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Today, the House of Representatives passed two House Financial Services Committee bills: H.R. 3791, To raise the consolidated assets threshold under the small bank holding company policy statement, and for other purposes, and H.R. 3340, the Financial Stability Oversight Council Reform Act.

H.R. 3791, introduced by Congresswoman Mia Love (UT-04), is a pro-growth bill that would make it easier for smaller financial institutions to access capital needed to make loans to business owners and other customers. Prior to its passage in the House, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) spoke on the House Floor in favor of H.R. 3791.

“I come from a very rural state, Arkansas, and seventy percent of agricultural production loans are made by our locally owned community banks,” said Hill. “Making it easier for them to raise capital, makes it easier for our consumers and businesses to get the credit they need.”

The second bill, H.R. 3340, introduced by Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-06), is an accountability measure aimed at adding needed congressional oversight to two of Washington’s least accountable bureaucracies, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and the Office of Financial Research (OFR), by making them subject to the normal appropriations process.

“Federal agencies that aren’t accountable to Congress and the taxpayers are dangerous institutions. Our system of government requires Congressional oversight to the Executive Branch, and that oversight is dependent upon the power of the purse. As it stands now, these two bureaucracies set their own budgets, and have made our oversight abilities toothless,” said Hill. “Requiring them to be subject to the appropriations process the same as most other federal agencies is common sense, and anyone who supports the most fundamental principles of government should be in favor of this legislation.”

Related

Watch Rep. Hill’s Full Statement in Support of H.R. 3791