Oops, He Did It Again
Press Release
Before Congress adjourned to start our District work period, several noteworthy events took place, specifically in the House Financial Services Committee, which, as you likely know, I am a member, let's take a closer look:
Oops, he did it again: It was another rough go around for the embattled CEO of Wells Fargo. On the heels of a tumultuous appearance in the Senate the week before, John Stump, the Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo testified before the Financial Services Committee about recent revelations that from 2011-2015 his bank fired some 5,300 employees for opening more than 2 million unauthorized accounts. During my questioning of Mr. Stumpf, he was forced to admit that his employees stole money from their customers. Click on the image below to watch my full exchange with Mr. Stumpf:
Revelations: The Financial Services Committee also hosted Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for a hearing on the Semi-Annual Testimony on the Federal Reserve's Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System. One of the more notable moments of her testimony came during my exchange with her: I asked her whether the Dodd-Frank Act has ended the so-called, "Too Big to Fail" taxpayer funded bailouts of financial institutions. Despite countless new regulations intended to make financial institutions safer and reduce the likelihood of another bailout, Chair Yellen conceded that ending taxpayer bailouts was a mere goal of the law, but as of yet the law has failed to end "Too Big to Fail".
Under the committee-passed Financial CHOICE Act, a financial institution, a community bank for example, can elect to be relieved of a slew of Dodd-Frank regulations if it is well-managed and highly capitalized, an approach that I believe would be better at reducing the risk of future taxpayer bailouts. Click below to watch my full exchange with Chair Yellen:
A bit of legislative business: I introduced a bipartisan bill, H.R. 6186, the Follow the Rules Act, that will extend whistleblower protections to government employees who refuse to violate Federal rules and regulations. As the chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, whistleblowers who expose government mismanagement are a major component of our investigations; this legislation became necessary after a recent Federal court decision found that whistleblowers are only protected for refusing to violate Federal statutes, but not rules or regulations (which are supposed to be derived of law).
An example of the kind of rules and regulations Federal employees should follow: Consider sanctions against North Korea or Iran, which Congress directed the President to implement in the form of Federal rules and regulations. Under current law, Federal employees who are told by their supervisor to violate North Korean or Iran sanctions have no whistleblower protections. The Follow the Rules Act would fix this and it is my hope that it will be considered by Congress.
One other issue: I am keeping my eye on recent concerns that have been raised regarding the St. Croix Chippewa's use of grant money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A recent audit found that the money may not be reaching those in need. I requested further informationhttps://duffy.house.gov/media-center/enewsletters/oops-he-did-it-again from HUD Secretary Julián Castro, which you can read here. I will keep you posted on any further information I receive on this issue.
On the home front: To assist with those in our community who are still recovering from this summer's devastating floods, I am happy to announce a great opportunity thanks in large part to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago: The group, which consists of local banks, credit unions, community development financial institutions, and insurance companies, is offering $500,000 is assistance to those in our area who were impacted by July's storms and subsequent flooding. This is a great example of community businesses coming together to help our neighbors. Read more about the program and how to apply for the help here.
One more for the road: It was great to catch-up with two great representatives from our Agriculture community, Renee Zenner of Medford and Chris Fuchs of Marshfield, at the Capitol building recently. Thanks for all you do!
I look forward to catching-up with many of you during my travels around our great 7th District this week. If there is a particular meeting or event that you would like me to know about, please contact one of my offices that is closest to you. Until next week
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