The House Financial Services Committee approved six bills this week, most of which seek to relax regulations on companies and spur growth.
“These measures build on the regulatory relief recently passed by Congress to eliminate onerous Washington regulations that are stifling access to credit and capital. This is about creating the next Apple, the next Yahoo, the next Home Depot – it’s about where the economy of tomorrow will come from,” Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) said. “It is local community banks or credit unions that provide consumers with a checking account, a car loan, or a home mortgage; however, it is the capital markets that finance their careers, salaries, and retirement plans.”
One of those bills is the Federal Insurance Office Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 3861), sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), which would limit the role of the Federal Insurance Office of the Department of the Treasury role to international insurance issues only and eliminate its involvement on domestic issues. It passed 36-21.
Another bill sponsored by Duffy, H.R. 5756, would increase the resubmission thresholds for shareholder proposals. It would raise the level of support required for proposals to stay on the ballot from 3 percent to 6 percent for first-year submissions, 6 percent to 15 percent for second-year submissions, and 10 percent to 30 percent for third-year submissions. It passed 34-22.
The committee also advanced the Small Company Disclosure Simplification Act of 2018 (H.R. 5054), introduced by Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN), which provides a voluntary exemption for emerging growth companies and other smaller companies from the requirements to use Extensible Business Reporting Language (xBRL) for financial statements and other reporting. It was approved 32-23.
Additionally, the committee advanced the Main Street Growth Act (H.R. 5877), introduced by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN); the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2017, introduced by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO); and the Cooperate with Law Enforcement Agencies and Watch Act of 2018 (H.R. 5783), sponsored by Rep. French Hill (R-AR).
The bills now head to the House floor for consideration. The Financial Services Committee has advanced 108 bills in this Congress.