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S. HRG. 115–57 DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY UPDATE HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON REVIEWING DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY ISSUES AND RE- CEIVING UPDATES ABOUT THESE ISSUES FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY MAY 18, 2017 Printed for the use of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs ( Available at: http://www.govinfo.gov/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 26–522 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:55 Feb 21, 2018 Jkt 046629 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\DOCS\26522.TXT SHERYL COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS MIKE CRAPO, Idaho, Chairman RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama SHERROD BROWN, Ohio BOB CORKER, Tennessee JACK REED, Rhode Island PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey DEAN HELLER, Nevada JON TESTER, Montana TIM SCOTT, South Carolina MARK R. WARNER, Virginia BEN SASSE, Nebraska ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts TOM COTTON, Arkansas HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota JOE DONNELLY, Indiana DAVID PERDUE, Georgia BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii THOM TILLIS, North Carolina CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada GREGG RICHARD, Staff Director MARK POWDEN, Democratic Staff Director ELAD ROISMAN, Chief Counsel JOE CARAPIET, Senior Counsel MATT JONES, Professional Staff Member LAURA SWANSON, Democratic Deputy Staff Director ERIN BARRY, Democratic Professional Staff Member DAWN RATLIFF, Chief Clerk CAMERON RICKER, Hearing Clerk SHELVIN SIMMONS, IT Director JIM CROWELL, Editor (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:55 Feb 21, 2018 Jkt 046629 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\26522.TXT SHERYL CONTENTS THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2017 Page Opening statement of Chairman Crapo ................................................................. 1 Opening statements, comments, or prepared statements of: Senator Brown .................................................................................................. 2 WITNESS Steven T. Mnuchin, Secretary, Department of the Treasury ............................... 4 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 45 Responses to written questions of: Senator Brown ........................................................................................... 47 Senator Toomey ......................................................................................... 51 Senator Sasse ............................................................................................ 52 Senator Reed .............................................................................................. 62 Senator Rounds ......................................................................................... 64 Senator Menendez ..................................................................................... 65 Senator Tillis ............................................................................................. 67 Senator Warner ......................................................................................... 74 Senator Warren ......................................................................................... 76 Senator Kennedy ....................................................................................... 83 Senator Van Hollen ................................................................................... 84 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:55 Feb 21, 2018 Jkt 046629 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\DOCS\26522.TXT SHERYL VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:55 Feb 21, 2018 Jkt 046629 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\DOCS\26522.TXT SHERYL DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY UPDATE THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2017 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. The Committee met at 10 a.m., in room SD–538, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Mike Crapo, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN MIKE CRAPO Chairman CRAPO. This hearing will come to order. Today we will receive testimony from the Secretary of the United States Department of Treasury on domestic and international pol- icy issues. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for attending today. This is Secretary Mnuchin’s first hearing since being sworn in as Treasury Secretary in February, and we look forward to our discus- sion. Many of this Committee’s priorities fall within the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department, including housing finance reform and development of policies to encourage a healthier economy. We look forward to working with you and your staff on these priorities and improving the lives of Americans. Housing finance reform remains the most significant piece of un- finished business following the crisis, and it is important to build bipartisan support for a path forward. Last week, we received testi- mony from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director, Mel Watt. At that hearing, Director Watt emphasized that it is Congress that needs to act to determine the future of housing finance reform. The hearing reinforced why conservatorship is unsustainable—namely, GSEs having zero capital, taxpayers on the hook for losses, and the Government effectively taking all risks. A number of groups have released proposals for reform in recent months, including the MBA, the ICBA, the Milken Institute, sev- eral co-authors writing jointly for the Urban Institute, and many others. Three years ago, seven Republicans and six Democrats on this Committee voted in support of a comprehensive housing finance re- form bill. A key priority for this Congress is to build on that bipar- tisan legacy and these new ideas and pass legislation that will cre- ate a sustainable housing finance system for future generations. I look forward to working with you, Secretary Mnuchin, and your staff at the Treasury Department as this Committee develops this (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:55 Feb 21, 2018 Jkt 046629 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\26522.TXT SHERYL 2 bipartisan legislation that will fix the broken housing finance system. Regarding economic growth, I am encouraged by President Trump’s Executive Order on Core Principles for Regulating the Financial System. I understand that the Treasury Department will be issuing a report identifying laws and regulations that inhibit Federal regulation of the U.S. financial system in a manner con- sistent with the core principles soon. I will review this report and work with you, regulators, and Members of the Committee to enact measures to improve our financial system. Financial regulation should help ensure a safe and sound finan- cial system, but in a tailored manner to help grow and maintain a healthy economy. We want our Nation’s banks to be well capital- ized and well regulated, without being drowned by unnecessary compliance costs. Undue regulation chills innovation and imposes significant and unnecessary costs and burdens on financial institu- tions and companies, often disproportionately on smaller ones. For example, community banks and credit unions lack the per- sonnel and infrastructure to handle the overwhelming regulatory burden of the past few years, yet in many ways are treated the same as the world’s biggest institutions. Our regulatory regime should be properly tailored and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. One area I would like this Committee to address is the $50 bil- lion SIFI threshold for regional banks. In prior hearings, we have discussed whether $50 billion is the appropriate threshold, and I hope that we can work together to craft a more appropriate standard. My goal is to work with you, Secretary Mnuchin, Senators of this Committee, and financial regulators to look for ways to improve regulation and foster economic growth, while maintaining resil- iency in the economy. Senator Brown. STATEMENT OF SENATOR SHERROD BROWN Senator BROWN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome, Mr. Sec- retary. Nice to see you two days in a row. Thank you so much. I thank Chairman Crapo for calling this hearing. Treasury has played a key role in our Government since its creation more than two centuries ago. That role expanded in the wake of the Great Re- cession when it became clear, at great cost, that the rules in place for financial services were inadequate. Given the greater role that the Treasury Secretary plays in oversight of Wall Street, it makes sense that he devotes some of his time to conveying his views and those of the Administration on issues within this Committee’s juris- diction to us and to the public. So far, that communication has been insufficient. Questions posed to the Secretary by me and questions posed to the Secretary by other Senators have gone either unanswered or were answered by non sequiturs. So I hope today will give an opportunity to all of us for more forthright conversations. On Tuesday, we held an ordinary hearing that, in my mind, turned out to be quite extraordinary. Three of the four nominees will work in national security positions in Treasury, if confirmed; the fourth will work in a national security position at Commerce. VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:55 Feb 21, 2018 Jkt 046629 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\26522.TXT SHERYL 3 One Senator after another felt compelled to ask the nominees, to ask each of