Yesterday the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) put hardworking taxpayers at greater risk of being forced to fund yet another Wall Street bailout. Under their Dodd-Frank authority, the FSOC took preliminary steps to designate several non-bank financial institutions, including AIG, Prudential Financial and GE Capital, as “systemically important financial institutions” (SIFIs). That’s regulator speak for “too big to fail” (TBTF). Designating any company as ‘too big to fail’ is bad policy and even worse economics. So while Dodd-Frank supporters see these designations as progress and AI... Read More »
On Wednesday the Capital Markets & GSEs Subcommittee will hold our only scheduled hearing for the week examining the market power and impact of proxy advisory firms. But don’t get too comfortable. Next week we’ve scheduled four hearings, including a full committee hearing on alternative housing finance models as part of our effort to forge a sustainable housing finance system. As always, be sure to check back here on the Bottom Line Blog -- and subscribe to our email lists -- for updates throughout the week. Read More »
Phil Gramm and Steve McMillin: The Debt Problem Hasn’t Vanished President Obama has raised the national debt by nearly $6.2 trillion, the equivalent of $78,385 per family of four. It is true that projected deficits recently have been reduced…But unless the economy soars, or a significant budget agreement is reached, the most lasting legacy of the Obama presidency will be a $10 trillion increase in the national debt—a burden that bodes ill for the nation's future. George Will: Appeals court limits labor board’s lawlessness Early in an opinion issued recently by a unanimous three-judge panel of ... Read More »
During the first term of the Obama administration, our nation racked up four straight years of trillion dollar-plus deficits and as much debt as was accumulated in our first 200 years. Under President Obama, our national debt has increased by more than $6 trillion – the largest increase under any president in history. But according to President Obama's Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew, it’s time to pop open the champagne and celebrate because “we are overachieving on deficit reduction right now". That’s funny, because it wasn’t that long ago when a $642 billion budget deficit and a $17 trillion na... Read More »
Yesterday's Monetary Policy & Trade Subcommittee hearing showed a heartbreaking example of the unintended consequences of uninformed legislative action. Congressman Mick Muvaley explains in the video above how a provision buried deep within the 2,300-page Dodd-Frank Act is hurting the very people it was supposed to help in the war-torn central African nation of the Congo. The provision – added to Dodd-Frank as Section 1502 without any congressional hearings – requires public companies to certify their supply chains are free of any and all “conflict minerals” originating in the Democratic Repu... Read More »
Chairman Jeb Hensarling joined Fox Business's Neil Cavuto last night in advance of today's hearing with Treasury Secretary Jacob "Jack" Lew. Today's hearing is Secretary Lew's first appearance before the House Financial Services Committee. The scandal at the IRS is an issue that should rise above partisanship. It hits at the heart of who we are as a people, and why we fight for justice and fear such a large, powerful government that clearly has become “too big to manage.” What the IRS did was wrong because it tries to turn our citizens into subjects. It is wrong because it violates both our co... Read More »
By Phil Gramm and Steve McMillin President Obama has raised the national debt by nearly $6.2 trillion, the equivalent of $78,385 per family of four. It is true that projected deficits recently have been reduced. April tax filings increased 28% from 2012, but much of this was thanks to a one-time rush at the end of 2012 to report income before rates rose in January. The second largest reduction in the deficit came from Fannie Mae taking a one-time accounting adjustment. But unless the economy soars, or a significant budget agreement is reached, the most lasting legacy of the Obama presidency w... Read More »
Tomorrow, Treasury Secretary Lew will deliver his annual report on the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). Here’s three things you need to know about FSOC: 1. The FSOC is failing to effectively monitor and mitigate systemic risk The Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted in an audit report to Congress in September 2012, the FSOC has “not developed a structure that supports having a systematic or comprehensive process for identifying potential emerging threats.” And just last month, witnesses testifying on behalf of the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ... Read More »
Five hearings -- including Treasury Secretary Lew’s first testimony before a House committee since the IRS scandal -- make for another busy week at the House Financial Services Committee. 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 Tuesday the Financial Institutions Subcommittee kicks off the week with a hearing on the CFPB’s “ability to repay” rule at 10 a.m. And later, the Monetary Policy & Trade Subcommittee explores the unintended consequences of Dodd-Frank’s conflict minerals provis... Read More »
Wall Street Journal: How to Let Too-Big-To-Fail Banks Fail Dodd-Frank does not end the threat of taxpayer bailouts. A reform to the bankruptcy code will do the trick. The Hill: Implementing the vision of financial reform There are three distinct phases of leadership when attempting to implement change: vision, structure and implementation. This same process can be applied to congressional leadership regarding U.S. financial reform. Bloomberg: The Question the Fed Should Be Asking Ed Koch, the late mayor of New York City, used to stop residents on the street and ask, “How am I doing?” With next... Read More »
