Financial Institutions

The strength and depth of our financial services system is based in part on healthy competition between different financial institutions: national banks, community banks, brokerage houses, credit unions, and money services businesses. In Congress I have sponsored and cosponsored several pieces of legislation to ensure a level playing field both domestically and internationally so that the forces of the free market can foster innovation and growth in the financial services sector.

Cosponsored legislation that became law in the 112th Congress

12/16/11-H.R. 3421, Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act – I was a cosponsor of H.R. 3427, This piece of legislation directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of congressional gold medals in honor of the men and women who perished as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York, and the Pentagon Memorial at the Pentagon. It authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell medals, with amounts received from the sale to be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

07/8/11-H.R. 2056, – I was a cosponsor of H.R. 5297. This piece of legislation instructs the Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to study the impact of insured depository institution failures. The bill prescribes study details, including: the impact of loss-sharing agreements (LSAs) upon insured depository institutions; FDIC policies and procedures for monitoring LSAs; FDIC policies and procedures for terminating LSAs; methods of ensuring the orderly end of expiring LSAs; the significance of losses; and the number of insured depository institutions placed into either receivership or conservatorship due to significant losses.

Cosponsored legislation in the 112th Congress

11/17/11 – H.R. 3461, the Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act of 2011.  I am the lead Democrat along with Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of a bill to address bank examination standards and to ensure that financial institutions have an appropriate outlet for their concerns about examinations. I had heard many reports from institutions in my district that there was a disconnect between policy coming out of Washington and how examinations were conducted in the field. The bill Rep. Capito and I introduced is designed to expose many of those concerns and attempt to close the gap between Washington and field examiners.

Cosponsored legislation that became law in the 111th Congress

05/13/10-H.R. 5297, Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 – I was a cosponsor of H.R. 5297, this piece of legislation amends the Small Business Act to temporarily increase the maximum Small Business Administration (SBA) participation in a loan on a deferred basis. H.R. 5297 raises from $1.5 million to $5 million the maximum loan amounts, increases from $35,000 to $50,000 the maximum amount of a microloan (to a start-up, newly-established, and growing small business) under the Microloan program, increases from $3.5 million to $5 million the maximum total amount of loans to one intermediary participating in the Microloan program, and amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to extend through December 31, 2010

02/24/10 – H.R. 4684, National September 11 Memorial & Museum Commemorative Medal Act of 2010 - I was a cosponsor of H.R. 4684, which would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to declare that any person who printed an expiration date on any receipt provided to a consumer cardholder at a point of sale (POS) or transaction between December 4, 2004, but otherwise complied with FCRA requirements for such

Cosponsored legislation that became law in the 110th Congress

01/17/08 – H.R. 4008. Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act of 2007 - I was a cosponsor of H.R. 4008, which would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to declare that any person who printed an expiration date on any receipt provided to a consumer cardholder at a point of sale (POS) or transaction between December 4, 2004, but otherwise complied with FCRA requirements for such receipt, shall not be in willful noncompliance by reason of printing such expiration date on it.

06/18/07 - H.R. 2761, Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 - I was a cosponsor of H.R. 2761, the House reauthorization of our Terrorism Risk Insurance Program in the 110th Congress. This bill amends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act to redefine an act of terrorism to eliminate the requirement that the individual or individuals committing a terrorist act be acting on behalf of any foreign person or foreign interest and would extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program through 2014.

Cosponsored legislation that became law in the 109th Congress

03/09/05 - H.R. 1185, Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 - I was a cosponsor of H.R. 1185, the House deposit insurance reform bill in the 109th Congress, which was included in the long-overdue deposit insurance bill that became law in February 2006. I was the lead Democrat on an amendment to an earlier bill, included in the final law, which gives premium credits to institutions that paid in funds in past years. The Act also increases insurance coverage and sets up adjustments that authorize increasing coverage limits for inflation every five years, lessens premium volatility for banks, gives dividend returns, establishes a risk-based premium system, and merges the two bank and thrift insurance funds into a single Deposit Insurance Fund.

07/28/05 - H.R. 3505, Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2005 - I was a cosponsor of the regulatory relief bill that passed the House and I supported the version of regulatory relief, based on the Senate bill that became law in October 2006. Although I support the reforms that were included in the Senate bill, I regret that it did not include several additional provisions from the House bill that I think would have done more to relieve unnecessary regulatory burdens on our financial institutions. Among these was an amendment, on which I was the lead Democrat, to reduce burdensome and inefficient reporting of large transactions under the Bank Secrecy Act by exempting well-known customers from this requirement. When the House took up the Senate bill, I introduced this provision with Congressman Bachus as a stand-alone bill, H.R. 5341, which passed the House.

Cosponsored legislation that passed the House in the 109th Congress

03/01/05 - H.R. 1025, Mortgage Servicing Clarification Act - Amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exempt from mandatory debt collection disclosures any primary servicer of federally related mortgage loans secured by first liens that include loans in default at the time such servicer became responsible for servicing such loans.

03/02/05 - H.R. 1042, Net Worth Amendment for Credit Unions Act - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act relating to the requirement of prompt corrective action to resolve the problems of an insured credit union at the least possible long-term loss to the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.

06/27/06 - H.R. 5341, Seasoned Customer CTR Exemption Act of 2006 - Exempts a depository institution from filing a Currency Transaction Report if the transaction is with a well-known business that has had an account with that institution for at least a year and for whom the institution has filed CTR reports in the past.

Other cosponsored legislation

06/13/06 - H.Con.Res. 429 - Recognizing the low presence of minorities in the financial services industry and minorities and women in upper level positions of management, and expressing the sense of the Congress that active measures should be taken to increase the demographic diversity of the financial services industry.

02/17/05 - H.R. 928, International Remittance Consumer Protection Act of 2005 - Provides for increased disclosure to remittance senders and guidance from regulators to financial institutions to encourage low cost remittance products. Also directs the U.S. Executive Director at the Inter-American Development Bank to work with financial institutions abroad to increase access for the unbanked and to reduce costs associated with sending or receiving remittances.

03/03/05 - H.R. 1069, Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act - Responding to the dramatic increase in loss of personal data, this bill requires financial institutions to promptly notify affected customers when the institution or its agent learns that a breach of personal information has occurred.

03/10/05 - H.R. 1224, Business Checking Freedom Act - This legislation, which passed the House in the 108th Congress, allows small businesses to be paid interest on their business checking accounts.

05/12/05 - Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act of 2005 - I have been a lead cosponsor of CURIA in the 109th and 108th Congresses. The bill would provide credit unions with more flexibility in capital and member lending and update anachronistic statutory provisions. While some of the bill's provisions were included in the larger regulatory relief bill that became law in the 109th Congress, many key provisions were not included.

05/18/05 - H.R. 2457, Employee Ownership Opportunity Act - Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to require regulators to consider whether a financial institution supports employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) or eligible worker owned cooperatives (EWOCs)in assessing CRA compliance.

05/25/05 - H.R. 2643, Innocent Check Depositor Protection Act - Bars a receiving depository institution from imposing any fee on the depositor of a check that has been dishonored by the originating institution due to lack of funds in the check writer's account.

05/26/05 - H.R. 2715, Stop Self-Authorized Secret Searches Act - Imposes reasonable requirements for the use of national security letters to obtain information from financial institutions.

06/30/05 - H.R. 3140, Consumer Data Security and Notification Act of 2005 - Extends the protections of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to cover communication of personally identifiable information by information brokers to third parties.

07/26/05 - H.R. 3426, Preservation of Federalism in Banking Act - Restricts federal preemption of state banking law to those situations in which a federal statute or regulation pursuant to a federal statute expressly governs the activity.