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.  ### Read more »

Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) announced today the committee will hold a hearing on March 23rd to begin the process of considering the future of housing finance.  The hearing will focus on all the private and public entities that support the mortgage market, which include the Federal Housing Administration, Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Home… Read more »

Today, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) released the following statement: “This week, I will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.  The main purpose of my trip will be to talk with financial services regulators from other countries to coordinate our efforts to update and modernize financial regulations.  The objections to… Read more »

In justifying Republican opposition to the bill that would have limited compensation at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus today issued a statement where he incorrectly stated that the bill he voted against, H.R. 1664, would have “unfairly penalized small community banks with responsible compensation arrangements that had… Read more »

Today, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) released the following statement:   “I welcome the President’s strong support for additional provisions in the financial reform legislation to address the too big to fail problem. The President’s initiatives build on provisions that originated in the House Financial Services Committee and were… Read more »

Today, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) released the following memo to members of the House Financial Services Committee: January 21, 2010 MEMORANDUM TO:                  Members, Committee on Financial Services… Read more »

Today, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) released the following statement: “In an interview on CNBC on Thursday, I was inaccurate in my description of the status of Citigroup’s repayment of the financial assistance it received under the TARP program. I said that Citigroup had not repaid its TARP funds.  That was partially inaccurate.  In… Read more »

Today, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) sent the following response to Ranking Member Spencer Bachus (R-AL) on the issue of AIG hearings: “I continue to believe that the Financial Services Committee should give priority to pending public policy questions, and throughout last year the committee was busy on legislation responding to the financial crisis,… Read more »

Today, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) released the following statement on President Obama’s proposal of the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee: “President Obama’s action today complies fully with the taxpayer protection language of the original TARP bill. His decision to do this before 2013 is a good one because there is no need to wait.… Read more »

Today, Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) announced that the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on Friday, January 22 at 10 a.m., to discuss the issue of compensation practices for both financial and non-financial firms.  The hearing comes after the House of Representatives successfully passed compensation measures as a part of H.R. 4173, the Wall Street Reform and… Read more »