Former House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) was named Chairman Emeritus of the Committee and assigned as a voting member of two important subcommittees, Capital Markets and Financial Institutions. This was announced at the Committee’s organizational meeting for the 113th Congress. Chairman Emeritus Bachus was praised by current Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA).
Noting that members on both sides of the aisle have tremendous respect and admiration for Chairman Bachus, Chairman Hensarling said that conferring the status of Chairman Emeritus is a recognition of his many contributions and the fact that he has so much more to contribute to the Committee. Members of the Financial Services Committee will continue to benefit from the wisdom, counsel and leadership of the Chairman Emeritus, added Chairman Hensarling.
At the organizational meeting, Rep. Waters named Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) as the Ranking Member on the Capital Markets Subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ). The full Committee Ranking Member also named Rep. Al Green (D-TX) as the Ranking Member on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC). For the Financial Institutions Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) was named Ranking Member,
Given the state of the struggling
economy, noted Chairman Hensarling, the work of the committee and subcommittees
has perhaps never been more important. He also added that Congress enshrined a
too big to fail bailout scheme into law with the Dodd-Frank Act. While praising
the bi-partisan nature of the organizational meeting, the Ranking Member said
that, far from enshrining too-big-to-fail, Dodd-Frank specifically ends
too-big-to-fail by prohibiting the bailout of a failing financial
institution. In fact, it mandates the orderly liquidation of such an
institution, in which its executives are dismissed and its shareholders are
wiped out.