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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 »

Capital Markets & GSE Subcommittee Chairman Scott Garrett stopped by to tell us about H.R. 1062, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act. H.R. 1062 is common-sense legislation that essentially codifies President Obama's Executive Order No. 13563 with regard to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Read More »

At today's oversight hearing with SEC Chairman Mary Jo White, Chairman Hensarling said the IRS scandal causes Americans to wonder “just how pervasive the IRS’s tactics of harassment” are within the administration and whether a proposal before the SEC raises similar concerns that political opponents of the administration could be targeted. Click here for his full opening statement. Here's what they're saying; Bloomberg Businessweek: SEC’s White Rebuffs Call to Forswear Political Spending Rule Representative Jeb Hensarling, the Texas Republican who leads the Financial Services Committee, sought ... Read More »

Yesterday, Capital Markets & GSE Subcommittee Chairman Scott Garrett held a roundtable discussion on stock market structure in New York. Before the event, Rep. Garrett took a few minutes to speak to CNBC’s Bob Pisani about the roundtable as well as his broader thoughts on the Securities and Exchange Commission in light of this week’s hearing with SEC Chairman Mary Jo White. Read More »