H.R. 6550, the American Financial Institution Regulatory Sovereignty and Transparency (American FIRST) Act
- This bill requires the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to include in their respective annual reports information on their respective interactions with global financial regulatory or supervisory forums like the Basel Committee for the purpose of policy standardization, public transparency, and congressional oversight
Background/Context: Federal financial regulators, authorized by Congress to oversee participants in U.S. financial markets, must sometimes engage with foreign counterparts due to the global interconnectedness of financial systems. However, this does not grant them unlimited authority to impose domestic regulations under the guise of international cooperation. Regulators are bound by U.S. law and cannot unilaterally negotiate binding international agreements.
Federal banking agencies increasingly align with global governance bodies and the Executive Branch over Congress. To restore accountability, H.R. 6550 strengthens oversight by requiring mandatory annual reporting of all regulator interactions with non-governmental organizations
Congressman Loudermilk introduced a similar version of this bill last Congress.
H.R. 6551, the New Bank Application Numbers Knowledge (New BANK) Act
- This bill requires the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and National Credit Union Administration to publish annual reports on applications received for Federal depository institution charters, depository institution holding companies, Federal deposit insurance, and State depository institution charters.
Background/Context: The chartering process for a new financial institution like a bank or credit union is multi-layered and complex. Organizers must choose between applying for a national charter or a state charter through the relevant banking authority.
- The procedural and compliance requirements associated with each of these applications are extensive, and the timeline is often unpredictable. Also, the initial costs are steep – founders may face $30 million or more in combined startup capital and filing expenses before a bank ever opens its doors.
- H.R. 6551 will provide greater transparency by providing essential data on bank charter applications, mean and median approval times, and common reasons for denials for such applications
Rep. Clyde (R-GA) Letter urging the DOJ and AG Bondi to comply with Section 70436 of the OBBBA.
- The law repealed the National Firearms Act’s transfer and registration scheme for firearms that no longer carry a tax obligation under federal law. After OBBBA’s enactment, the DOJ filed a brief in Silencer Shop v. ATF, taking a stance that contradicts Section 70436. The Congressman signed a previous letter from Rep. Clyde prior to the ATF’s brief in Silencer Shop v. ATF.
Rep. Bice (R-OK) Letter to Secretary of Defense Hegseth
- Urging the Department to use its existing authorities to ban the direct purchase of Chinese photovoltaic solar modules and inverters.
Bicameral Letter to HHS Sec. Kennedy on Conscience Protections and Abortion Training
- This letter would request that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issue a rule requiring any graduate medical education program offering training in induced abortion to offer that option as opt-in only in order to receive federal graduate medical education funding and/or reimbursements from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- Currently, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which accredits medical residency programs, operates under an “opt-out” requirement for abortion training. It states that medical residents with moral or religious objections must be allowed to opt-out of abortion training.
- This opt-out system exerts unethical pressure on residents by placing them at risk of being targeted for their beliefs if they opt-out of abortion training.
- Opt-out programs for elective abortion training force a resident, with the lowest power in the hierarchy of medical training structure, to stand up to the demands of those with the greatest authority over their medical training and future career.
