Subcommittee Examines the Financial Stability Oversight Council ("FSOC") The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on Wednesday to examine FSOC's operations, policies, and procedures. The subcommittee discussed the FSOC's failure to address recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and highlighted the need for greater transparency and accountability. "The FSOC may well be the least transparent federal entity in the government. Of the 42 meetings held, no substantive description of discussions or members' perspective have been provided in the meeting min... Read More »
Subcommittee Reviews the Credit Reporting System On Wednesday the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee held a hearing to review the roles and responsibilities of consumer reporting agencies. "According to the FTC, nearly 20% of Americans have errors on their credit report. Furthermore, 5% of Americans have errors that could expose them to higher interest rates or lose access to consumer credit through no fault of their own," said Subcommittee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). "Today we will learn more about the systems that credit bureaus have in place to resolve discrepanc... Read More »
On Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee will hold a hearing to review the roles and responsibilities of consumer reporting agencies. Read More »
Dozens of CFPB workers say “the bureau’s lack of accountability is enabling managers to create their own minifiefdoms, stock the ranks with inexperienced and unqualified friends and retaliate against anybody who disagrees” Bureaucrats gone wild: Feds describe racial hostility, discrimination inside new Obama agency America's newest federal agency, charged with regulating financial institutions to prevent another hostile economic downturn, is having troubles regulating hostilities and discrimination among its own employees. Evidence gathered by congressional investigators, internal agency docum... Read More »
e•gre•gious -- outstandingly bad; shocking. “While You’re Away on Vacation…” Before President Obama leaves tomorrow for his Martha’s Vineyard vacation, we have a suggested day-trip he could make when he gets bored after his umpteenth round of golf and the inevitable campaign fundraiser: he could visit the millions of taxpayer dollars “invested” by the Export-Import Bank into Evergreen Solar between 2009-2010. It’s just a 3-hour drive from Martha’s Vineyard (even quicker with Air Force One!). Oh, wait. Nope. Never mind. He CAN’T visit Evergreen Solar. In 2011, the company filed for bankruptcy, ... Read More »
Committee Passes Federal Reserve Accountability and Bipartisan Regulatory Relief Bills On Wednesday the Full Committee passed 6 bills to provide transparency and accountability at the Federal Reserve, regulatory relief for the economy, and re-authorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act. The Federal Reserve Accountability and Transparency Act (H.R. 5018) is legislation developed as part of the Committee’s Federal Reserve Centennial Oversight Project launched at the end of last year. Under the bill, the Fed would adopt a more predictable rules-based policy -- of t... Read More »
e·gre·gious -- outstandingly bad; shocking. “A Wealth of Political Connections” Connects Troubled Foreign Company to U.S. Taxpayers What do U.S. taxpayers, former Vice President Al Gore and former Gov. Bill Richardson have in common? Not long ago, Ex-Im’s taxpayer-backed loans for Abengoa were featured as an Egregious Ex-Im Deal of the Day. Today, the company (and Ex-Im’s ties to it) are back in the news…and not in a good way. We’ll let the Washington Free Beacon take it from here in its report: “Former Employees Allege Widespread Illegality at Taxpayer-Backed Solar Company”. “A solar company ... Read More »
e·gre·gious -- outstandingly bad; shocking. Did an Ex-Im Project Lead to 27 Deaths? The Export-Import Bank’s approval of $3 billion in financing for a liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea reportedly led to the deaths of 27 villagers who were killed on January 24, 2012 in a massive landslide. Three environmental and development groups – Pacific Environment, Jubilee Australia and the International Accountability Project – warned Ex-Im about the project’s “several environmental, social and human rights impacts” before and after the Bank approved the $3 billion loan. One report said ... Read More »
e·gre·gious -- outstandingly bad; shocking. The Ex-Im Bank: A “Petri Dish” of Corruption? With a House committee preparing to examine allegations of corruption at the Export-Import Bank, it’s an appropriate time to remember a couple of other instances involving corruption from Ex-Im’s history. Former Congressman Bill Jefferson (D-LA), famous for having $90,000 in cash in his freezer, is in federal prison today because he was bribed for promising to steer Ex-Im assistance to favored companies. An Ex-Im Bank employee was indicted for taking a $100,000 bribe in the same case as Jefferson. Employ... Read More »
Committee Reviews the Dodd-Frank Act on its 4-year Anniversary On Wednesday, the full committee held a hearing to assess the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on America’s Main Street economy and hard-working American taxpayers on its 4th anniversary of being signed into law. "It wasn’t deregulation; it was bad regulation that helped lead us into this crisis. So if you get the wrong diagnosis you get the wrong remedy. Dodd-Frank has been the wrong remedy, adding incomprehensible complexity to incomprehensible complexity," said Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). "So at the time Dodd-Frank was passed, ... Read More »
