skip to main contentskip to popular page linksskip to main navigation links
photo of Mike Capuano Michael E. Capuano representing the 7th district of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives Go to the House of Representatives homepage
Like Mike on Facebook Visit Mike's video channel on YouTube Like Mike on Facebook

 

 My Schedule My Voting Record District Maps Register To Vote FAQ Site Map e-Updates

Congressman Capuano's
E-UPDATE
An update from the office of U.S. Representative Michael E. Capuano
7th Congressional District of Massachusetts


12,456 subscribers

February 14, 2014

Debt Ceiling

On Tuesday the House voted to suspend the debt ceiling until March 15, 2015. Without action, the federal government ran the risk of defaulting on bills that have already been incurred. As I am sure you are aware, the issue of suspending the debt ceiling has come up regularly over the past few years, and the government has come dangerously close to breaching it. Simply put, this would be catastrophic for the economy. I was encouraged that Speaker Boehner made the decision to bring a clean debt ceiling suspension proposal to the floor. In past discussions, many Republicans have refused to consider doing anything with the debt ceiling unless equivalent spending cuts were also implemented. President Obama has held firm that he will not negotiate on this matter. Please note, this is really not a matter of new spending. This gives the government the ability to pay bills it has already incurred. You will notice that very few Republicans supported this measure. I give the Speaker credit for bringing this legislation to the floor despite such strong opposition within his own party. It was important for the health of our economy to address this deadline. I voted YES. The legislation passed the House and the President is expected to sign it. The entire vote is recorded below:

  YEA NAY PRESENT NOT VOTING
REPUBLICAN

28

199

0

5

DEMOCRAT

193

2

0

5

TOTAL

221

201

0

10

MASSACHUSETTS
DELEGATION

9

0

0

0

A Note About 2014 and the Legislative Calendar

Despite this week’s success with the debt ceiling, I have little hope that much more of substance will be placed on the legislative calendar this year. In a February 12th National Journal Daily article on the debt ceiling, Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp is actually quoted as saying, “That’s what our leadership said – if we get past this one, we’re done until the election.” Though I cannot say I am surprised, I am offended and disappointed. There are so many important issues we should be addressing. Even if we cannot agree on how to handle them, we owe it to the public to at least have an open debate about issues like extending unemployment insurance, reforming immigration policies and increasing the minimum wage. I realize that reasonable people differ about how to address these matters and compromise may prove elusive. However, that doesn’t mean the House should stop working on them.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen

New Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen appeared this week before the Financial Services Committee to deliver the Federal Reserve’s semi-annual report to Congress. When I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions I brought up the perception that many financial institutions are still considered “Too Big to Fail” despite recent controls put in place by Dodd Frank financial regulatory reform. I spoke about the possibility of reinstituting some provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act, which was repealed more than a decade ago. Glass-Steagall required a separation between commercial and investment banking and many, including myself, believe that the easing of this separation contributed to the financial crisis in 2008.

I also raised the possibility of employing a market-driven limitation on size such as the approach taken through my legislation, H.R. 2266, the Subsidy Reserve Act of 2013. H.R. 2266 requires financial entities with assets over $500 billion to maintain a subsidy reserve account on its balance sheet. The idea behind the subsidy reserve is to require the financial entities that are perceived as “too big to fail” to set aside funds each year that they could not access for any reason.

The most interesting response I received from Federal Reserve Chair Yellen came when I asked her about a recent editorial in American Banker that pointed out the moral hazard of not prosecuting certain bankers on a personal basis for any wrongdoing and instead allowing them to write corporate checks as restitution. Chair Yellen’s response was: “I agree with you that there certainly should be accountability within these organizations.” That answer certainly sounds to me like she agrees that no one should be Too Big to Jail and I was glad to hear it. I am including links to the hearing video as well as the editorial for your review.

http://www.americanbanker.com/bankthink/how-feds-double-standard-enables-bad-bankers-1065367-1.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9KOtZiLm3I&feature;=youtu.be

Transportation Panel

As Ranking Member on the Transportation Committee’s Panel on Public Private Partnerships, I participated in a roundtable policy discussion on “Case Studies in Public-Private Partnerships. We looked at a number of public/private partnership examples such as the Capital Beltway High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes in Virginia and Ohio River bridges in Ohio and Indiana. We also considered transit projects in Maryland and Colorado as well as upgrades to the Presidio Parkway which leads to the Golden Gate Bridge in California.

All of these initiatives have a private sector component and the panel is exploring the effectiveness of these partnerships in delivering transportation services for commuters. Communities all over the country are dealing with pressing transportation needs and the resources to address them are limited. The panel is exploring the role that public/private partnerships can play in improving infrastructure and considering also how to best structure these partnerships to ensure that the public interests are taken into account.

What’s Up Next Week

A district work period is scheduled. The next House votes will take place on Tuesday February 25th.

Mike


Congressman Mike Capuano
7th District, Massachusetts
Committee on Ethics
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee on Financial Services

P.S. I welcome your feedback on our e-Updates. Please let me and my staff know what you think of this service by e-mailing our office.


District Offices:

110 First Street, Cambridge
Roxbury Community College Campus Library, Room 211, Boston
Stetson Hall Room 124, 6 South Main Street, Randolph

District Office Phone:

(617) 621-6208

DC Office:

1414 Longworth Building, Washington, DC 20515

DC Office Phone:

(202) 225-5111

Website and e-mail:

capuano.house.gov

You have received this e-mail because you subscribed to Rep. Capuano's E-Mail Updates authorizing Rep. Capuano to send your inbox periodic e-mail updates from his Congressional office.

UNSUBSCRIBE: if you would like to unsubscribe from this newsletter, you may do so at this address: http://capuano.house.gov/e-updates/unsubscribe.shtml.

PRIVACY POLICY: Your e-mail address will not be shared with anyone else or sold in any way. To read the complete privacy policy, visit: http://capuano.house.gov/privacypolicy.shtml.

E-Updates are sent from an unattended mailbox. Please do not reply directly to this e-mail. Instead, if you wish to e-mail us, please go to http://capuano.house.gov/contact/.
 
NEWS & MULTIMEDIA

 

Privacy Policy

To protect your privacy, subscriptions to Rep. Capuano's E-Updates are subject to our Privacy Policy.

 

Bill Search

Search Congress.gov for legislative information.

Tip: enter bill numbers without spaces, i.e. "h.res.26" or "hres26"

 

Newspapers

 

News Services

Here are some informative online news services to help you find reports from Boston and the region, as well as national and international news stories.

 

Home | About | Biography | Contact | Issues | Links | News | Schedules | Services

E-Updates | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Accessibility

110 First Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
P: (617) 621-6208
F: (617) 621-8628
Hours

  Constituent Services Click to close menu
  Casework and Assistance
  Citizenship/Naturalization
  Immigration Casework
  Grants and Federal Domestic Assistance
  Presidential Greetings
  Flags
  Tours
  Washington, D.C. Attractions
  U.S. Service Academy Nominations
  Internships
  FAQs
  Media Center Click to close menu
  e-Updates
  Press Items
  Recent Votes
  Video and Audio
  Photos
  Legislative Work Click to close menu
  Issues
  Recent Votes
  Voting Record
  Sponsored Legislation
  Earmark Requests
  Committees and Caucuses
  Ethics Task Force
  Schedules Click to close menu
  My Schedule
  House Floor Summary
  Weekly House Schedule
  Annual House Calendar
  Weekly Senate Schedule
  Our District Click to close menu
  Maps
  Cities
  Demographics
  The 7th District Over the Years
  Nobel Prize Winners
  Interesting facts about Massachusetts
  Massachusetts Links
  Links Click to close menu
  Massachusetts Links
    State Government
    About the 7th District
    Arts, Culture and Attractions
    Chambers of Commerce
    Colleges and Universities
    Exploring Massachusetts
    Hospitals and Health Organizations
    Newspapers
    Sports

  Federal Government Links
    USA.gov - Official Government Portal
    Legislative Branch
    Executive Branch
    Judicial Branch
    Federal Agencies
    Kids' Pages
    Register to Vote
    Washington, D.C. Attractions
    Business Opportunities with the Government
  Contact Click to close menu
  District Office
  Washington, D.C. Office
  Office Hours Program
  Community Meetings
  E-mail Me