GOP rep: Warren is ‘grandstanding’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) criticism of the nation’s biggest banks “smacks of political grandstanding,” a House Republican said Thursday.

Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) criticized Warren for arguing that large financial institutions must be broken up to ensure that they are not “too big to fail.”  “In today’s global capital markets, such a position smacks of typical political grandstanding,” Hill said during a speech at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) conference in Washington.

Hill said that while Warren’s “rhetoric may sound appealing, larger institutions are essential to both the U.S. and global economy.”

“Sen. Warren [says] community banks are doing better than ever,” Hill said, referencing comments Warren made earlier this year at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. “All one has to do is ask anyone who actually works in the industry. They will tell you community banks are not doing better than ever.”

Led by Warren, Progressives argue that the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law does not go far enough to protect consumers from another economic collapse like the one seen in 2008. Republicans like Hill argue that overregulation is stifling the growth of the economy.

The banking industry considers Hill to be a rising star on the House Financial Services Committee. Before taking office in January, he spent years working as a community banker, securities broker and investment manager.

Hill did have one bit of praise for Warren during his remarks.

“This is an area where I do agree with Sen. Warren: Those who violate the law should be … imprisoned, or whatever the correct course of action,” he said.

Hill also attacked the Obama administration’s proposed disclosure regulations for financial advisers, known as “fiduciary rules” within the industry. He said it was part of President Obama’s “war on savings” that would end making financial advice too expensive for low-income Americans.

The administration argues that the regulatory proposal put forth by the Department of Labor (DOL) is needed to protect consumers from financial advisers who sell them bad advice in order to pocket hidden commissions.

Hill has co-sponsored legislation with Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) to delay the rules but said the bill is moving slower than the administration.

“I don’t think Rep. Wagner’s bill is on a track faster than DOL,” Hill said. “[But] we are urging floor consideration of the bill.”

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