News List

One of the most significant accomplishments of the Financial Services Committee during the 112th Congress is passage of the JOBS Act.  The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) removes government barriers to job creation and economic activity. The JOBS Act, comprised of six bills that originated in and were originally approved by the Committee, is designed to help startups… Read more »

Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus is asking investors, industry professionals and the public to offer their ideas and suggestions on how to formulate a less burdensome legislative alternative to the Volcker Rule. “If regulators implement the Volcker Rule in its current form, the repercussions will be devastating to our economy.  It will undermine our nation’s… Read more »

By SPENCER BACHUS Bernie Madoff. Matthew Hutcheson. Mark Spangler. If these names don't ring a bell, you are lucky. Reports indicate that thousands of investors lost billions in savings—in some cases an entire lifetime's worth—investing with these financial planners, investment advisers or "retirement coaches" who were accused of breaking the law and taking their money. The federal… Read more »

Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus released a statement on Wednesday in support of bipartisan legislation that clarifies provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act requiring municipal advisers to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bipartisan bill, H.R. 2827 sponsored by Rep. Robert Dold, was considered on Wednesday by the Subcommittee on Capital Markets… Read more »

The Financial Services Committee on Wednesday approved a resolution offered by Chairman Spencer Bachus to appoint Rep. Frank Guinta, the committee’s newest member, to the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee and the International Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee. “Rep. Guinta understands that regulatory overkill makes it harder for our economy to recover and… Read more »

A Subcommittee hearing on Thursday will examine the emergence of alternative forms of money, or parallel currencies, and the effects they could have on the economy and monetary policy. The Financial Services Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Ron Paul, will also look at the obstacles to circulation faced by alternative forms of… Read more »

Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus on Tuesday made the following comment about a ruling from the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) against forgiving mortgage principal on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages: “The Administration put incredible political pressure on Director DeMarco, and he deserves praise for standing up for the best interests of the… Read more »

Rep. Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, on Thursday responded to criticism that regulators have completed “less than half” of the 400 new regulations in the Dodd-Frank Act by blaming House Republicans for cutting the budgets of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). “It is true that when the… Read more »

Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus submitted the following statement for the record at a hearing on the Financial Stability Oversight Council's annual report.  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner appeared before the Committee to deliver FSOC's report. "When financial reform was debated by Congress two years ago, Republicans suggested an alternative that… Read more »

Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus issued the following statement regarding Wednesday’s report from the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) on AIG’s bailout: “Four years after regulators forced taxpayers to rescue AIG from the brink of failure, we have not seen any progress made on a plan to bring an end to this bailout. Today,… Read more »