Presidential Credit Availability and Economic Recovery Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Presidential Credit Availability and 
Economic Recovery Act''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds and declares that:
            (1) Adequate credit is necessary for the revitalization and 
        growth for all sectors of our economy.
            (2) Financial institutions are subject to layers of 
        unnecessary regulations, some of which, impose large costs 
        without increasing the safety and soundness of our financial 
        system.
            (3) The regulatory burden amounts to a tax on our financial 
        systems that has been estimated by the Federal Financial 
        Institutions Examination Council to be as high as 
        $17,000,000,000.
            (4) This regulatory burden cost is draining capital from 
        financial institutions and significantly contributing to the 
        lack of available credit for small business.
            (5) The lack of available credit for small businesses 
        hampers the growth of small businesses and is directly 
        contributing to the high rate of unemployment in the United 
        States.
            (6) The overwhelming majority of new jobs are created by 
        small businesses in the United States.
            (7) The President should be given the authority to provide 
        financial institutions with relief from this regulatory burden 
        in order to provide immediate credit relief to all sectors of 
        the economy, especially credit worthy small businesses and to 
        sustain economic growth.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to authorize the President to increase the availability 
        of credit,
            (2) to enhance the economic recovery, and
            (3) to provide sustained noninflationary economic growth,
through the immediate suspension of laws, rules, regulations, and 
guidelines that impose unnecessarily burdensome costs on insured 
depository institutions.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

    As used in this Act, the term ``insured depository institution'' 
has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Act.

SEC. 5. PRESIDENTIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the President shall conduct a thorough review and 
evaluation of all statutory and regulatory provisions affecting insured 
depository institutions. This review shall include--
            (1) an analysis of the purposes of the provision;
            (2) the effectiveness of the provision in achieving such 
        purposes;
            (3) whether any other provision provides an alternative or 
        duplicative means of achieving those purposes;
            (4) the cost imposed by compliance with such provisions 
        upon insured depository institutions and consumers; and
            (5) the relationship between such provision, its compliance 
        costs, and the availability of credit in the United States.
    (b) Authority To Suspend.--The President may, by executive order, 
suspend the applicability of--
            (1) any Federal law affecting insured depository 
        institutions or depository institution holding companies (or 
        any portion thereof); and
            (2) any regulation or guideline promulgated by a Federal 
        banking agency (or any portion thereof);
if the President makes a determination described in subsection (c).
    (c) Determination.--For the purpose of subsection (b), a 
determination is described in this subsection if it is a determination 
that--
            (1) the law, regulation, or guideline has already 
        accomplished its goal and the law, regulation, or guideline is 
        therefore no longer necessary;
            (2) the law, regulation, or guideline is not as effective 
        in achieving its intended purpose as other available 
        alternatives that would impose lesser costs on financial 
        institutions, their customers, or the economy;
            (3) the cost of compliance with the law, regulation, or 
        guideline outweighs the potential benefits sought to be 
        accomplished by the law, regulation, or guideline; or
            (4) the law, regulation, or guideline has a negative impact 
        on the availability of credit in the United States which 
        outweighs the benefits sought to be accomplished by the law, 
        regulation, or guideline.
    (d) Publication and Effective Date.--A Presidential order issued 
pursuant to this section shall be published in the Federal Register, 
and shall become effective 30 days after such publication, unless the 
President, for good cause, determines that a shorter period is 
necessary and in the public interest.

SEC. 6. CONSULTATION AND NOTIFICATION.

    (a) Consultation.--Prior to making a finding under section 5 that a 
law, regulation, or guideline is to be suspended, the President shall 
consult with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairperson of the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Chairman of the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the 
Currency, and the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision.
    (b) Notification.--The President shall notify the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives 
prior to issuing any order under section 5.

SEC. 7. RESTRICTIONS.

    Nothing in this Act authorizes the President to suspend any law, 
regulation, or guideline--
            (1) that is necessary for the safe and sound operation of 
        insured depository institutions; or
            (2) that--
                    (A) prohibits discrimination in the provision of 
                financial services based on race, sex, national origin, 
                marital status, or age;
                    (B) relates directly to the conduct of monetary 
                policy; or
                    (C) pertains to an enforcement proceeding or 
                supervisory action with respect to a particular 
                institution or party.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall be effective on the date of its enactment.

SEC. 9. SUNSET.

    The authority of the President to suspend any law, regulation, or 
guideline under this Act shall terminate on January 1, 1997.

Summary: Presidential Credit Availability and Economic Recovery Act - Directs the President to conduct a specified review and evaluation of all statutory and regulatory provisions affecting insured depository institutions. Authorizes the President to suspend such provisions upon making determinations that a regulatory scheme is no longer useful or is not cost-effective. Requires the President to consult with specified agencies before making a finding that a regulatory scheme should be suspended and to notify certain congressional committees before issuing an order to suspend. Sets a termination date for the President's authority to issue such order.