[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 17, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT RESOLUTION

  Mr. McCONNELL. First, Madam President, the Senate will consider yet 
another chance to use the Congressional Review Act and repeal yet 
another of the last administration's runaway regulations. Thanks to 
Senator Moran and Senator Toomey, today's effort will protect consumers 
from a brazen attempt by the past Director of the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau to stretch his authority and interfere in the auto 
industry.
  The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 got a lot of things wrong, but one thing 
Dodd-Frank got right was protecting auto dealers from meddling by the 
CFPB.
  Our Democratic colleagues are usually fans of Federal regulations. I 
guess even they had a hunch that, left unchecked, the Federal 
bureaucracy would find a way to put the brakes on this key industry--
and how right they were.
  In 2013, Federal regulators concocted a loophole. They bypassed 
standard review and public comment periods for Federal regulations and 
instead issued guidance that would regulate auto dealers' ability to 
negotiate loan terms with their customers.
  Dodd-Frank already gave the CFPB unprecedented insulation from the 
American people's elected representatives, but apparently that wasn't 
enough because they still attempted an end run around the express 
prohibition on the regulation of auto dealers with guidance they 
assumed would not be subject to the Congressional Review Act. Well, 
today Senator Toomey foiled that plan when he asked GAO for an opinion 
on whether this guidance was, in fact, intrusive rulemaking that should 
be subject to congressional review. GAO decided that indeed it was, and 
now Congress will have its say.
  Republicans are chopping away at the tangled mess of regulations that 
the last administration left behind. Our whole economy is getting a 
tune-up, and now it is time for the front end of the auto industry to 
come along for the ride.
  We used the Congressional Review Act a record 15 times last year. 
Let's join with our colleagues from Pennsylvania and Kansas and add 
another victory to that list.

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