House Financial Services Committee members Reps. Al Green (D-TX), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), and the committee’s chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report which is critical of federal regulators’ ability to effectively and efficiently enforce the nation’s fair lending laws. In the report,… Read more »
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on the July unemployment numbers released today:
“Today’s release of the employment numbers in the United States presents a mixed picture. It is of course continued bad news that the American people are still losing jobs. But the substantial decline in the… Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives approved legislation to rein in compensation practices that encourage excessive risk-taking at the expense of companies, shareholders, employees, and ultimately the American taxpayer. H.R. 3269, the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act, was approved by a vote of 237-185. It represents the first piece of a larger regulatory… Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives will consider H.R. 3269, the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009. The bill would rein in executive compensation practices that led to excessive, reckless risk-taking and contributed to the recent financial collapse. An updated version of the bill can be viewed here. A summary of the bill can be viewed… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson today released a concept paper that will guide the two committees as they develop legislation to regulate derivatives. The text of the concept paper can be viewed by clicking here.
Chairman Peterson said: “I am pleased that Chairman Frank and I were able to come to… Read more »
The U.S. House of Representatives today approved legislation that would extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through March 31, 2010. Created in 1968, the NFIP provides over one trillion dollars of flood insurance to more than five and a half million American homes and businesses. Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Chairman… Read more »
Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today welcomed the announcement by Secretaries Geithner and Donovan that the meeting held by their top assistants with representatives of the mortgage servicing industry on July 28th was productive, and that they expect there to be a significant increase in the number of mortgage modifications. But Frank noted that there is… Read more »
Today, the Financial Services Committee approved legislation to put an end to the perverse compensation practices that encourage executives to take excessive risk at the expense of their companies, shareholders, employees, and ultimately the American taxpayer. H.R. 3269, the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act, would prevent a return to a “heads I… Read more »
The Financial Services Committee today approved H.R. 3045, the Section Eight Voucher Reform Act of 2009. The landmark bill would reform the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, which provides rental housing assistance to 2 million low-income families nationwide. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), was approved by a vote of 41- 24.
“As a result of the… Read more »
Today, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Joint Economic Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) issued the following statement in response to the announcement that Goldman Sachs paid full price – a total of $1.1 billion – to buy back warrants the government received as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). … Read more »
Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today made the following statement highlighting several parts of the Federal Reserve’s semiannual Monetary Policy Report and Chairman Bernanke’s testimony indicating that the Recovery Act has had positive effects on the economy for American workers. Bernanke was appointed Chairman of the Board of Governors of the… Read more »
In a letter sent to President Obama today, four leading House members with primary legislative responsibility for U.S. participation in the international financial institutions noted their surprise and disappointment at the signing statement issued by the President when he recently approved the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009. In the… Read more »
During today’s House Financial Services Committee Hearing on Monetary Policy, Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Bernanke confirmed that the Recovery Act is working to prevent higher unemployment.
The positive effects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act continue to multiply in each state, and the economy would be worse off without the Recovery Act.
From the Hearing… Read more »
Today, Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) circulated a “discussion draft” on executive compensation to members of the Financial Services Committee. The draft is based on “Say-on-Pay” legislation that passed the House in 2007 and legislative proposals released yesterday by the Treasury Department. Mr. Frank also stated yesterday that the committee plans to mark up… Read more »
Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) issued the following statement today on executive compensation:
“The recent news of compensation on Wall Street shows that some financial leaders yearn for the stirring return of yesteryear and demonstrates the need to adopt legislation on executive pay. It’s a question of empowering the shareholders to decide the… Read more »
Today Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) and House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) sent a letter to the heads of the bank regulatory agencies asking them to address whether banks are inflating the value of 2nd mortgages on their balance sheets, thereby discouraging proactive efforts to modify and restructure mortgage loans and crippling programs designed… Read more »
Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today introduced new legislation to authorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through March 31, 2010. The current program is due to expire at the end of September 2009 unless Congress acts to extend it.
In addition, Waters and Frank announced… Read more »
Today, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) formally introduced President Obama’s plan to strengthen consumer protections as a part of a broader financial regulatory restructuring. H.R. 3126 would establish the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), a powerful independent agency with a range of rulemaking, information-gathering, supervisory,… Read more »
Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) issued the following statement on the release of the Administration’s legislative proposal to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency:
“The Administration’s release of its recommended language is very welcome because it removes any obstacle to the House Financial Services Committee reporting out… Read more »
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, will discuss the future of financial regulation at the National Press Club on Monday, July 27. In June, President Obama delivered to the country sweeping proposals to change financial regulatory system, and Chairman Frank’s committee will be largely responsible for enacting the President’s… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today announced the committee’s tentative schedule for the consideration of the Obama Administration’s plan for sweeping financial regulatory reform. Chairman Frank is also working to reschedule the postponed hearing with Secretary Geithner, and he noted that additional hearings and committee meetings will… Read more »
Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank released the following statement in response to a European Commission report released today that investigated U.S. internet gambling laws and their enforcement against European Union companies. The report concludes that the U.S. measures constitute an obstacle to trade that is inconsistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. It… Read more »
Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Barney Frank (D-MA), and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) today called on the Federal Reserve to strengthen its proposed regulation of bank overdraft fees by requiring banks to have consumers opt-in to overdraft programs and prohibiting the posting of transactions in a sequence which maximizes overdraft fees.
In a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Ben S.… Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives passed historic legislation that will protect consumers from deceptive credit card practices and equip them with the information and rights they need to responsibly manage their credit. The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act passed by a vote of 361-64 and now goes to the President’s desk for his signature.
The legislation, sponsored by… Read more »
HOPE for Homeowners: The bill amends the HOPE for Homeowners Program, to (a) permit reduction of excessive fee levels, (b) provide greater incentives for mortgage servicers to engage in modifications under the Program, and (c) reduce administrative burdens to loan underwriters by making the requirements more consistent with standard FHA practices. Specifically, the bill would:
… Read more »
