Read on Medium In a new report, the Dallas Federal Reserve acknowledged what we all know to be true: community banks are being crushed by the Dodd-Frank Act. The report specifically warned of the consequences of the regulatory burden on small banks saying: “…more than five years after [Dodd-Frank]… smaller community banks are finding it increasingly tough to survive...” “Smaller community banks appear to have a valid concern that their compliance burden is rising and the playing field is becoming more uneven.” The report went on to say: “Regulatory oversight should match the level of risk an i... Read More »
Subcommittee Questions CFPB's Consumer Data Collection Practice On Wednesday the Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing to find answers regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) collection of consumer data. Subcommittee Chairman Sean Duffy (R-WI) warned, "We don’t know – and the American people don’t know – how much personally identifiable information the CFPB retains, how that data is protected and what the Bureau plans to do with all that data." The American Banker reported on Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick's (R-PA) concerns regarding ongoing ... Read More »
Unsustainably low rates didn’t solve the problem. If they had, Americans wouldn’t be stuck in the slowest, worst-performing economic recovery of our lifetimes. Too many people are trapped in part-time work and more Americans than ever before have left the workforce all together. We can and must do better. We need economically sustainable rates. The real question isn’t whether the Fed should be raising interest rates or lowering interest rates; it’s whether the rates are economically sustainable. Market-based interest rates are better for consumers, investors and our economy overall. A more pr... Read More »
Committee Passes Bipartisan Bills Aimed at Economic Growth and Consumer Protection The Financial Services Committee on Wednesday approved several bipartisan bills designed to protect consumers, grow the economy and strengthen government transparency. The committee also voted to extend the Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing so it can continue examining how the U.S. can improve its ability to stem the flow of terrorist financing. Chairman Jeb Hensarling remarked, "I am proud that the Financial Services Committee continues to pass bipartisan legislation, all focused on the priorities o... Read More »
House Passes Hensarling's Amendment Including 15 Bipartisan Financial Services Bills On Thursday the House of Representatives passed a five-year highway bill that includes Chairman Jeb Hensarling's (R-TX) amendment of 15 bipartisan financial services bills. These bills have all previously passed the House as stand-alone measures with strong bipartisan support. Chairman Hensarling remarked on the passage of his amendment, "It is very difficult to come by bipartisan bills, but I am proud to say that the House Financial Services Committee has passed numerous pieces of bipartisan legislation. The... Read More »
House Passes Federal Reserve Transparency and Consumer Protection Bills This week the House of Representatives passed seven bipartisan Financial Services Committee bills, including bills to make the Federal Reserve more transparent and accountable and to protect consumers from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) harmful regulatory actions. The Fed Oversight Reform and Modernization (FORM) Act, H.R. 3189 sponsored by Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (R-MI), requires the central bank’s monetary policy to be clear and credible, and its regulatory actions... Read More »
Committee Passes Bills to Make Financial Regulators Accountable to Hardworking Taxpayers On Wednesday, the Financial Services Committee passed oversight bills to bring greater accountability and transparency to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and its research arm, the Office of Financial Research (OFR). Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) remarked, "Dodd-Frank increases the power and control that largely unaccountable Washington bureaucrats have over our economy. The results have left hardworking taxpayers with fewer choices, higher costs and an anemic economy of shrinking paycheck... Read More »
House Passes Bill to Protect Low and Middle-Income Savers The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1090, the Retail Investor Protection Act sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), on Tuesday by a bipartisan vote of 245-186. This bill was designed to put a stop to the Department of Labor's (DOL) proposed fiduciary rule that would make professional retirement investment advice for low and middle-income Americans inaccessible and unaffordable. There is a strong bipartisan agreement that the DOL's misguided fiduciary rule would make it more difficult for hard-working Americans to save for their retir... Read More »
HUD at 50 The Financial Services Committee held a hearing Thursday to review the role and impact the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has had on federal housing policy in the 50 years since its creation. Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) said, "Our collective goal cannot be limited to helping people tolerate poverty, it must be to help them escape poverty. Whether I’ve met them at the Salvation Army Women’s Shelter, Habitat for Humanity homes or the Jubilee Center in my native Dallas, I know that is the aspiration of our low income brothers and sisters. We must help them find way... Read More »
One of the witnesses at today’s committee hearing on the Future of Housing in America is Renee Glover, who has been actively involved in affordable housing for more than 30 years from several different vantage points: the private sector, the public sector and the international non-government sector. From nearly 20 years, she was CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority. In 1994, when Glover took over at the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA), the organization was considered corrupt and ineffective. Atlanta was suffering from a major public housing crisis with the highest percentages of residents in ... Read More »
