{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=028600E9-C86C-466A-8896-5462ED8404A5", "Heitkamp & Bipartisan Group of Senators Announce Regulatory Reform Plan to Help Protect Consumers & Rural Communities in North Dakota, Support Economic Growth", "2017-11-14", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 After years of bipartisan work, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced a bipartisan agreement on legislative proposals to improve our nation\u2019s financial regulatory framework, promote economic growth, and protect consumers in North Dakota\u2019s rural communities.\u00a0\r\nHeitkamp announced the agreement that she worked on over several years with U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Banking Committee members Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Mark Warner (D-VA). The bill so far has support from nine Republican senators, nine Democrat senators, and one Independent senator.\r\nIn the past 30 years, the number of community banks and credit unions have dropped by about two-thirds, yet more than 80 percent of North Dakota deposits still go to community banks, reinforcing that small financial institutions remain a key resource for North Dakota families.\r\nThe bill comes after three years of negotiations that Heitkamp has been part of to help give community banks and credit unions the relief they need to better serve consumers across North Dakota, while also strengthening consumer protections. In 2015, Heitkamp and a bipartisan group of Senators came close to finalizing a deal, and she\u2019s been working to find a path forward ever since. The bill comes after more than 20 Senate Banking Committee hearings on regulatory reform and economic growth since 2015 that Heitkamp has been part of, and more than 30 discussions she has had with top financial regulators about the issue. Heitkamp has also introduced individual bills over the years to help support community banks and credit unions.\r\n\u201cOur bill is an example of how if Democrats and Republicans put partisanship aside and work together, we can reach real compromises that support the country,\u201d said Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Banking Committee. \u201cEvery day I come to work in the U.S. Senate, I\u2019m fighting for rural America \u2013 and that\u2019s what our bipartisan bill is about. It would provide needed relief to community banks and credit unions, so they can continue enabling small businesses to get financing to operate, helping farmers get loans to support their farms, and allowing families to buy homes in rural communities across our state. And it does all of this while strengthening protections for consumers.\u201d\r\n\u201cA strong and vibrant economy is important for American consumers, businesses, and the stability of the financial sector,\u201d said Senator Crapo, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. \u201cThe bipartisan proposals on which we have agreed will significantly improve our financial regulatory framework and foster economic growth by right-sizing regulation, particularly for smaller financial institutions and community banks. I thank all of the senators who have joined with us to move this forward, and look forward to continuing our work to achieve a robust, bipartisan legislative product.\u201d\r\n\u201cCommunity banks like Cornerstone Bank support small businesses, families, and farmers across North Dakota, but our efforts to grow and support our communities have been challenged by burdensome regulations,\u201d said Gary Petersen, Chairman of Cornerstone Bank. \u201cFor years, Senator Heitkamp has fought to make sure we have the relief we need to support consumers, and we greatly appreciate her bipartisan work in the U.S. Senate to reach a deal that serves North Dakota and addresses our concerns.\u201d\r\n\u201cThis is a major victory for consumers not only across the United States, but especially in rural areas such as the Dakotas,\u201d said Jeremiah Kossen, President and CEO of Town & Country Credit Union. \u201cSenator Heitkamp\u2019s bipartisan bill will ease the burden of regulation for credit unions and allow millions of Americans better access to mortgages and other loans, and we appreciate her efforts to strengthen the local financial institutions that keep rural America strong.\u201d\r\nClick here for additional statements of support from North Dakota and national financial institutions.\r\nIn the U.S. Senate, Heitkamp has been a leader in supporting local banks and making sure they have opportunities to succeed without facing undue regulations. In August 2013, she\u00a0brought Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Gruenberg to North Dakota\u00a0to hear directly from bankers in the state about the importance of local and community banks to helping small businesses and communities thrive. In March 2014, Heitkamp\u00a0urged President Obama to carefully consider the concerns of community banks\u00a0when naming a nominee for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and called on him to nominate someone to the Board who understands the lifelines community banks play in rural areas so those voices are heard.\r\nIn 2015, legislation introduced by Heitkamp was signed in to law\u00a0to reduce unnecessary burdens on community banks and local financial institutions by eliminating redundant, costly, and often ignored annual banking notifications, and instead require banks to alert customers only when privacy and information-sharing changes actually occur.\r\nThe bipartisan bill would:\r\n \r\nImprove consumer access to mortgage credit;\r\n \r\n \r\nProvide regulatory relief for small financial institutions and protects consumer access to credit;\r\n \r\n \r\nTailors regulations for banks to better reflect their business models;\r\n \r\n \r\nProtect consumers\u2019 credit by including a fraud alert in consumers\u2019 files for one year and providing a free credit freeze alert for parents to put on their children;\r\n \r\n \r\nProtect veterans\u2019 credit by prohibiting a credit reporting agency from including medical debt in reports;\r\n \r\n \r\nProtect seniors by extending immunity from liability to certain people who disclose suspected exploitation of seniors;\r\n \r\n \r\nProtect tenants from foreclosure by a re-imposing bill to protect tenants that was repealed in 2014; and\r\n \r\n \r\nProtect consumers from cyber security threats by requiring the Treasury Department to submit a report to Congress on the risks of cyber threats to financial institutions and the U.S. capital markets.\u00a0\r\n \r\nLegislative text is in the process of being finalized and will be released upon completion. Click here for a section-by-section summary.\r\nLast spring, the Senate Banking Committee issued a request for legislative proposals from organizations, companies, and consumers aimed at creating economic growth. The Committee subsequently held a series of hearings exploring the proposals, and has been negotiating and drafting a reform package since that time.\r\nOther U.S. Senators who helped introduce the bill include: Bob Corker (R-TN), Tom Cotton (R-AL), John Kennedy (R-LA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), David Perdue (R-GA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Tim Scott (R-SC), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Gary Peters (D-MI).\r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=028600E9-C86C-466A-8896-5462ED8404A5"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7803101800382137, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}