Updates
The latest news and advocacy information for industrial bankers.
Biden budget emphasizes deficit reduction, climate and supply chain resilience
“Budgets are statements of values,” said President Joe Biden in unveiling his first budget proposal on Monday. The President’s budget for FY 2023 would reduce the federal deficit by approximately $1 trillion over the next 10 years….
PAVE Task Force recommends appraisal changes
The Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE), a 13-agency initiative to fight bias in home appraisals, published a 21-point Action Plan this week.
Senate Banking advances Fed, FHFA nominees after Raskin withdraws
Sarah Bloom Raskin, President Biden’s nominee to be Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Board for Supervision, asked the President to withdraw her nomination on Tuesday after it became clear that confirmation would be impossible.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine.
In Washington, D.C., the business of government continues, and it was an exceptionally busy week.
Fed will proceed with rate increase despite global uncertainty, says Powell
Federal Reserve Board Chairman pro tempore (because he hasn’t been confirmed yet) Jerome Powell appeared before the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee this week to deliver the Fed’s semiannual Monetary Policy Report. The economy is remarkably strong, Powell said, and everything would be great if not for that pesky inflation.
Senate approves funding to March 11, leaves postal reform undone
Last night the Senate voted 65-27 to extend funding for the federal government another three weeks, preventing a shutdown. Work continues on an omnibus funding bill.
Postal Service reform passes House
The House of Representatives approved HR 3076, the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act, by a vote of 342-92 on Tuesday.
House passes America COMPETES Act
The House of Representatives voted along party lines (222-210, with Rep. Adam Kinzinger the only Republican voting aye) to pass HR 4521, which House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) described as “a generational commitment to America’s technological edge, to our research and development, and to our economic competitiveness.”
House Democrats unveil America COMPETES Act
On Tuesday, the chairs of 11 House Committees jointly unveiled the text of the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act of 2022 (America COMPETES), the House’s companion bill to the Senate’s United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which passed the Senate last June.
Seeing paradise by the dashboard light
We can’t publish this week without noting the passing of Meat Loaf, best known for his operatic rock album Bat out of Hell but immortal in our memories as Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Tonight we’ll gather our lighters, rice, newspapers, and squirt guns, and do the Time Warp in his honor.
All Federal Reserve, all the time
Fed watchers were busy this week. Chairman Jay Powell appeared before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday for a hearing on his nomination to a second term.
Biden's Fed nominees would make history. Will they all make the cut?
The Biden administration’s picks to fill out the remainder of the Federal Reserve Board are a high-water mark for racial and gender diversity on the central bank’s governing body, but it remains to be seen how the nominees will be received by the Senate.
Happy New Year
Or maybe, Happy New Year? Washington got back to work slowly this week after a sudden, massive snowstorm on Monday.
McWilliams to resign as FDIC chief in sudden end to power struggle
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Jelena McWilliams announced she will resign early next year, a decision that comes just weeks after a partisan struggle on the agency's board threatened her leadership.
Farewell to 2021
The year is drawing to a close, and Washington is settling down for a short winter’s nap. The House of Representatives has left town for the holidays. The Senate is still in session, voting on nominations, but has pushed consideration of the President’s Build Back Better Act to 2022. It’s eerily warm out, but we’re hanging our stockings anyway, and wishing all of you a safe and happy holiday season.
House Financial Services Committee gets a lesson on stablecoins
Although subcommittees and task forces had held hearings on a wide range of topics related to cryptocurrency and digital assets, it wasn’t until this week that the full House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the topic.
The CR is only half the battle
The House and Senate agreed yesterday to a continuing resolution that should keep the government running until February 18, but the government may default on its obligations sometime before the year end anyway, unless Congress raises the debt ceiling.
Congratulations to Top Lobbyists of 2021
Doyle Bartlett and Blair Hancock, members of NAIB’s federal government relations team, were recognized by the noted publication The Hill on their 2021 list of top lobbyists.
House approves Build Back Better plan on party lines
After a speech by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) lasting more than eight hours (we admit we did not stay up for all of it), the House of Representatives approved HR 5376, the Build Back Better Act, by a 220-213 vote this morning.
Conference of State Bank Supervisors expresses concern regarding ILC legislation
Congress is considering eliminating the exemption for industrial loan companies (“ILCs”) from the definition of a bank under the Bank Holding Company Act (“BHCA”). State regulators believe there are several misconceptions regarding ILCs and the permissible activities of ILCs and their commercial parents.