WASHINGTON - Members of Congress from both parties agreed on one main lesson they learned from the ongoing financial crisis-the need for regulatory reform as a main priority for the next Congress.
New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a leading Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, told credit union representatives at NAFCU's Congressional Caucus last week the need for regulatory reform and for an additional economic stimulus bill are the two main issues facing Congress in the closing days of the current Congress.
Maloney said she believes one of the main causes of the spreading mortgage crisis is the lack of regulation of large sectors of the market, especially mortgage brokers, and she also feels investment banks should come under more regulation.
Maloney's Democratic colleague Paul Kanjorski also endorsed regulatory reform and said he will continue his efforts to bring a national regulatory structure to the insurance industry, which is currently regulated by the states.
Later the same day, Republican Patrick McHenry agreed with his counterparts on the Financial Services Committee. "What we need is major regulatory reform," said the North Carolina lawmaker. "That's what we're going to get in the next Congress."
But McHenry, a one-time credit union foe who has become an industry supporter, said the Treasury Department's "blueprint" for regulatory reform, which would have phased out NCUA, has no chance of being enacted.(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com/ http://www.sourcemedia.com/
