U.S. House fails to pass Republican bill diluting Dodd-Frank reforms

[progree]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives failed on Wednesday to round up enough votes for a bill scaling back various financial reforms, a surprising defeat in an area conservatives hoped to prioritize this year.

... Before the vote on Wednesday, Democrats slammed the bill as a Republican effort to chip away at the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law, including one provision that would have given banks extra time to comply with part of the Volcker rule.

... The most controversial aspect of the proposal was the section related to the Volcker rule, which bans banks from making risky trades with their own money and prohibits certain investments in financial products.

The bill gave banks more time to exit positions in collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs, which are essentially bundles of business loans. Banks had complained that they would have to quickly abandon those investments.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/u-house-fails-approve-bill-diluting-dodd-frank-204253008--sector.html

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[font color = red]On Edit[/font] (thanks Sunseeker in #3) "The GOP used a procedure called a "suspension" that requires a 2/3 vote. So their majority was not enough. "

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/house-republicans-jobs-regulation-reform-bill-fails-suspension

(The above doesn't explain why the GOP chose to do the above, sigh. One question leads to another. Maybe Boner can't count.)

Anyway, great news, although probably Dodd-Frank, as watered down as it already is, will be insufficient to prevent another derivatives meltdown.

[font color = red]More on Edit:[/font]
PoliticAverse in #5 has the rollcall link (35 Democrats voted for and 1 Republican voted against)
See: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll009.xml

DCBob in #7 explains why the Repubs might have gone this route --

[DRoseDARs]

1. Boner's 1st failure in the newest congress. Oh the next 2 yrs will be fun. :D

eom

[freshwest]

2. Great to know the F.U.D. over this bill becoming law is over. n/t

[SunSeeker]

3. GOP used a procedure called a "suspension" that requires a 2/3 vote.

So their majority was not enough.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/house-republicans-jobs-regulation-reform-bill-fails-suspension

[Cha]

10. Thanks Soapbox.. did they do it by mistake? Why would they think 2/3 would vote for this.

"I’m proud House Democrats stood together today to protect critical Wall Street reforms," Ellison said in a statement. "Families are only now starting to recover from the devastating financial crisis. Congress must strengthen and fully enforce the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act."

Dems!

[SunSeeker]

21. Out of hubris and stupidity. They thought they could get away without debate.

They knew this bill was a shit sandwich and did not want debate, so they hoped to pass it using a procedure that does not require debate--because it is used for noncontroversial bills like naming post offices. For some stupid reason, House Majority Whip Scalise (R - Nazi Whisperer) thought he had the votes.

[kacekwl]

4. YES good news but

I find it amazing that a congress who could not find time to do much of anything the last few years suddenly can put forth so many bills in the last few days , SS nonsense , abortion rules , diluting Dodd - Frank etc.

[PoliticAverse]

6. It's the first full day of the new Congress with a Republican-controlled Senate.

So bills passed in the House might actually be approved by the Senate as well.

[PoliticAverse]

5. 35 Democrats voted for and 1 Republican voted against...

See: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll009.xml

[2banon]

8. Are you saying 35 Dems actually voted to weaken Dodd Frank?

[progree]

9. It looks that way to me. n/t

[Recursion]

12. Including Graham and Ashford, the only two D's who beat Republican incumbents this cycle

The others were mostly from the South and West, too. They're the names in italics under "Yea"

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll009.xml

The one GOP defector was Jones of NC.

[nitpicker]

15. Including MY congresscritter

But Beyer started off selling cars and had the moneybags backing him in the primary, so I'm not totally shocked.

[Orsino]

17. And perhaps just as significantly...

...they voted to do so as quickly and quietly as possible.

Fuck the Dem voters who just installed them, right?

[DCBob]

7. suspension of rules

In the House, a procedure that streamlines consideration of a measure with wide support by prohibiting floor amendments, limiting debate to 40 minutes, and requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. Although rarely used, the Senate may also suspend various rules by a vote of two-thirds following one day’s written notice.

[rhett o rick]

20. Thank you for that. But why did the Republicans do this? Was it a mistake?

Did they think they had the numbers?

[DCBob]

22. Arrogance, impatience and stupidity

A dangerous combination.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. Probably done as a test vote

to see if they could override a veto in the future assuming the Senate passed it. Of course the Senate wouldn't have enough for an override as even with a handful of blue dogs still left in there, they probably couldn't muster 67 needed for an override.

[Recursion]

11. The reason for doing the suspension is procedural; the bill isn't recommitted

It's still a bill on the floor that they can vote on under the normal procedures.

[StevePaulson]

13. Bend Over

Wall Street banks and the GOP are gonna take another
chunk out of your hide.

That's how they roll.

[another_liberal]

14. Outstanding!

They actually get the message that American voters don't want to be stuck with the multi-hundred-billion-dollar cost of another mega-banker bailout!

At least enough of them got it anyway.

[belzabubba333]

16. ok under suspension of the rules thank you. here's more for those who dont know.

from wiki




Suspension of the rules is a procedure generally used to quickly pass non-controversial bills in the United States House of Representatives.

A motion to suspend the rules is in order on Mondays and Tuesdays and towards the end of a session of Congress and may only be made by the Speaker of the House or their designee, though it is customary for committee chairs to write the Speaker requesting a suspension. Once a member makes a motion to "suspend the rules" and take some action, debate is limited to 40 minutes, no amendments can be offered to the motion or the underlying matter, and a 2/3 majority of Members present and voting is required to agree to the motion.

A suspension motion sets aside all procedural and other rules that otherwise prohibit the House from considering the measure—but the motion never mentions the specific rules that are suspended. Typically, a suspension motion is phrased as a motion to "...suspend the rules and pass the bill," and, if the Motion is agreed to, the bill is considered passed by the House. A Member can also move to suspend the rules and take another action, such as to "suspend the rules and consider the bill," and the House shall take the proposed action if two-thirds of those voting are in favor of the motion.

Most often, bills "on suspension" are non-controversial legislation -- such as naming Post Offices of the United States Postal Service or federal buildings -- and nearly all bills that are considered under suspension rules have bipartisan support. Both major political parties in the United States -- the Democratic Party and Republican Party -- have internal rules that prohibit proposing or supporting a bill under suspension unless it costs less than $100 million.

[inanna]

18. Good Guardian write up about this:

House Democrats swiftly kill a quiet Republican plot to protect Wall Street

Yesterday, Congressional Republicans tried to pull a fast one.

Just hours after being sworn in for the 114th Congress, House Republicans introduced a bill with an Orwellian title --“The Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act,” – complete with its own social media campaign under the (as it turns out, ironic) hashtag “#FreeMainSt.”

The legislation was a melange of 11 bills – all meant to weaken regulation of banks and the financial industry – that were written in the last session of Congress and never went anywhere. The new Frankenbill of loose ends was wrapped into a neat package and presented to a new Congress without debate.

House leaders put this hastily arranged bill, H.R. 37, onto the floor on one day’s notice, without going through the Financial Services Committee or giving members the opportunity for amendment. They wanted a quick, quiet passage on the second day of the session, teeing it up for the new Republican majority in the Senate to tackle.

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/08/house-democrats-swiftly-kill-a-quiet-republican-plot-to-protect-wall-street

[Jefferson23]

19. Recommend. n/t