[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1695-S1696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today we will also finish considering 
the bipartisan banking reform bill championed by Senator Crapo. The 
Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act is 
cosponsored by a quarter of the Senate--split down the middle between 
Republicans and Democrats--and was advanced earlier this week by two-
thirds of our colleagues. That is because this modest but essential 
bill tackles a problem that hurts communities in red States and in blue 
States. It hurts rural areas, farm towns, suburbs, and urban 
neighborhoods.
  The problem is this. The Dodd-Frank Act has proven to be far too 
blunt of an instrument for regulating our financial system. Regulations 
meant for Wall Street are crushing Main Street.
  Community banks and credit unions play a vital role in our economy. 
Smaller lenders provide more than 50 percent of small business loans 
and nearly 80 percent of agricultural loans, but they are struggling to 
keep their heads above the tide of complicated regulations and 
compliance costs. Many are going under, and when they do, research 
shows that access to capital shrinks for small businesses, farmers, 
ranchers, and low-income Americans.
  Senator Crapo's legislation helps to fix this. It streamlines 
regulations and

[[Page S1696]]

tailors the rules so smaller lenders aren't caught up in the web of 
regulations aimed at the biggest banks.
  Senators had and still have a wide diversity of views on Dodd-Frank, 
but all of us should at least agree that Wall Street and Main Street 
are very different, and that one-size-fits-all is a poor way to address 
this issue.
  I look forward to voting to pass this bill later on today.

                          ____________________