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For Immediate Release
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CHOICE Act Would Make Future Financial Crises More Likely

Statement by Josh Bivens, Director of Research

WASHINGTON

Today's passage of the Financial CHOICE Act is a terrible decision by the House of Representatives. If it were to be passed by the Senate and become law, this bill would make future financial crises more likely and more damaging. It would strip away protections against American households being swindled again by the worst actors in the financial sector. It would roll back the sorely needed "fiduciary rule" that requires financial advisers act in the best interest of their clients rather than lining their pockets with the hard-earned savings of the people who turned to those very financial professionals for help with their retirement investments. Finally, it would lead to a less transparent and less democratically accountable Federal Reserve, and would mandate the Fed follow policy rules that would predictably lead to higher unemployment and less ability to fight deep recessions. It's hard to imagine a bill that could do more broad-based damage to the future economic security of America's working families.

EPI is an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United States. EPI's research helps policymakers, opinion leaders, advocates, journalists, and the public understand the bread-and-butter issues affecting ordinary Americans.

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