June was another busy month on Capitol Hill. Congress continued work on the year-end spending bill, held several important hearings and is beginning the high-level nominations process.
Senate Budget Committee holds hearing on climate change and insurance risk
June 5HeThe Senate Budget Committee held a hearing entitled “Riskier business: How climate is already challenging insurance markets.” During the hearing, Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse spoke about how the climate crisis is wreaking havoc on the insurance market and hurting homeowners. The hearing also raised an issue that Better Markets has written about in the past: how the current climate and insurance crisis could lead to a banking crisis. Be sure to read Better Markets' report on insurance crisis here.
CFPB director defends agency in semiannual report to Congress
June 12thHe and 13thCFPB Director Rohit Chopra presented his semiannual report to Congress at the Senate and Home. This is the first time the Director has been on Capitol Hill since the Supreme Court confirmed CFPB funding structure. Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown and House Financial Services Ranking Member Waters praised the Supreme Court's decision and the CFPB's actions to protect consumers and rein in junk fees on the Internet. financial industry.
Capitol Hill reacts to key nominations
June 13th The Biden administration nominated several key positions at the FDIC, SEC and Treasury. Christy Goldsmith Romero was nominated for chair of the FDIC, Caroline Crenshaw was reappointed as SEC commissioner, and Kristin Johnson was nominated to be undersecretary for financial institutions at the Treasury Department. brown president and Classification member waters Both spoke favorably of the nominations due to their strong backgrounds in financial regulation and consumer and taxpayer protection. Better Markets agrees and applauded the nominations. You can read our press release at FDIC and Treasury nominations hereand the SEC nomination here.
The financial services spending bill advances in Congress
June 13ththSenate Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Financial Services held a hearing with the chairmen of the SEC and CFTC to discuss their budget for the next fiscal year. During the hearing, cryptocurrencies were a big part of the conversation, with Chairman Chris Van Hollen and Senator Dick Durbin expressing skepticism that the CFTC has adequate funding and mandates to protect consumers in an industry rife with fraud and abuse. . Better Markets agrees and publishes a fact sheet ahead of the hearing on the crypto market structure deregulatory bill passed by the House last month. Additionally, Better Markets published a fact sheet showing how SEC still underfunded to monitor the growing markets for which they are responsible. Be sure to read our crypto. Fact sheet hereand our SEC budget fact sheet here.
HFSC Stress Test Hearing
the 26th of JuneHe The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions held a hearing entitled “Stress testing: What's inside the black box? During the hearing, Ranking Member Foster highlighted the importance of stress testing and ensuring that stress testing is truly stressful to protect consumers from bank failure. Better Markets also created a fact sheet on stress testing and to counter industry calls for greater transparency, which would give the answers to stress tests and allow banks to manipulate them. Be sure to read our fact sheet here.
