If President-elect Donald Trump is serious about undoing some of President Barack Obama’s signature achievements, Dodd-Frank might be the place he starts.
Many elements of the sweeping banking sector regulations enacted in response to the 2008 financial crisis could be subject to immediate Congressional Review Act (CRA) scrutiny as soon as Trump takes office on January 20. And a new analysis from the American Action Forum says that several aspects of Dodd-Frank that will be relatively easy to chisel away could save some $1.7 billion USD in costs in the country.
“There have been at least nine Dodd-Frank regulations issued during the CRA’s ‘carryover’ period that would allow Congress and President-elect Trump to rescind those measures,” wrote Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy at the American Action Forum, last week. “Combined, these rules could impose $1.7 billion in costs and 1.2 million paperwork burden hours.
The following nine still-not-set-in-stone rules fall under the period included in the CRA:
With Republican control of the White House and Congress, it seems likely that Washington will look to prune the low-hanging fruit of Dodd-Frank. That means these nine aspects could go immediately — while many more could be rolled back in the months and years to come.
So far, Dodd-Frank has imposed more than $36 billion in costs — including almost 75 million hours of paperwork — on the nation, according to the American Action Forum study.
“Despite these impositions, it’s clear Congress and the next administration seek reform of the nation’s financial services industry in a manner the protects the security of the system, while lowering regulatory costs and encouraging investment,” wrote Batkins. “Repealing the last $1.9 billion in Dodd-Frank from the Obama administration might be the first step for Congress in a more comprehensive overhaul of the law.”
