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Wall Street Journal: Housing Reform Breakout The House GOP moves to revive the private home mortgage market. New York Times: Diverging Debate at Fed on When to End Stimulus Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday that the Fed was likely to extend the centerpiece of its campaign to bolster the economy — keeping short-term interest rates close to zero — even as it prepares to wind down another key stimulus program that faces mounting internal opposition. Washington Examiner: Costs spiral for CFPB’s lavish new headquarters as Congress fumes Renovation costs for the Consumer Financ... Read More »

Wall Street Journal Editorial: Housing Reform Breakout One perverse result of the financial crisis is that Washington has nationalized housing finance. Taxpayers guarantee about 85% of new mortgages, some $5.1 trillion in mortgage credit and growing. So it's a big and welcome political breakthrough that House Republicans are taking steps to protect taxpayers and restore some rationality to housing markets. On Thursday, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling unveiled legislation to close down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, add much-needed discipline to the Federal Housing Administration... Read More »

Welcome back from the Independence Day break! We kick off the last four-week stretch of congressional activity before August with two suspensions and three hearings this week. 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 Monday the House is expected to consider H.R. 1564, the Audit Integrity and Job Protection Act and H.R. 1341, the Financial Competitive Act of 2013 under suspension of the rules. On Tuesday at 10 a.m. the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee ex... Read More »

At a time when Washington is awash in scandals over mass surveillance and political targeting, the CFPB is amassing tens of millions of your private financial records and consumer data. According to Investors Business Daily, the "massive database of personal information" includes "monthly credit card, mortgage, car and other payments," giving the bureau a snapshot of your bill-paying and spending habits. Unfortunately, this questionable seizure of private financial data is only half the story. Not only is the CFPB needlessly invading Americans' privacy, their actions could be putting you at gr... Read More »

Pennsylvania Congressman Keith Rothfus (Facebook | Twitter) delivers this week's Sunday Video Message. He shares his reaction to Wednesday's full committee hearing on "Too Big to Fail" in the post-Dodd-Frank world. Spoiler Alert! Dodd-Frank did not, does not and will not end Too Big to Fail. Read More »

Wall Street Journal: Regulators have created a mortgage minefield Incompatible and contradictory federal regulations -- including those in Dodd-Frank -- have created a mortgage minefield. The ultimate casualties will be the nascent housing recovery and the American home buyer. AEI: Overzealous intervention dooms the market Those who want government guarantees for mortgages see them as a path to encourage homeownership and market stability, but instead guarantees pose needless risks to homeowners and taxpayers. Government guarantees suffer from three flaws: the inability and unwillingness to pr... Read More »

Just one full day of committee activity for this week before the July 4th District Work Period. But be sure to check back here on the Bottom Line Blog -- and subscribe to our email lists -- for updates throughout the week. Here's what's happening: On Wednesday at 10 a.m. the full committee examines how Dodd-Frank could result in more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Later, at 2 p.m., the Housing & Insurance Subcommittee evaluates how HUD's Moving-to-Work Program benefits public and assisted housing residents. Read More »

Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Patrick McHenry delivers this week's Sunday Video Message. He discusses what we learned about the CFPB in this week's Financial Institutions and Oversight hearings. Read More »

On Tuesday, Members of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee examined the budget for the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) with the bureau's Chief Financial Officer. While the CFPB generally lacks oversight and accountability, one particular issue of concern raised at the hearing was the outrageously expensive planned renovation of the bureau's Washington headquarters. Initially thought to cost $55 million -- a sum greater than the annual construction and acquisition budget for all federal buildings -- the actual budget for the 1,200-employee bureau's headquarters renovation... Read More »

Congressman Bill Huizenga joined us to talk about H.R. 1135, the Burdensome Data Collection Relief Act. The bill repeals Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Act that requires all publicly traded companies to calculate and disclose the median annual total compensation of all employees and compare that number to the annual total compensation of the CEO in each SEC filing. While that sounds simple enough on paper, the real-world implications of Section 953 are substantial. As the congressman explains, the provision imposes significant administrative burdens on publicly traded companies while yieldi... Read More »