L18 01-18 HFSC Passage of Business of Insurance Act
The Honorable Sean Duffy
Member of Congress
United States House of Representatives
2330 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Gwen Moore
Member of Congress
United States House of Representatives
2252 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Duffy and Congresswoman Moore:
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU) and the concerned citizens and taxpayers that we represent, I want to thank you for your leadership in sponsoring H.R. 3746, the “Business of Insurance Regulatory Act of 2017.” NTU was pleased to see the tremendous bipartisan support this legislation received in the House Financial Services Committee markup earlier today.
This bill provides legislative clarity to one of the myriad of ill-conceived regulations created under the 2010 financial regulatory overhaul known as Dodd-Frank. That heavy-handed legislation granted expansive discretion to the executive branch to craft countless new rules; most visibly through the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a powerful agency of unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats that essentially writes laws as opposed to enforcing statutes passed by Congress.
While Dodd-Frank punted many Congressional rulemaking responsibilities to the executive branch through the CFPB, even members who supported its passage agreed there were certain constraints the agency should be bound by.
One such restriction was the exemption on the CFPB regulating the “business of insurance.” However, because the law was overly broad in its construction, further clarification of this restriction is necessary. H.R. 3746 ensures the federal government - and, in particular, the vague CFPB bureaucracy - cannot interfere with the current regulatory regimes that rests in states’ powers. NTU is hopeful this vote will foster a broader effort by lawmakers in Washington to be more respectful of the principles of federalism as the committee continues to assess further financial regulatory reforms in the coming year.
Today’s committee vote is an important step towards increasing accountability at the CFPB as the Trump administration contemplates the agency’s future. We are encouraged by the steps Congress continues to take to keep this agency in check as it undergoes a long-overdue review by the executive branch. NTU looks forward to working with the full committee and both chambers of Congress to end the overly broad powers granted to the CFPB and restore common sense practices to financial regulation.
Sincerely,
Thomas Aiello
Policy and Government Affairs Associate
National Taxpayers Union
CC: Chairman Hensarling, Ranking Member Waters, Members of the Committee on Financial Services