By Meagan Wiseley – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told reporters at a press conference Tuesday that debate and markup of the Investor Protection Act will begin Wednesday and markup of other systematic risk legislation will follow.

“We will start the markup…beginning tomorrow, and everyday that the House is in session until we finish,” Frank said.

Following the consideration of the Investor Protection Act of 2009, the committee will begin markups of the Federal Insurance Office Act of 2009, the Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009 and the Overdraft Protection Act.

Frank added that he expects aspects of the larger financial regulatory reform legislation, including the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, to be voted on by December.

“The earliest we can get to the floor will be the first week in December,” Frank said.

Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank (D-Mass.) says debate and markup of the Investor Protection Act will begin Wednesday. He says he wants to allow plenty of time for this bill to prevent any members using time allowance as an excuse to not vote on the legislation. (0:23)

 

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House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) says if the combined derivatives bill becomes a law it will encourage large financial institutions to join into an exchange market. He says the AIG situation, where derivative trading caused problems, will be covered under their bill. (0:32)

 

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House Financial Services Committee Ranking Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) calls finance legislation sponsored by committee chair Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) the most “far reaching, significant reform of our financial system since the Great Depression.” He then says however, that debate over the proposal should be “deliberative and not hurried.” (0:33)

 

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Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says that the finance reform legislation sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) ensures the “orderly demise, not the survival” of financial firms that fail in the future. (0:26)

 

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Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says Americans are “saving more,” that “exports are expanding” and that America is “borrowing much less” now as a direct result of the $787 billion stimulus plan in the Recovery Act. (0:28)

 

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Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank’s (D-Mass.) bailout legislation does not provide a government guarantee for troubled finance firms. (0:17)

 

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Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner calls the current system of financial rules “inadequate and outdated” during testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. Geithner expressed his support of Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank’s (D-Mass.) proposal to force wealthy corporations to pay for future bailouts of large financial firms. (0:13)

 

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By Ravi Bhatia – Talk Radio News Service

During testimony given before the House Financial Services Committee Thursday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner echoed the White House’s support for Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank’s (D-Mass.) proposal that would grant the Federal government the authority to take control of failing financial firms.

Frank’s legislation would create a fund paid for by businesses with over $10 billion in assets in order to bear the costs of big firms that fail. Such costs were incurred by American taxpayers in the 2008 bailouts of banking company Citigroup and General Motors. It would also create a Financial Oversight Council, led by Geithner, to set policy and stricter regulations on the firms, and mediate arguments between federal agencies.

“It’s not about redemption for the firms that make mistakes,” Geithner said. “It’s about unwinding them in a way that doesn’t cause catastrophic damage to the economy.”

The Committee will vote on the legislation as early as next week. The committee’s Ranking Republican, Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), opposed the legislation and the speed at which it is being pushed.

“The draft legislation that was supposed to be the subject of this hearing was not received until Tuesday afternoon,” he said. “I doubt that any of today’s witnesses, with the possible exception of Secretary Geithner, have had the opportunity to fully comprehend the legislation entirely.”

“Their proposal places taxpayers first in line to bear the losses when the government invokes its resolution authority,” added Bachus.

In a statement released before her testimony on Thursday, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair said that the proposed Oversight Council lacks the authority to “effectively address systemic risks.” She recommended that the President appoint an independent chairman, subject to Senate confirmation, to fill the role Geithner would otherwise.

“A Council with regulatory agency participation will provide for an appropriate system of checks and balances to ensure that decisions reflect the various interests of public and private stakeholders,” Blair said.

Geithner said that he believes Frank’s bill will update the federal government’s financial regulatory system to match what he called, “21st century” challenges.

“The Council will have the obligation and the authority to identify any firm whose size in leverage and complexity creates a risk to the system as a whole and needs to be subject to heightened, stronger standards on leverage,” he said. “The rules in place today are inadequate and they are outdated. We’ve all seen what happens when in a crisis, the government is left with inadequate tools to respond…. That is a searing lesson of last Fall.”

By Ravi Bhatia-Talk Radio News Service

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and other Republican Congressmen delivered statements today at the U.S. Capitol opposing the proposed Consumer Finance Protection Agency.

The bill that would lead to its establishment, pushed by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), would create an agency to oversee nearly all facets of consumer lending. The Committee will vote on the bill by the end of the week.

“Increased government regulation isn’t always the answer,” Cantor said. “We need, perhaps, smart regulation, but more [isn’t always] the right solution.”

Supporters of the bill say that the agency will pull together consumer oversight powers scattered among various agencies, making consumer interests a higher priority.

“The new Consumer Financial Protection Agency that I’ve asked Congress to create will have just one mission:  to look out for the financial interests of ordinary Americans,” said President Barack Obama in a statement released Oct. 9. “It will be charged with setting clear rules of the road for consumers and banks, and it will be able to enforce those rules across the board.”

However, the Republicans at today’s briefing are concerned that the agency will concentrate too much power into one organization, or possible even one person.

“What has been proposed by the Democrats is a new consumer finance rationing and design authority,” said Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. “It gives one person – a credit rationing czar – the right to make all types of decisions. Of all the losers, the greatest loser, if this legislation passes, is going to be small business, because small business [is already] having trouble getting financing.”

UPDATE: By a tally of 32-29, the House Financial Services Committee voted to approve the Consumer Financial Protection Agency on Thursday.