Heinrich Cosponsors Warren Bill to Restore Critical Dodd-Frank Protections

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) cosponsored the Secure Viable Banking Act, legislation led by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and U.S. Representative Katie Porter (D-Calif.) to repeal Title IV of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank.

In 2018, Senator Heinrich warned about the dangers of passing the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which reduced critical oversight and capital requirements for large banks.

“The reforms in the Dodd-Frank Act were put in place to ensure the stability of the U.S. financial system, in part by letting regulators take a clear look at the health and soundness of individuals banks. I warned Congress in 2018 that President Trump’s regulatory rollback would put the health of the banking system at risk, and now here we are. While I’m glad the Biden administration and regulators acted quickly to ensure small businesses and depositors didn’t take the brunt of this failure, this disaster could have been prevented. That’s why I’m joining Senator Warren and our colleagues to introduce legislation to restore important guardrails and strengthen our banking system,” said Heinrich, Chair-Designate of the Joint Economic Committee.

“In 2018, I rang the alarm bell about what would happen if Congress rolled back critical Dodd-Frank protections: banks would load up on risk to boost their profits and collapse, threatening our entire economy – and that is precisely what happened,” said Warren. “President Biden called on Congress to strengthen the rules for banks, and I'm proposing legislation to do just that by repealing the core of Trump’s bank law."

Title IV of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act raised the asset threshold at which a bank is considered and regulated as a “systemically important financial institution” to $250 billion, exempting SVB and other mid-sized banks from regular stress testing and enhanced liquidity, risk management, and resolution plan, or “living will,” requirements. The lawmakers' new bill would repeal these dangerous regulatory rollbacks, which invited banks to load up on risk and increase profits, restoring critical Dodd-Frank protections.

The legislation is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.).