233 House Republicans Just Set Course for Next Financial Collapse

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act on Thursday afternoon in a move critics--who call it the #WrongChoiceAct--say puts the U.S. economy on a path towards the next large-scale financial meltdown.

"If it were to be passed by the Senate and become law, this bill would make future financial crises more likely and more damaging." --Josh Bivens, Economic Policy InstituteWith a final vote of 233 to 186, only one Republican joined with Democrats in voting "nay." The final roll call is here.

As the Washington Post notes, "Democrats and progressive groups, who argue banks need more oversight, not less, are preparing to use the issue to animate supporters still angry that Wall Street banks have not paid a bigger price for the financial crisis. Many have expressed particular concern over a provision that would curtail the powers of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and reduce its independence by having its director report to the president."

The bill now goes to the Senate and though its passage is anything but assured, critics of the Republican measure howled their disapproval and offered stark warnings to those members of congress who voted in its favor on Thursday.

Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, called the passage a "terrible decision" by the House Republicans. "If it were to be passed by the Senate and become law, this bill would make future financial crises more likely and more damaging," Bivens said. "It would strip away protections against American households being swindled again by the worst actors in the financial sector."

According to Bivens, "It's hard to imagine a bill that could do more broad-based damage to the future economic security of America's working families."