U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, and Doug Jones, D-Mountain Brook, voted Wednesday to pass bipartisan legislation that would reverse some of the regulations passed in the wake of the 2009 financial crisis.
The Senate voted 67-31 to reverse portions of the law known as Dodd-Frank, the Associated Press reported.
Alabama’s two U.S. senators, Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, and Doug Jones, D-Mountain Brook, voted for the bill.
Sen. Shelby, who presided as chairman of the Banking Committee during much of the deliberation over reforming Dodd-Frank, reacted.
“Passage of this bill helps to ensure common-sense regulatory relief to community banks and credit unions, unlocking the chains of stagnation that have halted the growth of small businesses across our nation,” Sen. Shelby said in a statement. “I have proudly supported these efforts for nearly a decade and am encouraged that we are making progress to help Main Street.”
Sen. Jones was a co-sponsor of the bill that was tailored for smaller banks.
“This bill maintains the strongest post-crisis rules for Wall Street banks,” Sen. Jones said. “The bill also allows community banks and credit unions, who often only have a few dozen employees, to put their resources into new loans rather than regulatory compliance staff. Those loans, in turn, will help our communities prosper. When we can help remove regulatory burdens that should not apply to them, they are hiring in the community and making loans to support small local businesses.”
Dodd-Frank was supposed to crack down on abuses. Instead, the law as many predicted ended up hurting community banks and credit unions by imposing impractical, impossible regulations. Smaller banks are the source of more than 50 percent of small business loans and more than 80 percent of agricultural loans. The bill eases regulations on all but the largest banks.
President Trump has said fixing Dodd-Frank was a campaign pledge. The bill goes to the House.
REP. MARTHA ROBY THANKS AIR FORCE SECRETARY FOR F-35 DECISION
U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala., during a Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing thanked Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson for selecting the 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field to house the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
“The men and women of the 187th could not be more thrilled for the extraordinary opportunity you’ve given them to host the F-35 mission in a few short years,” Rep. Roby said. “Thank you for recognizing their professionalism and their capability. The River Region and the State of Alabama are very excited about this opportunity.”
Secretary Wilson said decisions are made based on what’s best for the Air Force and its mission.
“We make these decisions based on basing, based on the criteria we try to set, and we try to be very open with everyone,” Wilson said. “It was a great pleasure to make sure that the 187th – the famed Tuskegee Airmen “Red Tails” – will soon have some F-35s to put red tails on.”
During the hearing, Representative Roby also discussed her strong support for important programs at Alabama’s Second District military installations, including rotary wing training at Fort Rucker, Professional Military Education (PME) components at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, and information technology at Gunter Annex.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
New Report Congratulates TRIP
American Highway Users Alliance (Hamilton 3/15) “Today the American Highway Users Alliance commended TRIP, a national non-profit transportation research group based in Washington, D.C., on the release of its timely and much-needed snapshot of the current state of affairs related to safety for the nation’s mature road users.
“The report, ‘Preserving the Mobility and Safety of Older Americans,’ finds that fatalities in crashes involving at least one driver age 65 or older have outpaced the overall increase in U.S. traffic deaths from 2012 – 2016 (the most recent years for which complete data are available). Compared to the 11 percent increase in total highway fatalities during this time, deaths in crashes involving drivers 65 and older increased 22 percent. Importantly, this statistic includes crashes in which at least one driver age 65 or over was present, but not necessarily at-fault.
“This report is a critical reminder that the issues of safety and mobility for the nation’s seniors must be a top priority for policymakers and transportation officials,” said Greg Cohen, President and CEO of the American Highway Users Alliance, an organization that advocates on behalf of motorists, truckers, and other drivers. “We congratulate TRIP on bringing this new data to the forefront as the country contemplates and negotiates the future of our national infrastructure.”