Press Releases

"Today the Federal Reserve Board released its proposed new regulations under the Home Ownership Equity Protection Act (HOEPA). The regulations complement recent efforts on the part of Congress and the Administration to help struggling homebuyers. Specifically, the proposed regulations include several provisions, including prepayment penalties and escrowing of taxes and insurance,… Read more »

Rep. Spencer Bachus, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, praised S.E.C. Chairman Christopher Cox's decision to delay until 2009 the requirement that small companies report on the state of their internal financial controls. Last week Bachus sent a letter to Chairman Cox asking the Commission to delay for one year the requirement for auditor attestation to accompany… Read more »

"Members of the Financial Services Committee as well as members of the full House share Secretary Paulson's view that we must address the housing finance crisis. Two key elements of a reform plan - FHA and GSE reform legislation - passed the House during both the 109th and 110th Congresses. The Senate should take action on both these important reform proposals before recessing for… Read more »

Today House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus cosponsored and voted for bipartisan legislation to combat predatory lending practices. H.R. 3915, The "Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007," passed the House by a bipartisan vote. "Chairman Frank and I worked closely together to reach consensus on subprime lending reform,"… Read more »

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this important hearing on the Jubilee Act, and thanks to Chairman Waters for her leadership on this issue. I have been proud to work with her on debt-reduction and poverty-alleviation legislation for nearly a decade, and I am happy to say these efforts have been remarkably successful. Mr. Chairman, I was one of 14 thousand Americans who took part… Read more »

House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus has announced his sponsorship of bipartisan legislation to combat predatory lending practices. Bachus will now be a co-sponsor of the manager's amendment to The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007 (H.R. 3915). "The most important fact about this compromise is that it has significant new safeguards… Read more »

"Chairman Frank should be commended for introducing legislation to address the current problems in the mortgage market. House Republicans look forward to a vigorous discussion on the Chairman's bill and related proposals. "There is a bipartisan recognition of the need to address the problems associated with predatory lending. In July, several Committee Republicans and I… Read more »

"The TRIA reauthorization bill passed by the Senate Banking Committee earlier today represents a good deal that protects consumers and taxpayers. "TRIA is necessary to keep our commercial insurance markets functioning well, despite the ongoing threat of terrorism. As an original co-author of TRIA, I have always supported its reauthorization. Unfortunately, the extension… Read more »

"Last April, Chairman Frank and I asked the Government Accountability Office to analyze the scope and magnitude of recent default and foreclosure trends. The GAO has completed and released its report on this very important issue. The GAO's data will help us better understand the complexities of the mortgage market. Its findings and analysis will be useful as we discuss legislative… Read more »

"Democratic complaints about a lack of progress on subprime lending reform ring hollow in the face of recent history. "The fact is that Democrats have failed on at least two occasions to move a subprime lending reform bill. On September 28, 2006, I circulated a subprime legislative draft to then-Ranking Member Frank and other House Democrats. No feedback to this draft was… Read more »