Shelby Pushes for Changes to Dodd-Frank

WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., a senior member on the Senate Banking Committee, has introduced two bills aimed at fixing technical errors in the Dodd-Frank reform law and requiring regulators to complete rigorous economic analysis when crafting new rules.

The first bill corrects a number of "drafting errors" in the Dodd-Frank law, which spans over 2,000 pages, with a focus on "purely on technical corrections of non-substantive inaccuracies and omissions in the statute," according to a press release on Tuesday.

The second piece of legislation, the Financial Regulatory Responsibility Act of 2013, is the same as a bill Shelby proposed in 2011. It would require regulators to justify the need for new rules and estimate the costs with a 12-part analysis. It would also bar regulators from promulgating any rule in which the estimated costs outweighed the benefits. Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the lead Republican of the banking panel, Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., are co-sponsoring the bill.

"Businesses across the country are dealing with an avalanche of regulations from Dodd-Frank. The bottom-line principle of the Financial Regulatory Responsibility Act is unambiguous: If a regulation's costs outweigh its benefits, it should be thrown out," said Shelby, who stepped down as lead Republican of the banking panel at the end of last year due to GOP term limits. "By providing a clear, rigorous, and consistent process for regulators in making that determination, this legislation will eliminate unnecessary burdens on our economy."