June was another busy month for Congress, as lawmakers continued work on year-end spending bills, held several key hearings, and began the process of nominating senior officials.
Senate Budget Committee holds hearing on climate change and insurance risks
June 5NumberIn November 2015, the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing titled “Risky Business: Climate is Already Shocking Insurance Markets.” During the hearing, Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse spoke about how the climate crisis is wreaking havoc on insurance markets, harming homeowners. The hearing also addressed an issue Better Markets has written about in the past: how the current insurance and climate crisis could lead to a banking crisis. Read Better Markets’ report on the insurance crisis here.
CFPB Director Defends Agency in Semiannual Report to Congress
June 12Number And 13NumberCFPB Director Rohit Chopra delivered his semi-annual report to Congress in the House and Senate. This was the Director’s first appearance before Congress since the Supreme Court upheld the CFPB’s funding structure. Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown and House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Waters praised the Supreme Court’s decision and the CFPB’s actions to protect consumers and rein in junk fees in the financial industry.
Congressional reaction to major nominations
June 13thNumber The Biden Administration has nominated multiple candidates to key positions at the FDIC, SEC and Treasury. Christy Goldsmith Romero has been nominated to serve as FDIC Chairman, Caroline Crenshaw has been re-nominated as SEC Commissioner, and Christine Johnson has been nominated to serve as Under Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Treasury Department. Chairman Brown and Ranking Director Waters praised both nominations, citing their strong track records of financial regulation and protecting consumers and taxpayers. Better Markets concurred, praising the nominations. Press releases on the FDIC and Treasury nominations can be found here, and the SEC nominations can be found here.
Financial Services Spending Bill Passes Congress
June 13thNumberThe Senate Appropriations Committee Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee held a hearing on the next fiscal year budget with both the SEC and CFTC chairs. Cryptocurrency was a big part of the conversation during the hearing, with Chairman Chris Van Hollen and Senator Dick Durbin both expressing skepticism that the CFTC has adequate funding and authority to protect consumers in an industry rife with fraud and deception. Better Markets agrees, releasing a fact sheet ahead of the hearing on the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Deregulation Act, which passed the House of Representatives last month. Better Markets also released a fact sheet showing that the SEC remains underfunded in overseeing the growing market it is responsible for. Be sure to read our Cryptocurrency fact sheet here and the SEC Budget fact sheet here.
HFSC Stress Test Hearing
June 26Number The House Subcommittee on Financial Services and Financial Institutions held a hearing titled “Stress Testing: What’s Inside the Black Box?” During the hearing, Senator Foster emphasized the importance of stress testing and said we need to ensure that stress tests are actually stressful to protect consumers from bank failures. Better Markets also produced a fact sheet on stress testing to counter industry calls for greater transparency by making stress test responses publicly available to allow banks to rig the tests. Be sure to read the fact sheet here.
