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Americans for Tax Reform strongly supports the full removal of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from the Senate-passed S. 3217, Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. However, when choosing between the Snowe-Pryor #3883 Amendment and Landrieu-Dodd-Kerry #4075 Amendment – ATR supports Snowe-Pryor.

Senators Snowe (R-Maine) and Pryor (D-Ark.) have put forth in Amendment #3883 proposals that acknowledge small businesses pivotal role in America’s economic growth and the threats government regulation poses to entrepreneurs. Currently, small businesses pay 45 percent more than their larger business counterparts to comply with federal mandates.

The Small Business Fairness and Regulatory Transparency Amendment ensure the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will protect job creation and innovation in the following ways:

• The CFPB will be required to publish a regulatory flexibility analysis as part of any rulemaking procedure and hold advisory small businesses review panels to ensure that small businesses’ voices are heard
• The CFPB’s regulatory flexibility analysis will contain projections in the cost of credit for small businesses, a description of alternative regulatory measures which minimize any increase in the cost of credit for small businesses, and recommendations from small businesses representatives
• Additionally, the regulatory flexibility analysis will include documentation of the steps CFPB has taken to minimize the additional cost of credit for small businesses

The Landrieu-Dodd-Kerry amendment does not require the CFPB to publish a regulatory flexibility analysis during the proposed rule stage, only when its rules are finalized. Unfortunately, by then, small business’ interests will already have been overlooked.  

It is for these reasons that ATR urges you to protect Main Street from government overreach and support the Snowe-Pryor Amendment #3883 – the Small Business Fairness and Regulatory Transparency Amendment.

Posted by Chris Prandoni on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 9:15 AM EDT

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