Barney Frank Promises Hearing on Covered Bonds

U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) gave assurances that covered bonds would be the subject of a Housing Subcommittee hearing in December, prompting Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) to withdraw a covered bonds amendment he had just offered to the Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009.

The assurances were given during the markup of the Act on Wednesday (Nov. 18).

Barney Frank (D-MA)Calling Garrett "a very staunch advocate of a very good idea," Frank requested the congressman to withdraw the amendment for now "with the commitment for a hearing in December and the likelihood of being able to put this in the bill in the final version" of the Financial Stability Improvement Act.

The following is a transcript of the exchange (italics added) between Garrett and Frank, which took place immediately after Garrett's oral delivery of remarks offering the covered bonds amendment:

BARNEY FRANK:  I tell you, [Rep. Garrett] has been a very staunch advocate of a very good idea.  I regret the fact that the kind of emergency nature of the committee has kept us from doing some other things that we should be doing, but tomorrow I hope will be the last of our major committee tie-up[s] on this.  We will be coming back, obviously, after Thanksgiving [in] December.  I should announce now — and I've told the minority — we are going to have a hearing on the FHA, which clearly requires one, and which ever week we are not in — either the second or the third week — I believe the Housing Subcommittee should have a hearing on the covered bond issue....  And that would be with the intention, having had the hearing — which we haven't had yet, and I accept the responsibility for that — that we might very well be able to get this in shape to become part of the final bill, because as the gentleman from New Jersey and I discussed, we are going to have the subprime mortgage bill part of the so-called bill.  That will make mortgage issues germane, and we could at that point incorporate them.  So I would ask if the gentleman would withdraw this now, with the commitment for a hearing in December and the likelihood of being able to put this in the bill in the final version.

SCOTT GARRETT:  I thank the Chairman.  Also, again I thank the gentleman who is now sitting next to you, Mr. Kanjorski, for his work on this as well.  And at this point, I will withdraw this amendment and yield back.

Related:

• Covered Bonds Amendment offered by Congressman Garrett