Financial Services
The 112th Congress marks my first term with the House Financial Services Committee. The Financial Services Committee has jurisdiction over all components of the nation’s housing and financial services sectors, including banking, insurance, real estate, public and assisted housing, and securities. In addition, they oversee laws and programs related to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Reserve Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and international agencies like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
I am proud to serve on two subcommittees on the Financial Services Committee. The Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee has jurisdiction over bank regulations and banking institutions as well as the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau established under the Dodd-Frank bill signed into law in 2010. The Insurance, Housing, and Community Opportunity Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the housing and real estate sector as well as insurance institutions.
Georgia is a growing financial center and serves as headquarters for numerous Fortune 500 companies, such as Coca-Cola, Aflac, UPS, and Home Depot, and it is important we have a conservative free-market voice on the committee who is working for Georgia. We have been hit especially hard by the current economic downturn. We have had more bank failures since 2008 than any other state in the country and we are also one of the top ten states for foreclosures. While we have seen some improvements recently, but there is still a long way to go.
In my short time on the committee, I have lead the way on helping community banks. Community banks are the lifeblood of many of our towns and cities, providing much needed capital for homeowners and small businesses. However, more often than not, they have paid the price for the mistakes made on Wall Street. And they continue to suffer at the hands of nameless, faceless Washington regulators who have never stepped foot in a bank except to cash a pay check. This has got to end. That's why I introduced H.R. 2056. The bill calls for a study into the practices and policies of the FDIC to determine if they do more harm than good. I'm happy to announce the legislation was signed into law by the president earlier this year. I look forward to getting the results of this study and will continue to fight to protect our community banks.
If you have further questions about this issue, you can contact Ellen Johnson in my Washington DC office at 202-225-5901 or email me.
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