Republicans prepare to unveil Dodd-Frank replacement

The Dodd-Frank Act, passed by a Democratic Congress in response to the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, has long been targeted by House and Senate Republicans. This week, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) announced that he will unveil a Republican alternative to the controversial legislation at a New York City speech on June 7.

The committee announced the speech Tuesday, which will be delivered before the Economic Club of New York. In the announcement, the speech was billed as outlining “the Republican plan to replace the Dodd-Frank Act and promote economic growth.”

Dodd-Frank has been in the news recently, with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump promising to dismantle the regulatory scheme. Trump said, “Dodd-Frank has made it impossible for bankers to function.... It makes it very hard for bankers to loan money for people to create jobs, for people with businesses to create jobs. And that has to stop.”

Trump is expected to unveil his own financial regulatory blueprint soon.

Ever since the law was enacted in 2010, Republicans have put forward dozens of bills aimed at altering or outright removing various provisions of the law, but congressional Democrats and the White House have fiercely resisted nearly all those efforts.

Hensarling's proposal would be the first effort at taking on the entire bill. In March, Hensarling referred to the Dodd-Frank provisions as "regulatory waterboarding" for banks and small businesses.

Details of Hensarling’s bill have yet to be released, but it’s a safe bet that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be one of its targets. Hensarling has been a persistent critic of the agency created by Dodd-Frank, saying it lacks accountability and has far too much power.