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Posted by
on
March 07, 2013
Many of the interest groups that directly benefit from large subsidizations in the housing market continue to state that Fannie and Freddie fell victim to the bad private market participants. This suggestion is completely false. It was government housing policy, coupled with loose money from the Federal Reserve, that caused the housing bubble and those are the areas where we must focus reform.
Posted by
on
March 01, 2013
"I believe… the economic challenges of our nation are fiscal in nature, not monetary. They cannot be solved by the Fed."
"There seems to be…a lot of evidence out there that the benefits of the low interest rate and quantitative easing are accruing primarily to the federal government, foreign governments and large banks.”
The Financial Services Committee hosted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for his semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress on Wednesday. Republicans repeatedly questioned the wisdom of the Fed’s controversial accommodative monetary policy, noting it enables reckless Washington spending and has failed to generate true economic growth, but could potentially result in long-term harm to the economy. Earlier in the week, the Committee debated and approved its views and estimates of the budget, which the President once again failed to produce on time. Democrats on the committee complained about the presence of the national debt clock at the committee markup (which was noted by the Daily Caller, the Drudge Report and others). “Washington’s spending-driven debt crisis and burdensome regulatory policies” – including the Dodd-Frank Act and its 400 regulations – “have produced an economy that seems stuck perpetually in neutral,” the committee noted in its official report (.pdf). Check out the Hearing Highlights below.
Posted by
on
February 19, 2013
On February 14, 2013 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) added the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to its list of government programs identified as “high risk due to their greater vulnerability to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement or the need for transformation”.
Posted by
on
February 15, 2013
Just one day after the Financial Services Committee held its second hearing in as many weeks on the shaky finances of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced it has added the FHA to its list of “High Risk” government programs. Every two years, GAO identifies programs that are at “high risk due to their greater vulnerability to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement or the need for transformation” to become more effective or efficient. This week’s hearing with Commissioner Carol Galante came amid growing concerns that the FHA will require a taxpayer-funded bailout and that FHA has strayed far from its historical mission of helping first-time homebuyers, low- and moderate-income families and higher risk borrowers who are otherwise creditworthy. Today, the FHA has expanded its role to offer insurance to millions of Americans, using many of the same practices employed by subprime lenders at the height of the housing boom-turned-bust. As a result, the FHA is potentially hurting those it was designed to help.
Posted by
on
October 22, 2012
The bipartisan JOBS Act, which originated in the Financial Services Committee and was passed by Congress earlier this year, is working to boost the economy. A report in the Charlotte Observer notes that provisions of the act are helping community banks to trim regulatory costs and save money – money that can be pumped back into local economies, start small businesses and create jobs. At a time when the over-regulation and red tape of the Dodd-Frank Act is driving up their expenses, community banks are getting some much needed relief thanks to the JOBS Act. Read the Charlotte Observer report below: Small banks use law to cut regulatory costs Published in the Charlotte Observer They’ve been able to trim or avoid regulatory costs at a time when the ongoing implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law has generally driven up their expenses. “It is a small piece of good news in an otherwise bleak landscape,” said B.T. Atkinson, a partner at law firm Bryan Cave LLP, which represents community banks. He said banks would be able to save, on average, about $250,000. Signed into law April 5, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act passed with broad bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. It’s generally intended to make it easier for small companies to raise money. Several provisions apply specifically to community banks. The primary one deals with the maximum number of investors a bank may have if it wishes to remove its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission – a move that saves money and time. The maximum was raised from 300 investors to 1,200 – making many more banks eligible to deregister. As of last week, nearly 100 banks around the country had filed to deregister with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to data compiled by SNL Financial. Five of them were based in North Carolina, tying the state for second-most behind Virginia. Blueharbor Bank, based in Mooresville, announced the decision to do so in August as a way to cut down on the legal and accounting expenses that come with being registered. “We just saw that as an opportunity to help cut some costs and try to be good stewards of our shareholders’ resources,” CEO Jim Marshall said, saying the bank will be able to save the equivalent of a mid-level executive’s salary per year. “We have 18 employees, so that’s a nice savings.” In the past, many community banks kept their shareholder counts low to avoid having to register. But Marshall said his bank felt it was more valuable to have a greater number of local shareholders, so Blueharbor decided to keep its minimum investment low. The tradeoff was the greater regulatory cost – which has now been taken away. “This JOBS Act allowed us to have the best of both worlds right now,” Marshall said. On the flip side, for banks that have not registered with the SEC, the JOBS Act raised the threshold for having to register from 500 investors to 2,000. That’s allowing Charlotte-based NewDominion Bank to bring a number of local business people into the fold without exceeding the cap as the bank works on a $30 million capital raise. In the bank’s initial offering, it had 374 shareholders – already close to the former threshold, Chief Operating Officer Marc Bogan said. In its current capital raise, to comply with the old standard, the minimum investment would have had to be about $250,000. Now, NewDominion can gain shareholders who put in around $10,000. “They get to be a part of helping build a bank in their community,” Bogan said. After an initial surge of banks deregistering with the SEC under the JOBS Act, the pace has slowed in recent months, SNL Financial said. But Atkinson of Bryan Cave said he believes a number of small banks are still weighing their options and may wade in at the start of the next fiscal year. “It gives a nice opportunity for banks in that position to eliminate the burden of being a public reporting company where they weren’t getting any benefit,” he said.
Posted by
on
October 10, 2012
Some Washington politicians and supposed media “fact checkers” have been falling over themselves the last few days busily defending the Dodd-Frank Act. But rather than rely on what the politicians and Beltway pundits think, Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee actually did something quite remarkable by Washington standards: we asked small town community bankers, financial institutions and small business operators what THEY think about the Dodd-Frank Act. After all, they are the ones who have to live under Dodd-Frank’s more than 400 new regulations.
Posted by
on
August 20, 2012
By Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer
I was more than a little annoyed recently during a committee hearing with a government official who seemed intent on defending an agency created by the troubling Dodd-Frank Act that is more interested in navel gazing than helping our nation’s small businesses. During the hearing, a leading deputy at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFBP), created by Dodd-Frank, was unable to justify exactly what this so-called consumer protection agency has actually achieved on behalf of consumers. After two years, the official provided me with vague answers as to the group’s actual accomplishments. The situation was even more exasperating for me because, in the two years since the passage of Dodd-Frank, I have heard over and over again from citizens and business owners who are frustrated with the legislation. Dodd-Frank was supposed to address the causes of the 2008 financial crisis that rippled through every part of our economy. Instead, we have a 884- page law that doesn’t address the root causes of the crisis – for example, it never even mentions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – but is making life a lot more difficult for Main Street by drowning our small business owners under 400 new rules and mandates and restricting access to credit. Clearly, this bill has done more to harm Main Street than fix Wall Street and the CFPB is one of those glaring reasons why. Designed to implement and enforce financial consumer law to ensure all consumers have access to consumer financial products and that services are fair, transparent and competitive, the CFPB cannot show that it actually has done any of that. In fact, it is making credit harder to come by, which makes it harder for businesses to expand, grow, and hire. CFPB also specifically places consumer protection ahead of safety and soundness of financial institutions. I am all for strong consumer protections, but as a former bank regulator for our state, I know firsthand that putting safety and soundness of the banks and credit unions that hold your deposits behind other priorities is the wrong way to go. With unemployment still at an astounding 8.2 percent, it is even more important than ever that Congress repeal job-killing parts of Dodd-Frank that will help to create a sense of certainty again. I believe that the CFPB is part of the problem, not the solution, when it comes to creating an environment in which our small businesses can succeed. In my opinion, Dodd-Frank is proving to be yet another example of onerous and costly rules on folks and burdening small businesses with unnecessary mandates that hinder our nation’s number one job creators from creating much-needed jobs.
Posted by
on
August 16, 2012
By Rep. Robert Hurt
At a time when uncertainty from Washington has led us to nearly three-and-a-half years of more than 8 percent unemployment nationally, folks in Washington, D.C., are still calling for higher taxes and a bigger federal government that will only lead to more uncertainty. Just this past week, I traveled along Route 40, stopping in Kenbridge, Victoria, Keysville, Charlotte Court House, Phenix, Brookneal, Gretna, Penhook and Rocky Mount. Having met with local business owners, local officials and families along the way, I can tell you that the private sector is not doing fine in Virginia’s 5th District. The resounding message they delivered was that over-regulation and big government policies that have been put forth in Washington, D.C., are strangling their businesses and harming their communities. We just learned recently that the national unemployment rate is on the rise, and that can certainly be felt in a very real way in Virginia’s 5th District. All along Route 40, local business owners relayed to me their concerns with the size of the federal government and their fear that it is on a path to only continue growing larger and larger. They are already tied down with federal regulations, and now they have watched as the president and the Senate, in the past month, have called for higher taxes. On top of the president’s health care taxes, high fuel prices and mountains of new regulations in the past three years, the threat of higher taxes on Dec. 31, 2012, has renewed fears for our small business owners in the 5th District and across the country. One local business owner in Danville recently told me, “This business climate creates the question whether it is worthwhile to take business risks, if the rewards of profit must be handed to the federal government instead of reinvested in my business and staff.” And this sums up the sentiment of most that I talk to – instead of creating jobs, our small business owners are left with thinner and thinner margins as the government continues to take more and more. But the House has acted to address the tax hike and to improve the economic environment. Just last month, we voted to prevent tax increases for all Americans. And since January 2011, we have been hard at work rolling back unnecessary regulations. Part of that effort includes a bill that I introduced, the Preserving Rural Resources Act, which passed through committee and can now be considered by the full House of Representatives. This legislation will curb burdensome regulations on our local farmers, saving them thousands of dollars and allowing them to create the jobs our communities need. You can read more about this legislation at hurt.house.gov. As the House continues its work on reducing uncertainty and making it easier for our small businesses and family farmers to succeed, it is my hope that the Senate and the president will listen to the will of the American people like those that I spoke with along Route 40 this past week. They should heed their calls and join with us in advancing pro-growth policies, like the Preserving Rural Resources Act and like extending tax cuts for all Americans, so we can reignite our private sector, renew this downtrodden economy and get Central and Southside Virginians back to work.
Posted by
on
August 13, 2012
One of the most significant accomplishments of the Financial Services Committee during the 112th Congress is passage of the JOBS Act. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) removes government barriers to job creation and economic activity. The JOBS Act, comprised of six bills that originated in and were originally approved by the Committee, is designed to help startups and entrepreneurs get off the ground, access capital and create jobs. These initiatives all received strong bipartisan support in Congress and from the President’s Jobs Council and the business community.
The JOBS Act Will Help Get Americans Back To Work. House Republicans have consistently offered solutions to create an environment that promotes job creation and allows our small businesses to grow. Republicans are focused on eliminating government barriers to an economic recovery. The JOBS Act will jumpstart our economy and restore opportunities for America’s primary job creators: our small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs.
Posted by
on
July 27, 2012
Rep. Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, on Thursday responded to criticism that regulators have completed “less than half” of the 400 new regulations in the Dodd-Frank Act by blaming House Republicans for cutting the budgets of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). “It is true that when the Republicans took over the House, they cut the funding for two of the most important agencies that got new responsibilities.” -- Rep. Frank, CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Here are the facts about funding: SEC FUNDING* CFTC FUNDING* *Source: Congressional Research Service |