Legislative Activity President Obama to Unveil FY 2016 Budget Later today, President Obama is set to unveil his FY 2016 Budget (Budget). As in previous years, we anticipate that President Obama will seek increased funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) than was allocated by Congress for this … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Vote on Dodd-Frank Reforms As noted last Friday, the House failed to pass an 11-bill package (H.R. 37, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act) under suspension of the rules, which would amend various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). This … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Near Deal on TRIA, May Consider Insurance Capital Standards As the legislative session draws to a close, it appears that lawmakers in the Senate and House are nearing a deal to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which is set to expire at the end of the year. While there has … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Chairman Hensarling Announces Financial Services Committee Appointments This week, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) announced Subcommittee Chairmen for the House Financial Services Committee for the 114th Congress, including: Scott Garrett (R-NJ): Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee (current chair); Randy Neugebauer (R-TX): Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee (currently chairs … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers to Continue Debate on TRIA As mentioned in previous coverage, Congress will continue to debate reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which is set to expire at year’s end. While the substance and timing of such legislation remains uncertain, various lawmakers are continuing to push for a short-term (6 to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers May Extend TRIA and Consider Insurance Capital Standards in the Lame Duck As Congress returns to Washington, lawmakers may focus on a few agenda items beyond appropriations legislation. Particularly, Congress may look at reauthorizing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), at least through a short-term extension. Earlier this year, the House Financial … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Financial Services Committee to Discuss Oversight of FSOC Following the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) unanimous decision on September 4 to preliminarily designate MetLife as a “systemically important” nonbank financial institution, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing to discuss oversight of the agency. Various lawmakers … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Passes TRIA Reauthorization Bill; Timing of House Version Unclear On July 17, the Senate voted 93-4 to pass S. 2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014. The bill reauthorizes the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) for seven years while making few changes to the current program. Shortly after the Senate passed … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Vote on CFTC Reauthorization Bill This week, the House of Representatives is expected to take up H.R 4413, a bill that would reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) through September 2018. On June 13, House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions(R-TX) asked Members to submit any amendments by Tuesday, June 15. The House bill would make several changes to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee to Markup TRIA Reauthorization Bill On Tuesday, June 3, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a markup of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014 (S. 2244). The bill, which was introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), has bipartisan support and would: (1) extend the current Terrorism Risk Insurance … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee Favorably Reports GSE Reform Bill to Senate Floor On May 15, the Senate Banking Committee voted 13-9 to favorably report the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013 (S. 1217), to the Senate floor. However, as mentioned in previous coverage, despite being reported out of Committee, it remains uncertain … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee Postpones Markup of GSE Reform Bill On Tuesday, April 29, the Senate Banking Committee announced that it was postponing the markup of legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), the “Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013” (S. 1217). According to Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD), “[w]hile we have the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee to Hold Markup of GSE Reform Bill and Vote on Nominations On Tuesday, April 29, the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a markup of the legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), released by Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo in March and based on … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Waters Introduces GSE Legislation On Thursday, March 27, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) released a proposal to reform the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). Ranking Member Waters’ proposal, the HOME Forward Act of 2014, would wind down the GSEs and replace them with a new government agency that would oversee a fund … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Johnson and Crapo Release GSE Reform Draft On March 16, 2014, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) released a draft legislation to reform the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (a detailed summary can be found here). The draft legislation would replace the GSEs, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Examines A Series of Regulatory Reports Last week, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing to explore the annual report and oversight of the Department of Treasury’s Office of Financial Research (OFR) and the House Financial Services Committee probed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Data Breach Hearings and Legislation In response to the recent Target data breach which compromised the credit and debit card data of millions of customers, several committees will host hearings in the coming weeks to examine data breaches and their effect on customers. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Thursday, October 24: The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Governments Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) will hold a hearing titled “Legislation to Further Reduce Impediments to Capital Formation.” Thursday, October 24: The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit will hold a hearing titled “Examining Legislative … Continue Reading