GOP plans another attack on Dodd-Frank rules

House Republicans will call up legislation after Thanksgiving that would relax regulations for private equity fund investment advisers, which the GOP says would make it easier for small businesses to attract private capital.

The bill is the latest House effort to roll back a piece of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. Many Republicans say it went too far in regulating banks and other financial institutions, to the point where it’s hindering economic growth.

{mosads}The bill up next week is the Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act, H.R. 1105. It would change the Investment Advisers Act so that private equity fund investment advisers are exempted from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s registration and reporting requirements, as long as these advisers meet a certain debt to invested capital ratio.

When he introduced the bill in March, Rep. Robert Hurt (R-Va.) said these registration requirements on investors are slowing down the flow of capital to companies, which is hurting job creation.

“By reducing costly government mandates placed on those who are making critical investments in our economy, our small business owners will have the ability to gain access to capital more easily so that more jobs can be created and more jobs can be preserved,” he said.

Hurt’s bill has drawn the support of small-business interests, which say Dodd-Frank went too far by impeding private lending. It’s also drawn the support of several Democrats, including Reps. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), Jim Matheson (D-Utah), Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), and David Scott (D-Ga.).

Last month, the House passed two bills to repeal other elements of Dodd-Frank: H.R. 992, giving banks more flexibility to use swaps to hedge risk, and H.R. 2374, which delayed federal rules imposing new fiduciary requirements on investment advisers.