Repeal Dodd-Frank Provisions

Author: David R. Burton, Senior Fellow in Economic Policy

Affordability 101 · Chapter 9: Sound Money and Capital Freedom

Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise

Topline

Congress should repeal or reform the ill-advised provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Background

The 848-page Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was hurriedly enacted in 2010 in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Many of its provisions were ill-advised or had nothing to do with the financial crisis. Dodd-Frank dramatically raised costs and complexity, reduced competition and access to capital, did little to improve the safety and soundness of the financial system and, in some cases, increased the risk of adverse outcomes. Many of its provisions should be repealed. Others should be substantially reformed.

Action Items (Congress)

• Repeal the following titles of the Dodd-Frank Act:
  • Title I (relating to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC)).
  • Title II (relating to orderly liquidation authority).
  • Title V (relating to the Federal Insurance Office).
  • Title VII (relating to over-the-counter derivatives and swaps).
  • Title VIII (relating to clearing houses).
  • Title X (relating to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).
  • Title XII (relating to financial services grants).
  • Title XV (relating to disclosure regarding conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mine safety, and executive-to-worker pay ratios).
• Reform the capital requirement rules and regulations.

How It Would Make Life More Affordable

• The massive increase in compliance costs caused by Dodd-Frank raises the price of financial services, constitutes a barrier to entry that reduces competition, and reduces access to the capital that firms need to grow and innovate.

Related Legislation: Main Street Capital Access Act (H.R. 6955); Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act of 2026 (H.R. 643, S. 5158); H.R. 7085 (conflict minerals disclosure repeal); TABS Act of 2025 (H.R. 654); Defund the CFPB Act (H.R. 814); Repeal CFPB Act (H.R. 1603); Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 (H.R. 10 [115th Congr.]).

Bottomline

Congress should reduce regulatory costs, increase competition and improve access to capital by repealing or reforming many Dodd-Frank provisions.

This memo is part of Affordability 101, Advancing American Freedom’s playbook of 101 policy solutions to make life more affordable.

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