Mercatus | The Myth of Deregulation and the Financial Crisis Did “deregulation” cause the financial crisis? Our conclusion was that there was no measurable, net deregulation leading up to the financial crisis. Omaha World-Herald | Mortgage lending at risk if rules not delayed, banker says Without a delay of onerous Dodd-Frank mortgage regulations, some banks will stop or cut back on mortgage lending. Reuters | Fed official blasts White House handling of Bernanke succession The White House has handled the process of picking the next chair of the Federal Reserve "terribly," a top official at the... Read More »
Update: Chairman Hensarling Comments on Obama Administration’s Confirmation of $1.7 Billion Taxpayer-Funded Bailout for FHA Back in February, Chairman Hensarling cautioned that: "If the FHA were a private financial institution, likely somebody would be fired, somebody would be fined, or the institution would find itself in receivership." Instead, he added, "it is merely, and merrily, on its way to becoming the recipient of the next great taxpayer bailout." Echoing the chairman's warning, later that same month the Government Accountability Office (GAO) added FHA to its 'high risk' list of gover... Read More »
Chairman Hensarling Op-Ed | September 24, 2013 Pundits and politicians, including President Obama, used the recent anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse to once again blame a lack of government regulations for causing the financial crisis. The great tragedy of the financial crisis, however, was not that Washington regulations failed to prevent it, but instead that Washington regulations helped lead us into it. Federal policies designed to expand homeownership in an "off-budget" fashion encouraged lending to people who bought homes they could not afford to keep. Perhaps not surprisingly,... Read More »
Monetary Policy & Trade Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bill Huizenga (Twitter | Facebook) delivers this week's Sunday Video Message on the five year anniversary of the financial crisis. Read More »
Last week, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee questioned the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Inspector General, David Montoya, about reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in the department’s housing programs. All totaled, the latest IG report identified more than $770 million in questionable costs and included recommendations for putting $739.5 million in HUD funds to better use. In the above exchange with Rep. Ann Wagner, however, the IG raised another concern: the egregious length of time it takes HUD to implement audit findings. In one case related to now largely p... Read More »
The House is in session Tuesday through Friday this week and the committee has two scheduled hearings. Be sure to check back here on the Bottom Line Blog -- and sign up for our email updates -- for more information throughout the week. Here's what's happening: On Wednesday at 10 a.m. the Capital Markets & GSEs Subcommittee will examine the SEC's money market rule proposal. And on Thursday the full committee holds a legislative hearing on The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002. That hearing also beings at 10 a.m. Both hearings will be held in 2128 Rayburn HOB and will be streamed live on our ... Read More »
Financial Institutions & Consumer Credit Subcommittee Vice Chairman Sean Duffy (Twitter | Facebook) delivers this week's Sunday Video Message on our recent hearing with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray and his own legislation to curb the CFPB's collection of Americans' personal financial data. Read More »
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Deputy Director Steve Antonakes appeared before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit in July to discuss the CFPB’s data collection efforts. Below are just a few of the simple questions Mr. Antonakes was unprepared to answer: How much data is the CFPB collecting and from how many individual consumers? Does the CFPB have agreements with any foreign countries to provide them access to Americans' financial data? How many third-parties have access to the CFPB's data? Is CFPB data searchable by personally identifiable information? Has t... Read More »
Congress is back from the August District Work Period and in the Financial Services Committee, we're getting straight to work with three hearings in three days. Be sure to check back here on the Bottom Line Blog -- and sign up for our email updates -- for more information throughout the week. Here's what's happening: Leading off the week on Tuesday the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will hold a 10 a.m. hearing on reducing waste, fraud and abuse in housing programs as they examine the recommendations made by the HUD inspector general. On Wednesday afternoon the Monetary Policy and Tr... Read More »
House Financial Services Committee chairman talks U.S. housing reform By Kerri Ann Panchuk at Housing Wire Stepping in front of a hometown audience in Dallas, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling captured the local crowd with a simple joke: "Everything is bigger in Texas… except for me," the congressman jested, as he situated his small frame behind a tall podium. This showing of humility and earthiness warmed up the audience, creating an atmosphere for Hensarling that is far removed from the constant infighting in Washington, D.C. And despite the congressman’s willingnes... Read More »
