Nearly six months after President Obama proposed his far-reaching financial services regulatory overhaul, the House will begin debate on December 9 on an omnibus bill to implement this proposal. The Senate won’t be ready to debate their version until sometime in 2010.

In general, this omnibus bill, consisting of seven or eight interrelated bills, would greatly extend federal regulatory control over the financial services industry. In particular, this bill would greatly expand the regulatory powers of the Federal Reserve over our financial industry.

One key component of this financial services omnibus bill is H.R. 3996, the Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009. This bill would establish a panel called the Financial Services Oversight Council. Some voting members of this Council, who would oversee private financial companies and make decisions for those companies based on rules set forth in the bill, would be Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Blair. Along with some non-voting members this group of individuals would monitor, identify, investigate, and then finally make formal recommendations and decisions that could easily involve more bailouts and government takeovers in the financial services industry.

Together we can let our representatives know that we not only understand the principles of a free market financial system, we are going to insist on them. 

Click here to contact your representative in strong opposition to the House omnibus bill which embodies President Obama’s financial services regulatory overhaul proposal. 

Thanks,

Your friends at The John Birch Society