Tom Emmer: “I thank my colleague from Texas, Chairman Hensarling. Mr. Speaker, I am a believer in a transparent and accountable…”

“I thank my colleague from Texas, Chairman Hensarling. Mr. Speaker, I am a believer in a transparent and accountable government; and if a Federal institution is failing to meet these fundamental criteria, Congress needs to act. Unfortunately, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, more commonly known in Washingtonspeak as the FSOC, and the Office of Financial Research, more commonly called the OFR, currently operate in the shadows, outside of congressional oversight and the democratic process. {time} 1400 This has led to nonsensical and heavy-handed abuse by the government of numerous financial companies that had absolutely nothing to do with causing the 2008 financial crisis. While I strongly believe that those who created the crisis must be punished, I can't stand by while businesses that had nothing to do with the crisis are being unjustly burdened with new regulations that force American consumers to pay higher prices for essential financial products like home mortgages and student, auto, and business loans. That is why I have introduced the Financial Stability Oversight Council Reform Act. Not only will the bill reduce mandatory spending by $1.3 billion over the next 10 years, it will make the FSOC and OFR accountable to the American people through their elected representatives. Over the years, Congress has given much of its power to unelected bureaucrats.…”