Dodd-Frank and the End of the Ban on Horsemeat

Barney Frank

The House Committee on Financial Services—which Barney Frank chaired up until now—is voting to revise key provisions of Dodd-Frank.

Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs John Berlau comments.

“Democrats supporting these bills will say this is not a reversal of Dodd-Frank, it’s a clarification. They will say the regulators got it wrong, and the law never intended for farm co-ops to be regulated as ‘swap dealers,’ or for airlines and manufacturers to be forced to put up billions more in cash to buy derivatives to hedge oil prices. But the fact that the original law’s language in this area was so broad and vague highlights the flaws of the process under which Dodd-Frank was rammed through Congress in 2010.”

Horsemeat

This month, Congress lifted the federal ban on horsemeat.

Fellow in Regulatory Studies Ryan Young comments.

“[The ban] actually made them worse off. Some older horses unable to do farm work that would have been slaughtered were instead mistreated, neglected, or abandoned. Last year, about 138,000 horses were taken to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico, defeating the very purpose of the ban. Recognizing its failure, the ban was lifted earlier this month. Congress and President Obama did the right thing. Now at least one slaughterhouse is expected to open in the next few months. That should create a few jobs at a time when a lot of people could really use one. Most of the meat will be exported to Europe and Asia, since horsemeat doesn’t appeal to American tastebuds.”