WASHINGTON – Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released this letter sent yesterday to John Walsh, Acting Comptroller of the Currency.

Five senior Members of the House Financial Services today sent a letter to John Walsh, Acting Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), requesting that he extend the comment period for the proposed rule on preemption and visitorial powers for national banks for at least 60 days.  The Members, Representatives Barney Frank, Carolyn Maloney, Luis Gutierrez, Mel Watt and Brad Miller, wrote that the original 30-day comment period was "insufficient to foster a meaningful and balanced exchange of views between the OCC and other interested parties..."

“The possibility of default on Greek or other European debt dramatically illustrates the need for the United States to move forward rapidly to implement the reforms passed by Congress in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  The difficulty in global financial markets is greatly exacerbated because we don’t know who is exposed to what risks and how large those risks are.  Consequently, renewed growth is at risk everywhere.  And recent stories in The New York Times, The Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal report that those with significant sums at risk may include American financial institutions."

The following remarks were made by Congressman Frank on June 24th at press conference in support of the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Bill sponsored by Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) and Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV).

The House Financial Services Committee today, over the unanimous objection of committee Democrats, passed legislation to prohibit -- for more than two years after the enactment of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act -- the implementation of provisions in the law having to do with the regulation of derivatives. The reckless use of derivatives contributed to the downfall of AIG and fueled the liquidity crisis which imperiled many of the nation’s largest financial institutions.  Today’s action represents a third wave of attack on the financial reform law by House Republicans.

Congressman Barney Frank today announced that he has introduced legislation that would make one of the most important functions of the Federal Reserve – the setting of interest rates – more democratic.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Barney released the following statement in response to the announcement by federal banking regulators that they had successfully negotiated a consent agreement with fourteen of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers.  The agreement, which follows in the wake of examinations by the agencies of reports of widespread, potentially illegal foreclosure practices by mortgage servicers, sets down legally-enforceable orders regarding proper procedures for residential loan servicing and foreclosure processing.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Barney Frank today released a letter from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner which marks a promising step in efforts to reduce violence on the basis of religious belief, sexual orientation or gender identity that is condoned by governments of developing countries.

“Out of sympathy for journalists who are having trouble keeping track of Spencer Bachus’ pattern of making statements about Committee business and subsequently claiming he never said them, I offer the following guide to the most recent controversy.”

“I’ve read in the media that Chairman Bachus and I were discussing technical fixes to the financial reform law, including to a provision regarding rating agencies.  In fact, several weeks ago I had one conversation with him about changes I would like to make to the provision on interchange fees.  I am not aware of any other conversations going on, either about the rating agency provisions in the law or any other section. “

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Barney Frank today announced that he would support legislative action to postpone the deadline for the Federal Reserve to issue a rule on interchange fees.  Frank’s statement, which appears below, is in response to the recent announcement by the Fed that it would not be able to meet the deadline of April 21st.

Mr. Chairman, I am very concerned about the piecemeal approach being represented by the mark-up of 8 small GSE bills today.  Naturally, any comprehensive proposal we undertake will inevitably need to include shorter-term provisions to address how we transition from where we are to where we want to be.  Those measures must both encourage the return of private capital to the market, while also ensuring that we do not disrupt our housing finance system and shake our nascent economic recovery. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee is debating the possible costs of implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  The legislation was crafted as a response to the financial crisis which has cost nearly 10 million American jobs and over $10 trillion in household wealth, and has led to average lost wages of more than $3,000 per household. 

Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the Full Committee, released the following statement in order to provide a context for today’s proceedings.

  Barney's big bill By MARK DeCAMBRE Updated: Fri., Mar. 18, 2011, 4:42 AM  New York Post   Barney Frank wants to send Jamie Dimon, Steve Cohen and other Wall Street titans an additional $2.5 billion tax bill to fund programs aimed at helping homeowners and communities hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.   The top-ranking Democratic lawmaker on the House Financial… Read more »

WASHINGTON – The Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act was introduced in the House today by Congressman John Campbell (R-CA) with Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) as a leading sponsor. Congressmen Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) and Peter King (R-NY) are also leading co-sponsors.   The bill is identical to H.R. 2267 that was passed out of the House Financial Services Committee on July 28, 2010 with bi-partisan support.  The bill would establish a federal regulatory and enforcement framework under which Internet gambling operators could obtain licenses authorizing them to accept bets and wagers from individuals in the United States. The legislation comes in response to the enactment of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which restricted the use of the payments system for Americans who gamble online.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives today will consider a bill to end the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a program which provides funding to help communities deal with large numbers of foreclosures and abandoned properties.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement today:

“I am very disappointed that the Republican House members who during the debate on government spending last week refused to limit agricultural subsidies to $250,000 per individual have announced that they will attempt to eliminate programs which help the victims of the financial crisis.”

WASHINGTON –  In a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, February 16th, Members of the Committee questioned members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission about the Commission’s report and their beliefs on the causes of the financial crisis.  During an exchange with Congressman Barney Frank, Peter Wallison openly praised Frank’s effort on the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and stated “[Frank] made a wonderful compromise with secretary Paulson and we, as a result of that, got a bill that we needed very badly.”

WASHINGTON – Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, yesterday introduced the following amendment to the 2011 Continuing Resolution:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement regarding the Administration’s white paper on housing finance:

 “The administration’s white paper is a thoughtful beginning that sets the stage for a constructive discussion of the future of housing finance.”

Washington – Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the Ranking Member on the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises, released the following statement today after the Obama Administration unveiled its plan, “Reforming America’s Housing Finance Market”:

WASHINGTON – Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following response to an inaccuracy in Peter Wallison’s dissent to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Report.  The section appears on page 489 of the document.

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, announced the Committee’s six subcommittee Ranking Members.  These recommendations will be forwarded to the Democratic Caucus for final approval.  In addition, the Democratic membership for the six subcommittees was also announced.