Gutting Dodd-Frank is a Blow to Small Businesses

For Immediate Release: 
Thursday, June 8, 2017

Statement by Small Business Majority Founder & CEO John Arensmeyer on why the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote to remove consumer protections from the Dodd-Frank Act is bad for small firms

Today’s vote by the U.S. House of Representatives to gut key portions of the Dodd-Frank Act is bad for America’s small businesses. This move would undo many provisions of a law that has addressed causes of the 2008 financial collapse and has protected small business borrowers from predatory lenders.  

Our nation’s job creators were disproportionately impacted by the financial crisis and the Great Recession, so it should come as no surprise that the vast majority of entrepreneurs support tougher regulations for the financial industry — including those levied by the Dodd-Frank Act.

In fact, Small Business Majority’s scientific opinion polling found that eight in 10 small business owners believe Wall Street should be held accountable for the practices that caused the financial crisis. Nearly six in 10 small business owners said that for far too long, Wall Street banks and financial companies wrote their own rules, leaving small businesses and consumers vulnerable and without protection. An overwhelming 84 percent of small businesses support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an entity formed by the Dodd-Frank Act that is designed to help prevent abusive lending practices through clear rules for and oversight of financial companies.

Small businesses believe the CFPB is needed to prevent predatory practices and ensure all financial institutions treat small businesses and consumers fairly. The House legislation, however, would effectively dismantle the CFPB, leaving many small businesses at risk of unfair loan practices. It’s also important to note that while the matter of financial regulation is often politicized, it is not a partisan one for small employers. Republican respondents to our poll outnumbered those who identified as Democrat by 52-34 percent.

Small businesses are finally recovering from the aftermath of the Great Recession. The last thing they need is a rollback of financial protections that are helping to level the playing and protect small business borrowers. We urge the U.S. Senate to oppose this legislation in order to support our nation’s entrepreneurs, instead of pandering to large institutions that don’t need any extra help to succeed.

 

About Small Business Majority

Small Business Majority was founded and is run by small business owners to ensure America’s entrepreneurs are a key part of an inclusive, equitable and diverse economy. We actively engage our network of more than 55,000 small business owners in support of public policy solutions and deliver information and resources to entrepreneurs that promote small business growth. Our extensive scientific polling, focus groups and economic research help us educate and inform policymakers, the media and other stakeholders about key issues impacting small businesses and freelancers. Learn more about us on our website and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Press State: 
National