Congressional Record, Volume 164 Issue 45 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)

[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1729-S1730]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT--
Continued

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 5
minutes before we begin voting.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, we are about to witness a rare bipartisan
moment in the Senate that has been years in the making. We have had the
opportunity to highlight this bill over the

[[Page S1730]]

last 2 weeks, and I have been very encouraged by my colleagues' support
for its critical results.
Again, I thank each of the Senators who support this bill--including
many members of the Banking Committee--for their interest, involvement,
and the many discussions, hearings, and personal conversations we have
had to get to this point.
I want to stop at this point and give a special thanks to my staff,
who has spent countless hours, weeks--actually months and years--
getting us to this point on this legislation, and the staff of the
other Members who have worked so closely with us as we worked to find a
yes to difficult problems and solutions that we are facing.
Since the bill passed out of the Banking Committee, supporters have
worked in good faith to include provisions that different Members have
offered, including those who do not support the bill. The substitute
amendment we introduced last week reflects the additional provisions
that the bill supporters were able to agree to.
The final bill we are about to vote on today is the product of
careful negotiations and good, old-fashioned statesmanship. The
majority of us in this body recognize that our community financial
institutions have been struggling to keep up with the regulatory
demands coming out of Washington and that it was time to revisit
current law and make changes where necessary.
While there are certain provisions that I would like to have included
in this bill, I believe the package on which we were able to reach
consensus is an important step in the right direction and will deliver
much needed relief and economic growth to Main Street America.
When this bill is signed into law, it will right-size regulation for
financial institutions, including community banks and credit unions,
making it easier for consumers to get mortgages and to obtain credit.
Those are the real victims of this regulatory overreach--individuals
who find it difficult to get access to credit, to get a loan for
college, to get a mortgage for a house, or small businesses seeking to
start up or to expand that cannot get necessary access to capital not
because they are not creditworthy but because the system we have
created makes it so that our smaller financial institutions that do the
relationship banking throughout so much of America don't have the
ability to serve them anymore. It also increases important consumer
protections for veterans, senior citizens, victims of fraud, and those
who have fallen on tough financial times.
This bill has received widespread support for good reason. The cycle
of lending and job creation has been stifled by onerous regulation.
Absent excessive regulatory burdens, local banks and credit unions will
be able to focus more on lending and in turn propel economic growth and
create jobs.
Not to be overlooked, this is also an important moment for
bipartisanship and working across the aisle to legislate. Many people
are worried about the gridlocks in Congress. This bill shows that we
can work together and can do big things that make a big difference in
the lives of people across this country.
Those who support this bill have recognized that, with the right
regulation, tailored regulation, we can promote local economic growth
through our Nation's smaller financial institutions.
I will end with this: This bill was a bipartisan compromise. The
changes are common sense, and it will allow financial institutions to
better serve their customers and communities, while maintaining safety
and soundness and important consumer protections. At a time of intense
political polarization, we have proven that we can work together to get
things done.
This is good for small financial institutions, good for small
businesses, and good for families across America, and I encourage my
colleagues to support its passage.
I yield back my time.

Vote on Motion to Waive

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on agreeing to the
motion to waive.
The yeas and nays were previously ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr.
Heinrich) is necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cotton). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 67, nays 31, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 53 Leg.]

YEAS--67

Alexander
Barrasso
Bennet
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Capito
Carper
Cassidy
Cochran
Collins
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Donnelly
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Flake
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Hatch
Heitkamp
Heller
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Jones
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Lee
Manchin
McCaskill
McConnell
Moran
Murkowski
Nelson
Paul
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott
Shaheen
Shelby
Stabenow
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Warner
Wicker
Young

NAYS--31

Baldwin
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Casey
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Gillibrand
Harris
Hirono
Klobuchar
Leahy
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Reed
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Smith
Udall
Van Hollen
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden

NOT VOTING--2

Heinrich
McCain

The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 67, the nays are
31.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in
the affirmative, the motion is agreed to and the point of order falls.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read
the third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the bill having been
read the third time, the question is, Shall the bill pass?
Mr. BARRASSO. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr.
Heinrich) is necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 67, nays 31, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 54 Leg.]

YEAS--67

NAYS--31

NOT VOTING--2

Heinrich
McCain

The bill (S. 2155), as amended, was passed.

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