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Committee Pushes for Accountability and Transparency Reforms at the Federal Reserve Republicans at this week’s hearing with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen raised questions about how much influence the executive branch holds over the central bank and argued in favor of accountability reforms to both protect the Fed’s independence in its conduct of monetary policy and to help give the economy greater certainty. In its coverage of the hearing, the Associated Press reported that Republicans on the committee “challenged the central bank’s lack of accountability” Members “seized on Ms. Yellen’s ... Read More »

“If independence is an issue, than we really ought to examine the independence of the Fed from the executive branch of government. That’s where the real threat is, not from the legislative branch” CLICK HERE TO WATCH House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) was interviewed on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Wednesday following the committee’s hearing with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. You can watch the entire interview by clicking on the image, and below are excerpts that may be of particular interest. On his reaction to Chair Yellen’s testimony: “Well, I was disappointed ... Read More »

1). The Ex-Im Bank may harm as many jobs as it claims to support. Government export finance assistance programs like Ex-Im “largely shift production among sectors within the economy rather than raise the overall level of employment in the economy.” - Government Accountability Office, “Export-Import Bank: Key Factors in Considering Ex-Im Bank Reauthorization” “[A]t best the Ex-Im Bank creates jobs in export industries by destroying jobs in non-export industries.” – Donald Boudreaux, Ph.D, Professor of Economics at George Mason University “By some estimates, the [Ex-Im] Bank’s loan guarantees ha... Read More »

Committee Examines Risky Practices at FHA The committee held a hearing on Wednesday to examine the fiscal health of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and heard testimony from Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro. "We all recall the famous admonition from Spanish philosopher Santayana who said, 'Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' History has taught us that the root cause of the financial crisis was not deregulation but dumb regulation and helping put people into homes they could not afford to keep. Now the FHA, with exceedingly low down payme... Read More »

Several months ago this blog noted that Australia’s richest citizen secured a nearly $700 million loan for a new mining project from American taxpayers thanks to the U.S. Export-Import. Now the Australian Business Review is reporting that the project “is set for very large losses.” In the short term, the capital costs for Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill mine are almost certain to blow out — and a lower iron ore price will make matters worse. If the current iron ore price decline continues into 2017 and beyond, then Gina Rinehart’s massive $10 billion Roy Hill mine project is set for very large losses... Read More »

Subcommittee Examines Legal and Ethical Violations at HUD The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee heard testimony at its hearing on Wednesday that senior officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development broke federal law and faced minor consequences for various ethical and legal violations. In its coverage of the hearing testimony, the Washington Post reported the alleged violations include financial fraud, sexual harassment, nepotism and conflicts of interest. "I want to make clear to committee members that these are different allegations against different employees in diffe... Read More »

Washington ‘Rolling the Dice’ Again on Risky Housing Schemes At a hearing on Tuesday, members of the committee voiced their strong concerns to the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency regarding recent FHFA actions that could repeat the same mistakes that led to the financial crisis. "Contrary to the fable told by the left, the root cause of the financial crisis was not deregulation but dumb regulation. Regulations and statutes that either incented or mandated financial institutions to loan money to people to buy homes they ultimately could not afford to keep. Exhibit one, Fannie and ... Read More »

CLICK HERE TO WATCH In this week's FSC Video Message, members give their thoughts on the president’s State of the Union speech. Read More »

Committee Adopts Oversight Plan On Wednesday the Committee voted unanimously to adopt the Committee's oversight plan for the 114th Congress. "No one in Washington – Republican or Democrat – should ever be allowed to carelessly spend the hard-eared taxpayers’ money. And that is why this committee will continually and vigilantly monitor every agency and every program under our jurisdiction. Hopefully we feel this is a bipartisan mission and a bipartisan commitment," said Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). "If a program isn’t working, if it does more harm than good, it is time to reform it or it is ... Read More »

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) will appear on CSPAN’s Newsmakers this Sunday, January 25th at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. ET. The Chairman will offer his thoughts on the President’s State of the Union speech, fundamental tax reform, the economy, and the need for Congress to pass sustainable housing finance reform. ### Read More »