Revised U.S. Covered Bond Bill - H.R. 5823 - Scheduled for Markup

A revised version of the proposed U.S. Covered Bond Act of 2010 — introduced July 22 in the House of Representatives as H.R. 5823 — has been scheduled for markup on July 27 by the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC).

This latest move comes in the wake of (1) a nearly-successful attempt to add a previous version of covered bond provisions to the recently-enacted financial regulatory reform bill at the conference committee stage; (2) the scuttling of that attempt in the face of objections to the covered bond provisions by FDIC and the Treasury Department; and (3) announced negotiations between FDIC and members of Congress to work out their differences.

Typically, markup sessions are scheduled after Congressional hearings on a bill have taken place.  In this instance, the HFSC has not held a hearing on any covered bond bill per se, although the committee last year did hold a hearing on the general topic of covered bonds as a potential supplementary funding tool for home mortgages and other needs in the U.S.

One reference source describes markup sessions like this:

"After congressional hearings have been held on a bill, the members of the subcommittee or full committee will meet to 'mark up' the bill. This means that they will make final changes, adding and removing words and provisions, revising the amounts of money authorized, and otherwise polishing and perfecting the text before reporting it to the floor."

However, the holding of a markup session does not guarantee that a committee will vote to report a bill to the floor.  The committee may instead vote to table a bill or simply fail to take action on it.

After a bill has been reported to the floor, it becomes eligible for a vote by the full House of Representatives.  As noted by Congress.org, "the Speaker and majority leader largely determine if, when, and in what order bills come up" for a vote.  If and when the full House passes a bill, it is referred to the Senate for further action.

The July 27 markup session will also consider the merits of six other, unrelated bills.

Related:

• "United States Covered Bond Act of 2010" - H.R. 5823 (Full Text)