Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced legislation that is the second piece of a two-pronged approach to assure continuity and stability in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the nation’s housing markets
Today, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) commended the launch of a $200 million fund by Citigroup to help spur lending to small businesses and promote economic development in low-income communities. The Communities At Work Fund will provide financing to Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Loan Funds that lend and assist small businesses in… Read more »
Rep. Spencer Bachus should know better. In a long op-ed in Politico, the Alabama Republican talks at length about the supposed Democratic failure to reform the GSEs, but apparently President Bush’s “ownership society” doesn’t apply to Republicans taking responsibility for their own failures. The Republican record on Fannie and Freddie is clear and… Read more »
The House Financial Services Committee today passed legislation introduced by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) to improve the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the primary source of reliable, affordable flood insurance coverage for millions of American homes and businesses. The legislative reform package reauthorizes the program for 5 years.
“Without being reauthorized, the… Read more »
Today, the House Financial Services Committee approved by a vote of 39-26 the Homeowners’ Defense Act, innovative bipartisan legislation to reduce insurance premiums for homeowners around the country.
The Homeowners’ Defense Act, authored by Rep. Ron Klein (D-FL) and co-sponsored by more than 70 of his colleagues representing over 30 states, allows states that choose to… Read more »
Today, the House Financial Services Committee approved legislation to ensure that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) remains viable and continues its mission of insuring mortgage loans.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee, drafted the FHA Reform Act of 2010 (H.R. 5072) in response to recent events that caused… Read more »
Today, to mark Earth Day, the House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 2336, the GREEN Act (Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods), by a voice vote. The bipartisan legislation, authored by Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) and Judy Biggert (R-IL), provides incentives to lenders and financial institutions which will help move our housing and building stock towards greater… Read more »
Today, the House Financial Services Committee unanimously passed H.R. 5017, the Rural Housing Preservation and Stabilization Act of 2010, introduced by Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises. This action clears the bill for consideration by the U.S. House of… Read more »
As the following chart demonstrates, H.R. 4173, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, addresses some of the most egregious problems raised by the Lehman Brothers’ failure, which precipitated the costly taxpayer bailout put forward by President Bush in 2008. For a more complete analysis of how the Republican substitute makes taxpayer bailouts more likely, click… Read more »
Today, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) released the following statement:
“After recent hearings on the future of housing finance, two important points have emerged from those examinations. First, the major losses of Fannie and Freddie come from their pre-conservatorship activities, which were not curtailed by a Republican Congress that promoted… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today made the following statement about the March employment figures released today:
“The largest growth in private employment in three years is welcome evidence that our recovery from the deep Bush recession which President Obama inherited has finally begun to provide some benefits to American workers and… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today made the following statement about stories related to a recent staff departure from the House Financial Services Committee:
“Several people have expressed criticism of the move by Peter Roberson from the staff of the Financial Services Committee to ICE, after he worked on the legislation relevant to… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today made the following statement on the announcement of the Administration’s new efforts to combat foreclosures:
“I welcome the most recent steps by the Administration to help deal with the foreclosure crisis. It must be emphasized that this is important not just for those who are themselves facing… Read more »
Tomorrow, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, will hold a hearing to examine the role consumer credit scores and reports play in today’s economy. Credit scores and reports are ubiquitous in the current financial marketplace and are used for everything from credit card and mortgage approval to setting car… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) yesterday introduced H.R. 4868, the Housing Preservation and Tenant Protection Act of 2010, to stem the loss of affordable rental housing units across the country. The measures will help curtail the further loss of housing and prevent the displacement of low-income tenants.
“If we don’t act we will… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today sent the following letter to Minority Leader John Boehner. Mr. Frank objected to Mr. Boehner publicly calling employees who work in the U.S. House of Representatives as “punk staffers.”
The following is the text of Mr. Frank’s letter:
March 18, 2010
The Honorable John A. Boehner
Minority… Read more »
Today, Senior House Financial Services Committee members Reps. Michael Capuano (D-MA) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) made the following statements after Moody’s Investor Service yesterday changed the way municipal bonds are rated. Previously, Moody’s and others rated municipal securities, which historically have had extremely low default rates, on a different scale. As a… Read more »
Today, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) released the following statement on Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd’s financial reform substitute:
“Senator Dodd has put forward a thoughtful, comprehensive bill which will, once the Senate has acted on it, form a very solid basis for a House-Senate conference, to produce the tough regulatory reform… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) issued the following statement:
“I have been asked some questions by members of the media and others about my noting the distinction between the legal status of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt and the debt of the U.S. Treasury. Throughout the debate over Fannie and Freddie in past years, I have noted that Fannie and… Read more »
Today, the International Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee approved H.R. 4573, the Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery in Haiti Act, introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). The bill would require the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and other… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) issued the following statement to clarify comments made in today’s New York Times that he would consider a financial consumer watchdog housed in the U.S. Federal Reserve. This is not the case.
“I do not support housing the Consumer Financial Protection Agency in the Federal Reserve. I continue to… Read more »
Today, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) released the following statement on the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, and commented on the following letters that credit card companies have been sending to their customers as a result of the new law’s implementation.
“These letters indicate that Americans are now seeing… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today made the following statement about the need for increased consumer protection in the financial industry:
“I welcome Elizabeth Warren’s forceful Op-Ed in today’s Wall Street Journal making a strong case for increased consumer protection in the financial industry. No one familiar with the track… Read more »
Due to the snow conditions in Washington, DC, the hearings originally scheduled for Wednesday, February 10 and Thursday, February 11 have been postponed. They have not been rescheduled as of this date. We will notify all hearing participants when we expect to reschedule the hearings.
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