Congressman Biggs Introduces the "Let Lenders Lend Act"

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Biggs introduced the "Let Lenders Lend Act," which permanently eliminates the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Congressman Biggs released the following statement:

"In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) developed rules to expand the scope of the HMDA, which was enacted in the 1970s to prevent discriminatory lending practices. It is not clear that adding more reporting requirements will have any measurable effect on preventing further instances of discriminatory lending. Instead, this requirement would double the paperwork that lenders fill out each time they offer a loan. This places an enormous, new regulatory burden on small and mid-size lenders.

"I believe that Congress should determine appropriate banking regulations – not unelected bureaucrats at the CFPB. I trust that CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney is committed to this principle, and I know he is already working to restore Article I authority to the legislative branch. However, it is incumbent on Congress to codify these necessary regulatory rollbacks into law. Earlier this year, the House passed the "Financial CHOICE Act" (H.R. 10), which includes a provision to delay implementation of this regulation until January 1, 2019. While this is a positive first step, I don't believe this delay goes far enough. My bill will completely eliminate the HDMA rule to help, not hinder, lenders lend."

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Congressman Andy Biggs is a first-term Representative from Arizona's Fifth Congressional District, representing parts of Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, and Queen Creek. Congressman Biggs is a member of the House Judiciary and Science, Space, and Technology committees, and is the chairman of the Environment Subcommittee. He lives with his wife, Cindy, in Gilbert.