Markup of Various Measures

Committee on Banking and Currency

2025-03-05

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Source: Congress.gov

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Transcript

The committee will come to order.  Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at any time.  Without objection, all members shall have five legislative days within which to submit additional materials to the chair for inclusion in the record.  A quorum being present, we will now proceed to today's business.  The chair will recognize himself for an opening statement.   Good morning and welcome to our first legislative markup for the 119th Congress.  I'm eager to start our work.  For these next two years, we'll focus on balancing regulatory oversight with the promotion of innovation and competitiveness in the U.S. financial services sector.   Over our first full month, with great help from all of our members, our subcommittee chairs have either held hearings or policy or a roundtable on subcommittees' areas of focus already in this year.  The Financial Services Committee, under Republican leadership, has legislative priorities that we will conduct hearings and pursue solutions in each of our subcommittees and the task force.   Subcommittee chairs will tackle these issues through a portfolio approach where subcommittee chairs will encourage all members to work together and fully participate.  We'll do the hard work to find solution and encourage all members, Republican and Democrat, to bring your ideas to your subcommittee chair and ranking member.   I will emphasize to my friends across the aisle, our doors are open for discussion.  This is evidenced by the fact that just last week we held a full committee hearing on the challenge being posed by China across a range of bipartisan issues.  We all agree.   the United States will prevail over China.  To show our commitment to defending the United States and our allies against China, this markup includes several bipartisan measures championed by members of this committee.  These bills underscore the scope of the committee's jurisdiction and the unique way that our members contribute to our national security.   We will be promoting a forward-looking agenda by safeguarding the integrity of our financial system against fentanyl trafficking, mitigating longer-term risks in the Chinese financial system, supporting our friends in Taiwan at the international financial institutions, and by ensuring that we finance global energy infrastructure supplied by the United States and our allies.
These are just a few of the initiatives that I look forward to passing today.  As I noted our hearing on China last week, we're focused on winning the economic and global leadership race with China by building a better system than China.  And that includes building a global financial system where our values and our interests prevail.   I commend all of our sponsors for their work to make this a reality.  Today, we'll also consider a Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's harmful overdraft rule.  The CFPB's misguided overdraft rule imposes a government-mandated price cap that would reduce consumer choice, deny this needed service to many of our citizens while stifling innovation.  Don't take my word for it.   A Federal Reserve Bank of New York report concluded that overdraft fee caps hinder financial inclusion.  When constrained by fee caps, banks reduce overdraft coverage and deposit supply, causing more return checks and a decline in account ownership among low-income households.   The CFPB overdraft rule exceeded authority granted to the CFPB by Congress under the Truth in Lending Act.  This resolution simply reverses the CFPB overreach.  I would implore my friends across the aisle to consider the impact of the CFPB's overdraft rule.  By forcing banks   through a government mandate to cut their fees or treat overdrafts as loans legally.  Banks will limit the service, especially to low income and low credit customers.  That will drive customers in a pinch towards alternative products, much more costly non-bank type services.  Certainly that cannot be the intention with a no vote on this resolution.   With that, I yield back the balance of my time, and I recognize Mr. Kasten of Illinois for an opening statement, and let me say before you start, Mr. Kasten, that we regret the passing of Mr. Turner of Houston, and we...