Out of an interest in protecting Wall Street from new regulations following the 2008 financial crisis, the Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity opposed the Dodd Frank Act from its inception. Once it became law in 2010, AFP then encouraged members of Congress to vote in favor of subsequent efforts to repeal the measure.

According to AFP, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau – an agency created by Dodd Frank and charged with protecting consumers from predatory financial products and services – is somehow “ill-named,” and thus the law should be repealed.

AFP’s concerns with nomenclature don’t stop there, with the group criticizing regulations surrounding banks’ “so-called systemic risk.”

AFP Identified 9 Votes Against Wall Street Reform Or Regulation Legislation As Key Votes. Americans for Prosperity’s online scorecards of key votes in the 110th, 111th, 112th and 113th Congresses included 8 votes on financial industry regulation or reform legislation. All but one of those votes concerned passage, repeal or delay of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or selected provisions of it. Those votes were 2012 House vote 151, 2012 Senate vote 98, 2011 House vote 277, 2011 Senate vote 86, 2011 Senate vote 77, 2010 House vote 413, 2010 Senate vote 160, 2009 House vote 968 and 2007 Senate vote 139. [AFP Scorecards for the 110th, 111th, 112th and 113th Congresses, Viewed 4/16/14]

AFP Opposed The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform And Consumer Protection Act. According to Americans for Prosperity’s congressional scorecard for the 111th Congress, AFP backed a “No” vote on 2010 Senate vote 206, which was on ending debate on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act conference report. [AFP Scorecard for the 111th Congress, 1/10/11; Senate Vote 206, 7/15/10]

AFP Opposed The Senate Version Of The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. According to Americans for Prosperity’s congressional scorecard for the 111th Congress, AFP’s position on 2010 Senate vote 160, described as being on “invok[ing] cloture on S. Amdt. No. 3739: Dodd-Frank financial reform bill,” was “No.” [AFP Scorecard for the 111th Congress, 1/10/11]

2011: AFP Backed House Bill Repealing Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform And Consumer Protection Act. According to a January 2011 letter to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) posted on AFP’s website, “On behalf of more than 1.5 million Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I am writing to applaud your introduction of H.R. 87, a bill to repeal the so-called Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This bill greatly expands bureaucratic control over the financial sector and is sure to have a litany of unintended consequences that will hamper the economic recovery, limit the availability of credit and harm those the bill was intended to protect. […] Americans for Prosperity is proud to support your legislation. I urge your colleagues to support its passage and look forward to working with you in the future.” [Letter from AFP Director of Government Affairs James Valvo to Rep. Bachmann, 1/14/11]

AFP Scored Vote On DeMint Amendment To Repeal Dodd-Frank In Congressional Ratings. According to Americans for Prosperity, On behalf of more than 1.7 million Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I write to advise you of three pending key votes on amendments in the U.S. Senate. AFP will rate the following amendment votes in our congressional ratings.[…] Key Vote #3: DeMint Amendment to Repeal the Dodd-Frank Financial Regulatory Bill. The impetus behind the Dodd-Frank bill was purportedly to end “too big to fail.” However, the bill does no such thing; it actually gives regulators the power to bailout firms with so-called systemic risk. The bill also created the ill-named Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, now being stood up by Financial Czar Elizabeth Warren. The creation of another unelected and unaccountable czar with power over consumer finance is reason enough to repeal the bill. Repeal would also eliminate the Durbin Amendment, which establishes price controls on debit card interchange fees.” [Americans for Prosperity, 6/14/11]

AFP: Dodd-Frank Is An “Inquisition Against Banking.” According to a legislative alert Americans for Prosperity, “The banking sector in the United States took a major hit in 2008. Initially this was due to the economic losses suffered by the financial crash. However, with the inquisition against banking imposed by the Dodd-Frank law, the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the mortgage settlement, it’s clear that banking in the United States faces a scary future of regulation and high costs with the government second-guessing every decision. This won’t just impact the banks, but it will turn around and ultimately hit consumers worst of all. Imposing costs on banks, like making them pay for damages based on past financial practices, ultimately get borne by the consumer if they mount up quickly enough.” [Americans for Prosperity Legislative Alert, 8/23/12]