Financial Services Committee
My seat on the House Financial Services Committee provides central and eastern Kentuckians with a voice to champion the important role of community financial institutions. Kentucky’s community banks and credit unions have a proud history, and as a member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, I am focused on improving the regulatory environment that threatens our community financial institutions and limits Kentuckians’ access to responsible credit. Access to credit issues impact the ability of Kentuckians to do things like purchase a home, expand and grow a business, or maintain the operations of a farm, so it is vital that Washington’s lending rules do not close economic opportunities by going too far. In addition to oversight of the banking regulatory system, my work on the Financial Services Committee also involves issues related to housing, insurance, capital markets, and monetary policy.
As your Representative in the 113th Congress, I have supported these financial services legislative initiatives:
- I introduced H.R. 2672, the CFPB Rural Designation Petition and Correction Act. The idea for this legislation began with a hearing held by the Financial Services Committee in May 2013, where I learned about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s blatantly incorrect designation of Bath County, Kentucky as “non-rural.” This legislation would provide rural areas like Bath County the right to petition to be properly reclassified as “rural” and relieve them from burdensome regulations that limit their ability to lend and help create jobs in their communities.
- I introduced H.R. 2673, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act. This legislation provides regulatory relief to the Qualified Mortgage rule in Dodd-Frank for residential mortgage loans held on portfolio for the life of the loan. The principles of this legislation were included in H.R. 2767, the PATH Act (Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners).
- I cosponsored H.R. 1533, the Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act. This legislation addresses three major concerns that community financial institutions have with the examination process: the lack of timeliness with examinations; the inconsistencies and lack of adherence to examination standards; and the lack of independence and effectiveness with the current appeals process.
- I supported H.R. 2767, the PATH Act. This legislation reforms our nation’s broken housing finance system, which is currently dominated by two housing Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), Fannie May and Freddie Mac – the GSEs at the epicenter of the financial crisis. This legislation would wind down Fannie and Freddie, which have been in conservatorship since 2008 and were recipients of the largest bailout in U.S. history, at nearly $200 billion. Further, in an effort to build a sustainable housing finance system that protects both taxpayers and homeowners, the PATH Act includes reforms to clearly define the mission of the Federal Housing Administration and a number of vital regulatory relief measures which invite private-sector capital back into the system.
More on Financial Services Committee
LEXINGTON – Congressman Andy Barr took on a new role Friday, August 22, serving as a “Teller for a Day” at the Citizens Guaranty Bank in Berea.
“I enjoyed being a ‘Teller for a Day’ and getting a first-hand look at the kind of hard work being done by community bankers here in Berea and across Kentucky,” said Congressman Barr. “Our community banks are a critical resource for Kentuckians looking to responsibly gain access to the credit they need – including credit to purchase a home, pay for higher education, or even invest in their business.”
WASHINGTON – Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) and Rep. Andy Barr (KY-06) applaud the bipartisan effort to pass H.R. 5062, the Examination and Supervisory Privilege Parity Act of 2014. The legislation clarifies the sharing of information between federal and state regulators that license, supervise or examine consumer financial products or services, it will not waive or affect any privilege during the examination process.
Congressman Andy Barr spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of his legislation, H.R. 2672, the Helping Expand Lending Practices in Rural Communities Act, or the HELP Rural Communities Act, which passed the House by a bipartisan voice vote on May 6, 2014.
Washington - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 2672, the Helping Expand Lending Practices in Rural Communities Act, or the HELP Rural Communities Act. H.R. 2672 is legislation introduced by Congressman Andy Barr that would provide individuals in rural areas like Bath County, Kentucky, the right to petition for the area to be properly reclassified as “rural” and relieve the local community banks from burdensome regulations that unfairly limit their ability to lend and help create jobs in their communities.
WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives passed Congressman Andy Barr’s bipartisan, commonsense fix to a real-world problem voiced by community banks and employers in Kentucky.
H.R. 4167, the Restoring Proven Financing for American Employers Act, included significant bipartisan input from Democratic members of the House Committee on Financial Services, passing out of the Committee in March by a vote of 53-3, and passing the full House today by a bipartisan voice vote.
Washington - Today, the House Committee on Financial Services approved two pieces of legislation introduced by Congressman Andy Barr. Both H.R. 2672, the Helping Expand Lending Practices and Rural Communities Act, or the HELP Rural Communities Act, and H.R. 4167, the Restoring Proven Financing for American Employers Act, included significant bipartisan input from Democratic members of the Committee, and would ensure that Washington bureaucrats don’t needlessly and arbitrarily restrict access to credit.
On Tuesday, February 11th, the new Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen, appeared before the Financial Services Committee to provide testimony about the Fed's policies and to answer questions from Members about the state of the economy.
Congressman Barr's questions to Chair Yellen focused on improving the employment situation in our country, the impact of Obamacare on the size of the labor force, and the long-term consequences and sustainability of our national debt.
On Tuesday, during a Financial Services Committee hearing, I questioned Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray about the Bureau's plans to remedy the mis-designation of Bath County, Kentucky as "non-rural" for purposes of lending rules that significantly will limit access to credit in the community if not corrected.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Andy Barr released the following statement following President Obama’s State of the Union Address:
“Tonight, I had hoped to hear about how the President will reduce our exploding federal debt, protect the American people from the harmful effects of the new healthcare law, and grow the economy to create jobs for hardworking families who are suffering in this stagnant economy.
“Unfortunately, the President offered the same failed approach of more government spending, more job-crushing regulations, and higher taxes.