Newly-reelected 6th District Representative and frequent Dodd-Frank Act critic Andy Barr says he wasn’t one of the lawmakers who inserted language loosening bank restrictions in the legislation into the $1.1 trillion dollar spending bill passed last week. But he supports the move.
Critics have argued the new language in the spending bill would ease restrictions on trading derivatives that are federally insured, increasing the risk of another financial collapse.
Barr, however, sees it as a positive move for smaller banks overburdened by federal regulations.
"What it's going to do is enable community banks [and] regional banks to continue to serve their customers, particular farmers and commodity producers who are not trying to engage in sophisticated high-risk trading on Wall Street. What they're trying to do is hedge against swings in commodity prices."
Speaking at a Commerce Lexington meeting Tuesday, Barr defended his support of the so-called “CRomnibus” spending package that funds most of the government for the rest of the fiscal year.
The spending deal been attacked from the right and the left– with Republicans worrying aloud about funding the Dept. of Homeland Security, which is tasked with carrying out the president’s recent executive orders on immigration, and Democrats concerned about deregulating Wall Street.
But Barr says the compromise will allow the next Congress to put aside old battles and move forward with new legislation, including an immigration package. Though the result is unlikely to include one of the elements President Obama has argued should be included in any comprehensive reform effort.
"No, it won't deal with a path to legalization because that's not what the American people want right now," he told the audience. "What they want is border security and some streamlining of the legal immigration process. Do that first and then we can move to a second phase of immigration reform later."
President Obama has asserted that his executive actions on immigration fall within his legal authority and he would rescind the orders if Congress were to get a comprehensive bill to his desk.
