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WASHINGTON -- February may be the shortest month of the year, but the Financial Services Committee made every moment count – hosting 8 hearings, 1 markup, and passing bipartisan legislation to modernize federal housing programs, stop executive overreach and provide regulatory relief for Americans on Main Street. 7 photos from the Month of February: The Debt // Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen makes her first public comments since the Fed’s decision to raise interest rates and since the national debt eclipsed $19 trillion. The Markup // Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) leads a markup of the Co... Read More »

READ ON ADOBE SLATE Robert Sherill was a drug dealer. He was young and he made some serious mistakes. In his own words, “When I needed money, I sold drugs.” Eventually his crimes caught up with him and after several years in prison, he emerged resolved to build a better life for himself. The only problem was that no one would take a risk on Robert. He couldn't get a job. He couldn't get a loan. He couldn't even get a bank account. The deck was stacked against him. It was against these odds that Robert decided that if he was going to turn his life around, he needed to start his own business. E... Read More »

House Committee: Treasury Played Politics in Debt Ceiling Debate "The U.S. Treasury for political purposes tried to suppress the existence of backup plans that would allow the government to continue making some payments in the event of a partial government shutdown, according to a newly published report from the House Financial Services Committee." Secret Fed Docs Show Obama Misled Congress, Public During Debt Limit Crises "Federal Reserve Bank of New York officials secretly conducted real-time exercises during the 2011 and 2013 debt-limit crisis that demonstrated the federal government could... Read More »

1. A greater percentage of Americans are working than when I took office. 2. Community banks and credit unions are thriving. 3. Too Big To Fail is a thing of the past. 4. Our regulatory system has been streamlined. 5. Median household income has risen. 6. Taxpayers will never have to bailout Wall Street again. 7. New business startups have increased. Read More »

It’s been a rough start to the year for the Dodd-Frank Act, as yet another nonpartisan study finds evidence that the massive law harms Americans. Not surprisingly, the new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) indicates an “increased compliance burden” among community banks and credit unions, which has “begun to adversely affect some lending activities, such as mortgage lending to customers not typically served by larger financial institutions…” Meaning that, once again, we see that this law supposedly intended to rein in Wall Street is hurting Americans on Main Street. And i... Read More »

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 »