Legislative Activity Housing Finance Reform “Huge Priority” for Hensarling Last week, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) announced that reforming the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) will be a “huge priority” for him this Congress. Chairman Hensarling’s pronouncement coincides with his recent announcement that his committee’s first hearing this Congress will feature Federal Housing Finance … 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
House of Representatives Leadership Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was reelected as Speaker of the House. A small faction of the Republican Party – 25 Members – did not vote for him. As a result, two of those Members, Florida Congressmen Richard Nugent and Daniel Webster, lost their seats on the influential House Rules Committee. Scott … 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 Discuss FSOC Oversight On Wednesday, September 17, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing titled “Oversight of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.” During the hearing, Members emphasized the importance of transparency within the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and called for increased due process and accountability. At … 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 to Vote on Highway Funding Bill This week, the Senate is expected to vote on H.R. 5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014, which recently passed the House by a vote of 367-55. The bill would patch and reauthorize the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) through May 2015 by using transfers … 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 is expected to debate and vote on the reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) through September 2018 (H.R. 4413). Additionally, while the Senate Agriculture Committee has yet to unveil its CFTC reauthorization bill, the level of bipartisan support that H.R. 4413 receives … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Confirms Three CFTC Commissioners, House To Take Up CFTC Reauthorization Bill On June 3, the Senate confirmed Timothy Massad as Chairman and Sharon Bowen and J. Christopher Giancarlo as Commissioners at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Chairman Massad was sworn in to his new office on June 5. It is expected … 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 Representative Garrett Introduces FSOC Transparency Legislation On Thursday, April 3, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets Chairman Scott Garrett (R-NJ) introduced legislation to increase transparency at the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). The legislation would allow all members of the Commissions and Boards represented in FSOC to participate in meetings and vote. The … 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 Senate to Hold Hearing on Federal Reserve Nominees This Thursday, March 13, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on various nominations to the Federal Reserve Board, including the nomination of Stanley Fischer, former Bank of Israel Governor, to be Vice Chairman. The committee will also consider the nominations of former U.S. Treasury … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House-Passed Budget Agreement Includes Energy Policy Provisions Last Thursday, December 12, members of the U.S. House voted 332-94 to pass the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, a budget resolution offered as an amendment to H.J. Res. 59 that sets short-term funding caps for the FY 2014 and FY 2015 years and longer-term projections … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, June 4: The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing titled “Iran Sanctions: Ensuring Robust Enforcement, and Assessing Next Steps.” Wednesday, June 5: The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development will hold a hearing titled “Long Term Sustainability for Reverse Mortgages: HECM’s Impact on the Mutual … Continue Reading
