By: Max Brantley
The U.S. House voted Thursday to repeal much of the Dodd-Frank legislation that placed stricter rules on banks and empowered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Democrats have the votes to block the legislation in the Senate. But Democrats aren’t letting the opportunity pass to note support for the legislation by Republicans, particularly U.S. Rep. French Hill, a former banker. The focus on Hill represents a continuing belief that he could be vulnerable in 2018. One Democrat, Paul Spencer, has already announced and several others are considering a race.
All four Arkansas Republicans voted for the repeal, but End Citizens United, a Democratic PAC, targeted Hill in its release about the vote because of the money he’s received from the financial industry.
Congressman French Hill along with his Republican colleagues in the House yesterday voted 233 – 186 to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the agency that protects American consumers from the predatory interests of big banks and the financial industry. Hill, who is one of Wall Street’s greatest allies in Congress, has taken a whopping $1.4 million from industries regulated by the CFPB over his career.
“Congressman Hill is bought and paid for by his Wall Street donors. He’s kneecapping an agency that has returned billions of dollars to victims of fraud in order to protect the greed of big banks,” said Tiffany Muller, president and executive director of End Citizens United. “It’s a shameful display of Washington’s favorite pastime: pay-to-play. The 2018 elections are around the corner and ECU will make sure this is an election year issue. Congressman Hill will be held accountable.”