Financial Services Committee
More on Financial Services Committee
Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) has been named the Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade for the 115th Congress. Among other issues, the subcommittee is responsible for oversight of the Federal Reserve System, as well as domestic and international monetary policy.
Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY) today made the following statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is unconstitutional:
“Today the second highest court in the land agreed with what I have been saying all along; that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as currently structured is unconstitutional. This ruling vindicates my work to reform the Bureau and hold the agency accountable for its regulatory overreaches and abuses of power.”
Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) today participated in a Financial Services Committee hearing titled, “Holding Wall Street Accountable: Investigating Wells Fargo’s Opening of Unauthorized Accounts” to question John Stumpf, Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo. The hearing is the first in the committee’s investigation of Wells Fargo since the company admitted to opening hundreds of thousands of deposit and credit card accounts without customers’ knowledge or consent.
Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) today introduced H.R. 5276, the No Bailouts for State, Territory, and Local Governments Act. The bill prohibits the use of federal funds to bail out any state, territory, municipal, local or county government that is bankrupt or at risk of default. It also prohibits the Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve from bailing out state, territorial, and local governments in financial distress.
In response to questions from Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) during a Committee on Financial Services hearing, Director Richard Cordray of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau confirmed that the Federal Reserve does not review or question the Bureau’s budget requests as long as they are below the allowed spending caps.
In response to questions from Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) during a Committee on Financial Services hearing, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen confirmed that the Fed does not approve or even oversee the budget of more than $600 million a year it gives to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Because the Bureau receives its funding directly from the Fed, it is beyond the reach of Congress's power of the purse to rein in its regulatory overreaches and lavish spending.
Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY) today voted for and the House passed H.R. 22, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The bill funds improvements to America’s surface transportation infrastructure including roads, bridges, transit systems, and rail transportation network. The bill includes a number of reforms to refocus funding on national priorities, provide certainty and flexibility for states and local governments, streamline approval processes, while maintaining a strong commitment to safety.
H.R. 1259, the Helping Expand Lending Practices (HELP) in Rural Communities Act introduced by Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) has been included in the final conference report of H.R. 22, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, which is expected to be voted on by the House of Representatives tomorrow. Congressman Barr’s bill would allow communities to contest their designation as “non-rural” and the restrictions that designation brings on lending by community banks and credit unions.
The House of Representatives today passed H.R. 1210, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act introduced by Congressman Andy Barr (KY-6) in a bipartisan vote of 255 to 174. The bill promotes affordable home financing and discourages the practice of securitizing and selling of mortgages that led to the 2008 financial crisis and the resulting taxpayer bailouts of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and large systemically important financial institutions.
Congressman Andy Barr (KY-6) today voted against renewing the charter of the Export-Import Bank, which expired on June 30, 2015. The Bank offers taxpayer-backed loans and guarantees purportedly to support U.S. exports, but has been criticized for politicized lending, internal corruption, cronyism, handing out taxpayer dollars to foreign governments and corporations at the expense of American competitors, and providing an unfair advantage to large corporations over smaller exporters.