Member Corner

In order to get our economy growing, Congress must reduce government spending.  Our nation faces a record-breaking deficit of $1.4 trillion dollars and a record-breaking debt of more than $14 trillion.  We must get America’s fiscal house in order and stop spending money we don’t have. Republicans on the Financial Services Committee understand this fact and have worked since… Read more »

Three leaders of the Financial Services Committee are asking HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan for detailed information about delayed housing projects and the agency’s oversight of its HOME program, which provides $2 billion a year to local housing agencies to build and renovate homes across the country. Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman… Read more »

In recent interviews two Democrat officials warned about some of the unintended consequences of the Dodd-Frank Act. These quotes are of particular interest as the Financial Services Committee will consider common-sense legislation next week to promote a functioning derivatives market by giving regulators more time to write the rules and ensure coordination among regulators. H.R. 1573… Read more »

POLITICO’s “Morning Money” reports today that members of NY’s congressional delegation, including several Democrats on the Financial Services Committee, have written regulators to express their concerns that proposed rules governing derivative margin requirements “will inevitably result in significant competitive disadvantages for U.S. firms operating globally.”  Could it be possible… Read more »

That’s the conclusion of Michael Cembalest, the Chief Investment Officer of JP Morgan Chase.  In a May 3 “Eye on the Market” report, he revised his 2009 account of what caused the financial crisis.  Under the general heading of “Retractions,” Cembalest writes:  “In January 2009, I wrote that the housing crisis was mostly a consequence of the… Read more »

Today at The Bottom Line we welcome a guest blogger, Phillip Swagel. Phillip is a Professor of International Economic Policy at the University of Maryland and a former Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Treasury Department.  His blog post is on the importance of Treasury continuing to require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make dividend payments to taxpayers. A reduction… Read more »

WASHINGTON – Attacks from Democrats claiming a bipartisan commission to oversee the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is somehow “anti-consumer” ring hollow in light of the record.  Until recently, many of these same Democrats supported, proposed and voted for exactly such a commission.  Below is a timeline showing the evolution of Democratic support for a… Read more »

Earlier today, a coalition of liberals groups released a letter claiming a bill (H.R. 1121) putting a bipartisan commission in charge of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is bad for consumers. It cannot escape notice that these same liberal groups endorsed proposals by Democrats and the Obama Administration in 2009 to put a bipartisan commission in charge of the… Read more »

The Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, approved three bills to improve the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on April 4th. On Thursday of this week, the Financial Services Committee is scheduled to markup all three of these bills, which are: The Responsible Consumer Financial Protection Regulations Act of 2011,… Read more »

  Source: AFIP and AIG: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11476t.pdf   GSEs: http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/19846/FNMandFRECapital4Q10.pdf AFIP: Automotive Industry Financing Program (Contains bailouts for GM, Chrysler and GMAC/Ally Financial) Read more »