GOP Elects Rep. Spencer Bachus as Chairman of House Financial Services Committee

Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., was elected Dec. 8 to serve as the new Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, replacing Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, when the new Congress begins in January.  

The House Republican Conference confirmed the Steering Committee’s choice of Bachus to chair the Committee, which will have great influence in overseeing the implementation of Dodd-Frank next year.

Bachus said in a statement that “We are committed to going title by title through the 2,300-page Dodd-Frank Act to correct, replace, or repeal the job-killing provisions that unnecessarily punish small businesses and community banks that did nothing to cause the financial crisis.”

He vowed to “reinvigorate the Committee’s oversight role, holding the President and his economic team accountable for their policies and demanding greater efficiency and savings in government programs that fall within our jurisdiction.”

Bachus announced on Thursday his appointments for committee leadership positions in the 112th Congress.

“This is the leadership team that crafted the first comprehensive financial reform bill to put an end to the bailouts, wind down the taxpayer funding of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and enforce a strong audit of the Federal Reserve,” Bachus said in a statement.

In addition to naming the vice chairman and subcommittee leaders, Bachus announced plans to modify subcommittee jurisdictions to promote what he says will be "a more efficient and balanced work-load for committee members." The jurisdictional adjustments, Bachus said, “will augment the housing policy related subcommittee to include all insurance issues,” formerly under the purview of the Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee.

“Our first priority is to end the taxpayer-funded bailout of Fannie and Freddie. This adjustment frees up more resources for the subcommittee chairmen and expands the jurisdictional mandate of the housing-related subcommittee to include insurance issues,” Bachus said.