November 16, 2012

Back in Washington

Dear Friends,

The lame duck session of the 112th Congress began Tuesday. Newly elected Members have also been on Capitol Hill participating in orientation sessions and preparing to take office in January. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of my new colleagues and catch up with returning Members. I also spent some time with Massachusetts’ newest Members, Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren and Representative-elect Joe Kennedy. I welcome them both to the delegation and look forward to working with them on behalf of the people of Massachusetts.

As you can imagine, the looming fiscal cliff and all of its challenges, including sequestration, are a primary focus of discussion in Washington. I think it’s fair to say that negotiations between parties are proceeding, although significant progress has not yet been made. I still think we will get there, although it will take some time. I will continue to keep you informed as negotiations progress.

MF Global

As you may recall, I serve as Ranking Member on the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The subcommittee has been probing the collapse of MF Global for the past year, holding numerous hearings and working to determine what went wrong. My focus also has been on assessing existing regulations in an effort to determine what role they may have played in the actions that led to the collapse of MF Global and the loss of over a billion dollars in customer funds. This week, Subcommittee Chairman Neugebauer released a majority staff report on MF Global. I did not co-sponsor that report, deciding instead to prepare an addendum to it. I agree with many of the observations and recommendations contained in the report, but believe that others require additional commentary. I am particularly interested in the role that regulators played in what happened and what improvements can be made moving forward. We received the final majority report yesterday and I am in the process of drafting the addendum.

Recent Votes

Today the House considered H.R. 6156: Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012. This legislation removes Russia and Moldova from Title VI of the Trade Act of 1974 (Jackson-Vanik), establishing permanent normal trade relations with both countries. H.R. 6156 also freezes assets and blocks visas for anyone involved in the 2009 murder of Sergei Magnitsky, who died in police custody, and any others who participate in human rights abuses in Russia. I am encouraged that human rights provisions were included in H.R. 6156. This is an issue I always consider when reviewing trade agreements. In the final analysis, however, I couldn’t support H.R. 6156 because of the impact that it could have on American jobs. I voted NO. H.R. 6156 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

What’s Up Next Week

The House is not in session. The next House votes are scheduled for Tuesday, November 27th. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and has the chance to spend some time with loved ones.