News List

On Wednesday the House will consider H.R. 1256, the Swap Jurisdiction Certainty Act. The Problem: Swaps are uniquely tailored financial products traded globally (cross-border) by a variety of industries to manage risk. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are responsible for regulating swaps trades… Read more »

We’ll hold four hearings -- including full committee action on sustainable housing finance reform -- this week in addition to our three (and a half) bills on the House Floor. Be sure to check back here on the Bottom Line Blog -- and subscribe to our email lists  --  for updates throughout the week. Here’s what’s happening: We’re told on Tuesday the Rules Committee will meet… Read more »

Wall Street Journal: The Hidden Jobless Disaster At the present slow pace of job growth, it will require more than a decade to get back to full employment defined by pre-recession standards. Bloomberg: Can the Fed Make Up Its Mind on QE? When the Federal Reserve first introduced its either/or stance on quantitative easing, I wasn’t sure if it was a PR ploy or a serious… Read more »

The Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee today examined the role proxy advisory firms play in corporate governance and what can be done to reduce the complexity and increase transparency of the proxy system. Read more »

Yesterday the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) put hardworking taxpayers at greater risk of being forced to fund yet another Wall Street bailout. Under their Dodd-Frank authority, the FSOC took preliminary steps to designate several non-bank financial institutions, including AIG, Prudential Financial and GE Capital, as “systemically important financial institutions” (SIFIs).… Read more »

On Wednesday the Capital Markets & GSEs Subcommittee will hold our only scheduled hearing for the week examining the market power and impact of proxy advisory firms. But don’t get too comfortable. Next week we’ve scheduled four hearings, including a full committee hearing on alternative housing finance models as part of our effort to forge a sustainable housing finance system.… Read more »

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) issued the following statement today on the decision by the Financial Stability Oversight Council to designate certain non-bank financial firms as “too big to fail” Read more »

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) today announced the committee’s hearing schedule for the first half of June. Read more »

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) expressed his strong opposition to President Obama’s decision to extend the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), a failed and costly program that has been shown to actually hurt struggling homeowners. Read more »

Phil Gramm and Steve McMillin: The Debt Problem Hasn’t Vanished President Obama has raised the national debt by nearly $6.2 trillion, the equivalent of $78,385 per family of four. It is true that projected deficits recently have been reduced…But unless the economy soars, or a significant budget agreement is reached, the most lasting legacy of the Obama presidency will be a $10… Read more »