CHAIRMAN JOHNSON UNVEILS BANKING COMMITTEE AGENDA FOR THE 113TH CONGRESS

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) released his Committee agenda for the 113^th Congress. Chairman Johnson’s focus will be on strengthening and sustaining the nation’s economic recovery, with top priorities including: continued oversight of Wall Street Reform implementation, building bipartisan consensus on the future of housing finance, reauthorizing expiring programs within the Committee’s jurisdiction, and considering the President’s nominees expeditiously.

 

“The Committee has important work to do in the 113^th Congress, and I intend to work across the aisle to build consensus and find solutions to strengthen and sustain our economic recovery,” said Chairman Johnson.  “This Committee has a proud tradition of bipartisanship and I am hopeful that we can continue to build on our successes of the last two years. From protecting consumers and taxpayers from Wall Street abuses, to providing the Federal Housing Administration with additional tools to manage its finances while continuing to serve American families, I believe we can and must find common ground.”

 

In the 112^th Congress, Chairman Johnson emphasized bipartisanship as the key to effective legislating.  The Committee unanimously approved three long-term program reauthorizations – the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the transit title of the Surface Transportation bill – that will improve operations while providing greater certainty for market participants and strengthening the economy.  The Committee also unanimously approved the Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act.  In contrast to the wider lack of bipartisanship in the 112^th Congress, the Banking Committee’s work yielded overwhelming approval of all four measures in the Senate with at least 75% of Republican and Democratic Senators voting in favor of each bill.  These bipartisan measures were all signed into law.   Additionally, the Committee favorably reported out and cleared 35 of President Barack Obama’s nominees in the 112^th Congress, with the full Senate confirming 33 of these nominees.