Congressional Testimony
On Friday, July 24, 2009, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing at 10:30 am entitled “Regulatory Perspectives on the Obama Administration’s Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals — Part 2″. An archived webcast can be viewed at the linked site. Two panels of witnesses were in attendance. Panel 1 featured Timothy Geithner in his capacity as Secretary of the Treasury. Panel 2 consisted of Ben Bernanke, Sheila Bair, John Dugan, John Bowman and Joseph Smith, Jr. Mr. Dugan is the Comptroller of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Mr. Bowman is the acting director at the Office of Thrift Supervision. Mr. Smith is the Commissioner of Banks of the State of North Carolina and was present on behalf of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.
Pending Legislation
On July 23, 2009, Congressmen John Tanner (D-TN) and Sam Johnson (R-TX) as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee respectively, introduced legislation meant to enhance the privacy of Social Security numbers in government and private sector recrds in order to protect Social Security programs from fraud and to combat identity theft. The bill is entitled “The Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2009″ and is identical to legislation unanimously reported by the Committee on Ways and Means in the 110th Congress. Here is a summary of talking points contained in the bill.
On July 23, 2009, House Republicans, led by Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus (R-AL), introduced comprehensive legislation to modernize and streamline the regulatory structure of the financial services industry.
H.R. 3310, otherwise known as “The Consumer Protection and Regulatory Enhancement Act” provides for the resolution of insolvent non-bank financial institutions – no matter how large or systemically important – through the bankruptcy system. It creates a Market Stability and Capital Adequacy Board that is charged with monitoring the interactions of various sectors of the financial system, and identifying risks that could endanger the stability and soundness of the system. It establishes an Office of Consumer Protection, with enhanced authority, within a consolidated regulatory agency to streamline in one place responsibility for rulemaking and enforcement of Federal consumer protection laws. The legislation also restores the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy mandate by relieving it of current regulatory and supervisory responsibilities. Taxpayer subsidies of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would end, as would Federal regulators’ reliance on use of credit rating agencies.
