[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 97 (Wednesday, June 7, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H4659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   FINANCIAL CHOICE ACT WOULD BE A DISASTER FOR THE ENTIRE FINANCIAL 
                                 SYSTEM

  (Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York asked and was given permission 
to address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
strong opposition to H.R. 10, the ``Wrong'' CHOICE Act.
  This bill would take us back to the regulatory stone age and would be 
a disaster for our entire financial system. It would actually increase 
risk in the financial system because, under this bill, any bank that 
meets an arbitrary new 10 percent leverage ratio would be exempted from 
all other capital and liquidity requirements. The problem with the 
leverage ratio is that it treats all assets equally risky. Under the 
leverage ratio, a subprime mortgage-backed security is considered just 
as risky as a U.S. Treasury bond.
  As a result, many banking regulators have pointed out that relying 
solely on the leverage ratio would give banks an incentive to get rid 
of their safest assets, like U.S. treasuries, and load up on riskier 
assets.
  Incentives matter, Mr. Speaker, and this bill gives banks a huge 
incentive to load up on risk. We know what risk is like. Eleven million 
people lost their homes, and many lost their jobs. Let's not remove the 
safety net that was put in place with the Dodd-Frank bill.
  I oppose the ``Wrong'' CHOICE Act. It is bad for America, bad for 
people, and the wrong direction. I urge a strong ``no'' vote.

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