcerate criminal aliens, where will these inmates go? While we wait for answers, I encourage the DOJ and the BOP to put this directive on hold. Our communities deserve a thoughtful and justified prison policy, not a policy driven by politics.

Financial Services Committee Approves Financial CHOICE Act
Last Tuesday, the House Financial Services Committee approved the Financial CHOICE Act and voted to report this legislation to the full House of Representatives. I am pleased with the progress our Committee is making on this significant effort to correct the mistakes of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. The Financial CHOICE Act is also a key piece of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s “Better Way” policy plan to help get our economy back on track.

When Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, supporters of that law threw a wet blanket over the economy and tried to regulate banks into stability. Unfortunately, that government-knows-best mentality has not served consumers and community banks well. Subjecting small community banks to the same regulatory framework as big banks has caused more than 1,000 community banks to close or consolidate since 2010. The Dodd-Frank Act also included provisions that had nothing to do with preventing future bail-outs. Notably, it included government price-fixing for debit card swipe fees, known as the Durbin Amendment. When our Committee passed the Financial CHOICE Act last Tuesday, it included my provision to repeal this government price-fixing. Repealing the Durbin Amendment will help consumers and small businesses through renewed market competition and will help community banks offer features such as free checking accounts once again.

Now that we have moved the Financial CHOICE Act through the House Financial Services Committee, I hope we can take the next step and bring this bill before the entire House to advance the regulatory relief Americans deserve.

U.S. Brings Agriculture Trade Case against China
I am very pleased the United States has initiated a new agriculture trade enforcement action against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO). U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last week that the United States is bringing a case against China to challenge the support China has provided for its own wheat, corn, and rice crops. Like other countries, China agreed to limits on its domestic government support for agriculture when it joined the WTO. However, China has exceeded the limits it agreed to on corn, rice, and wheat by $100 billion in 2015 alone. Excessive government support, such as the market-price support China provides, artificially inflates the prices Chinese producers receive, causing overproduction that keeps out U.S. exports. China’s actions have created an uneven playing field for American producers who are following the rules. Moving forward, I hope U.S. trade officials also pursue enforcement action against unfair Chinese policies that impact other crops, such as cotton.

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