Barney Frank News Archives

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Banking Committee, and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, each have introduced sweeping bills to overhaul regulation of the country's financial system.

It was supposed to be the week the House Financial Services Committee passed a key part of regulatory reform and the Senate Banking Committee finally began moving forward on its ambitious overhaul plan.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said removing the central bank from bank supervision and tampering with its political independence would a oeseriously impaira economic stability in the U.S. a oeA number of the legislative proposals being circulated would significantly reduce the capacity of the Federal Reserve to perform its core ...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi kept the door open Tuesday to a proposal by several senior House Democrats to impose a graduated surtax on American taxpayers to finance the war in Afghanistan.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said a a oestrong casea can be made for keeping the central bank involved in bank supervision, and subjecting interest rate policy to congressional audits may undermine confidence in monetary policy.

Both Democratic bills to regulate financiers assume lack of oversight caused meltdown.

It has taken nearly 10 months for Democrats to face reality, but it's finally dawning on some of President Obama's allies in Congress that his economic policies aren't working.

Democratic Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr.'s conservative voting record seems tailored to his Republican-leaning district, but he already is facing a challenge from a familiar Republican opponent.

Massachusetts has the highest percentage of Jews outside the tristate New York area, and its Jewish community is known as one of the most politically active in the country.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has a tough road ahead. Very tough. Bernanke, whose four-year term expires in January, is certain to face a contentious Senate banking panel at his confirmation hearing, set for Dec.

Rep. Michael Capuano boasts street smarts and blue-collar roots -- and an Ivy League pedigree.

Once again, Chairman Barney Frank is pushing to use left over TARP money to help unemployed homeowners stave off foreclosure.

The amendment that takes on companies "too big to fail" is advancing to the House floor.

Reps. Charles Rangel, John Larson and John Murtha are joining together to support a surtax on the Afghanistan war.

In this file photo, Gov. Jan Brewer talks to the media about the state budget. Without a single Democrat in support, state lawmakers agreed Monday to immediately cut $300 million in state spending, half of that from education.

Congressional pressure on FHA continued to mount last week, with the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee demanding hearings on the stability of the housing agency.

The House Financial Services Committee will consider today how much to expand audits of the U.S. central bank in a test of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernankea s clout among lawmakers.

A group of associations representing the property/casualty industry is asking for revisions to the recently unveiled Financial Stability Improvement Act.

John Blessing takes part in a slot tournament Wednesday at the Global Gaming Expo.

Name: Rep. Barney Frank Position: As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee , Barney Frank is busy this year in ways he may not have expected when he assumed the post in 2007, just before the country's economy slipped into a recession.

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Timothy Geithner told members of the Joint Economic Committee, 'We are working to put TARP out of its misery, and no one will be happier than I am to see that program terminated.' Congressional Democrats could be careening toward a head-on collision with the White House over $200 billion in leftover bailout money - money that Republicans think ...

Something quite amazing happened yesterday in Congress: the House Finance Committee -- in a truly bipartisan and even trans-ideological vote -- defied the banking industry, the Federal Reserve, the Democratic leadership, and mainstream Beltway opinion in order to pass an amendment, sponsored by GOP Rep.

Name: Rep. Spencer Bachus Position: Although Bachus isn't new to the House Financial Services Committee , he's relatively new to the committee's ranking member position, which he assumed in 2007.

In a display of populist anger toward the Federal Reserve, a House panel voted on Thursday to let Congress carry out sweeping new oversights of the central bank's policy decisions and operations.

The health care debate has sucked so much oxygen out of the Capitol's chambers that it's been easy to miss another simmering story: Democratic fears about the economy.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus threatened to oppose a key financial regulatory reform bill Thursday over unrelated economic concerns, forcing Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank to yank his bill before a final committee vote.

The full House of Representatives will likely pass Rep. Paul Kanjorski 's "Too Big to Fail" amendment, which allows regulators to break up big, complex, dangerous banks and other companies so they won't have to be bailed out.

" A key House Democrat introduced a contentious proposal Wednesday that would give federal regulators power to dismantle financial firms before they grow so large that their failure could endanger the entire financial system, even if those firms appear to be healthy and well capitalized.

A group of House Democrats alarmed over accusations the Federal Reserve mishandled the government's $85 billion bailout of American International Group want Congress to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the agency.

Three members of the state's congressional delegation back the idea of a UMass law school.

Of course the Repubs will try to stop this too. A November 18, 2009 Dems Want Unspent TARP Funds For Main Street Bailout 11-18-09 01:45 AM Democrats in Congress want to use unspent TARP funds to support homeowners and struggling workers, according to The Hill.

A senior U.S. lawmaker unveiled a much-anticipated proposal on Wednesday that would give government regulators the power to break up financial firms that pose a risk to economic stability.

Despite early pleas for bipartisanship, President Obama is forging ahead with his domestic agenda with a largely single-party strategy, unable to corral more than a handful of Republicans on a wide range of major legislation before Congress.

Palm Springs mayor Steve Pougnet and son Beckham, right, with Pougnet's husband Christopher Green and daughter Julia, on a family vacation.

More than a year after the financial system came to the brink of collapse, Congress is finally starting to make headway on bills that aim to prevent future catastrophes.

U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-CT, on Tuesday released an 1,136-page draft bill for sweeping financial regulatory reform that will create several new protection agencies, increase regulation of credit agencies and derivatives, and alter the role played by the U.S. Federal Reserve in the financial system.

Some of the world's largest financial firms on Monday urged a top U.S. lawmaker not to pursue big bank break-up legislation, an idea attracting interest in Congress and causing alarm on Wall Street.

The U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is easing concerns about the Federal Housing Administration after announcing last week that the FHA's reserves had fallen dangerously low due to foreclosures and defaults.

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank is floating a proposal to use the interest the government collects from the federal financial bailout fund to give loans to unemployed homeowners struggling to pay the mortgage.

Rep. Barney Frank , pledging that it would stop re-pricing its existing credit card customer base, these new annual fees are unethical and contradictory to the promise the bank made to both lawmakers and to its customers.

Senate Democrats on Tuesday proposed stripping the Federal Reserve of its supervisory powers and creating instead three new federal agencies to police banks, protect consumers and dismantle failing institutions.

President Obama will not accept any of the options given to him by Gen. Stanley McChrystal on the future of U.S. involvement in the Afghanistan war.A Obama "believes the U.S. needs to make clear to the Afghan government that America's commitment to the country isn't open ended," an official said in a statement .

FALL RIVER, Mass.a 'The federal housing chief will visit southeastern Massachusetts to see the impact of the foreclosure crisis and discuss how stimulus money is used to boost the economy.

Health care and climate change are among the major issues before Congress. But with his approaching re-election bid, the financial sector is a high priority for U.S. Rep.

Senator Jon Kyl and Rep. Spencer Bachus co-signed a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last week opposing calls to delay the Dec.

Democrats everywhere cheered U.S. Rep. Barney Frank in August when he reacted to a woman holding a poster of Obama-as-Hitler at a meeting in Dartmouth by asking "Madam, on what planet do you spend most of your time?" But the much-publicized exchange that furthered the blunt-speaking Frank's star status among Democrats had nothing to do with the ...

Ivan Ulloa is gay, but he says that's never caused him any problems at work. That's not surprising: For the past 11 months, Ulloa has tended bar at The Lark, a gay-friendly bar near Inland Center Mall in San Bernardino.

The effort to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will likely come next year as an amendment to the Defense Department spending bill, rather than through a standalone bill, according to gay Rep.

The Federal Reserve announced new rules Thursday that would prohibit banks and other issuers of debit cards from charging overdraft fees in many instances without the permission of the cardholder.

Senate Democrats on Tuesday proposed stripping the U.S. Federal Reserve of its supervisory powers and creating instead three new federal agencies to police banks, protect consumers and dismantle failing institutions.

Under a controversial bill unveiled by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Congressman Barney Frank, big banks would not be forced to downsize and the public would be the last to know when they fail.

Congressional Democrats looking to repeal the military's ban on openly gay troops are planning a possible amendment to a Department of Defense appropriations bill, possibly as early as next year.

Bertha Lewis, ACORN's chief executive officer, speaks to reporters. The group is suing the government, accusing it of unconstitutionally stripping it of federal funding.

Sen. Chris Dodd unveiled a financial regulation bill Tuesday that would take the job of overseeing banks away from the Fed, and give it to a new agency.

Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is embarking on a book tour next week - for the release of her autobiography, "Going Rogue" - that looks more like a whistle-stop campaign.

Repealing "don't ask, don't tell" will likely be included as part of next year's Department of Defense authorization bill in both chambers of Congress, Congressman Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said Wednesday.

A comprehensive solution to combustible markets Source: Boston Globe Author: US Rep.

Boston Herald General Economics Reporter Jay Fitzgerald has been a journalist and blogger for years.

With the Federal Reserve under more intense attack than at any time in decades, Ben Bernanke, its professorial chairman, got a schooling last month in how to handle the increased political demands of his job.

Vets in the US state of Iowa said Wednesday that a cat had tested positive for swine flu - the first known case in the world of the new pandemic strain spreading to the feline population.

Late Saturday evening, just prior to midnight, the Democrats in the House voted to pass their health care reform bill, HR 3962.

CNN host Wolf Blitzer admitted on the air Monday that while he may not know what a marijuana plant looks like, he'd certainly be able to identify the smell.

More than 100 fellow U.S. lawmakers are supporting U.S. Rep. Todd Platts' bid to become the federal government's top financial watchdog.

An act of heroism during the Civil War earned Sgt. William H. Carney the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African-American. Now there is an especially appropriate memorial to him at the 128 Mill St.

US Representative Barney Frank confirmed last night that he was present when his domestic partner was arrested on marijuana charges two years ago in Maine.

The House is now in a rare Saturday session for the government health care takeover ram down.

A Democratic Maryland congressman says he will vote against the House's health care legislation.

A group of fiscally conservative House Democrats is set to vote on a health-care bill that virtually all of its members think does too little to rein in health costs and keep the federal budget deficit under control.

Tipped off by two unnamed individuals, MyFox Boston claims to have unearthed a police report placing Congressman Barney Frank at the home of his longtime partner when police arrested the man and charged him with marijuana cultivation, possession and paraphernalia.

This is rich Massachusetts US Representative Barney Franks was present at a police pot bust at the home of James Ready's home in Ogunquit, ME, according to reports.

The House voted on Wednesday to accelerate the enactment date of tough new rules for credit card companies after voters complained of a rise in interest rates and steep new fees.

Democratic leaders scrambled Friday to secure enough votes to push major health care legislation through the House this weekend, but opposition from a growing number of Democrats , including Rep.

Congress could merge the Federal Reserve's bank supervisory authority into a newly created national bank regulator as part of regulatory reform under consideration on Capitol Hill, a key lawmaker said Friday.

When Democrats lost races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia this week, officials in both parties suggested that the outcome could undermine President Obama's push for a health care bill, scaring off politically vulnerable moderate Democrats at the very moment the White House needed them to get the bill through.

U.S. credit card companies have done an end run around tighter credit card laws that take effect in February, Rep.

The unemployment rate has hit double digits for the first time since 1983 a ' and is likely to go higher.

President Obama signed into law a measure last spring that would prevent credit card companies from raising interest rates on existing balances.

Two years after pleading guilty to crimes he now says he did not commit, former state Rep.

By now, you're probably sick of reading all the competing theories about who and what created the housing bubble of 2003 to 2006 and subsequent bust.

Responding to consumer frustration over rising credit card rates, the House on Wednesday approved legislation to accelerate the implementation of new laws to crack down on abusive practices by credit card companies to December 1. The House voted 331-92 to move up the effective date of recently approved restrictions on credit card companies from the ...

The largest rewrite of financial regulation since the Great Depression will clear the House of Representatives during the first week of December, the influential lawmaker shepherding the legislation promised Tuesday.

House Votes to Speed Up Credit Card Reforms Maloney-Frank bill will implement credit card reforms immediately upon enactment Washington, DC - The U.S. House of Representatives today overwhelmingly approved legislation sponsored by Reps.

For gay rights advocates, who suffered a crushing loss in Maine on Tuesday, the road forward seems more complicated than ever.

Share + Nov 4, 2009 5:05 pm US/Eastern Senate Reform Proposal Tri-Committee Reform Plan 1 of 1 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the U.S. Capitol on Sept.

Updated at 6:06 p.m. WASHINGTON -- In a sharp rebuke of Wall Street after a string of hefty bailouts last year, House Democrats are considering legislation that would let the government break up even healthy firms if regulators think they've grown too big.

Last week, President Barack Obama released key legislation designed to fight the banking industry's too-big-to-fail problem.

Could today's gubernatorial race be a redux of 1981, when a close election between Republican Tom Kean and Democrat Jim Florio resulted in recounts that lasted for weeks before the state had a governor-elect? In the end, Kean won that election by 1,797 votes out of 2,290,201 votes cast.

House Democrats are balking at an Obama administration plan that would put taxpayers on the hook for up to five years to dismantle any giant financial firm whose failure could repeat last year's Wall Street collapse.

The top Republican on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee wants bipartisan financial reform, but sees key issues as unsettled and opposes a new consumer protection watchdog, an aide told Reuters on Monday.

The movement to reform bank fees is accelerating as Congress takes aim at controversial industry policies that encourage consumers to fall into debt on their checking accounts.

CIT Group Inc. a s decision to seek court protection probably will keep money flowing to bondholders and 1 million customers of the 101-year-old commercial lender.

Wall Street keeps saying it's sorry. It's sorry for those bad bets on subprime mortgages.

A little after 4 p.m. last Thursday, Oct. 29, just hours after House Democrats unveiled their bill to reform health care in America, Rep.

Some 4,200 advisory firms can expect more oversight and higher costs under legislation that would remove them from SEC oversight and place them under state regulation.

In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting.

Banks and credit union officials described their controversial automatic overdraft protection programs - with fees that average $35 each time they are triggered - as a courtesy so customers aren't embarrassed when a store cashier denies a purchase or, worse, when a mortgage check bounces.