House Financial Services Committee Approves Deposit Insurance, Coins and Business Checking Bills
House Financial Services Committee Approves Deposit Insurance, Coins and Business Checking Bills
Washington, Apr 29 - The House Financial Services Committee, a committee where New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce serves as a member approved several bipartisan bills Wednesday on Federal Deposit Insurance, Business Checking and Commemorative coins. The bills will now go to the House floor for further action.
One of the bills was H.R. 1185-the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005. This bill would merge the Bank Insurance Fund (BIF) and the Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF). It would also end the 23-basis point-premium "rate cliff"that occurs when the reserve ratio of deposits insured to held premiums falls beneath 1.25 percent for more than one year.It would also double coverage limits for certain types of IRA's and 401- k's and increase coverage limits for municipal deposits.
Congressman Pearce said, "Like other government programs that form part of the economic safety net for America's families, deposit insurance should be periodically adjusted for inflation to ensure that its value does not erode over time. The system has gone 24 years without such an adjustment - the longest period in its history, and the modest increases provided for in our bill are critical if deposit insurance is to maintain its relevance. The alternative is to simply let deposit insurance wither on the vine, which is an unacceptable outcome for the millions of Americans who depend upon it to protect their savings."
The committee then approved H.R. 1224-- the Business Checking Freedom Act of 2005. This legislation would remove the prohibition on banks from paying interest on business checking accounts and would allow the Federal Reserve to pay interest on sterile reserves.
Pearce said, "The Business Checking Freedom Act will repeal an unfair, outdated law that is standing between our local small businesses and their ability to earn interest on their own money. By allowing banks to pay interest on business checking accounts, we create a new and broader market option that helps our main street banks and small businesses at the same time."
The committee also approved H.R.68--the NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act.
This bill would commemorate the 50th anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with the issuance, in 2008, of gold and silver coins which would contain trace amounts of metal that had been part of a spacecraft that has flown in space but is no longer needed.
Pearce said, "America's greatest legacies are freedom and advancing the frontiers of scientific and space exploration. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have made all Americans very proud of their achievements and their sacrifices in leading America's space program over the last 50 years."
The last item the committee passed was H.R. 1768, to amend the provision of a law establishing the Presidential 9/11 Heroes Medals of Valor to make certain technical corrections to carry out the intent of the provision
This bill makes a simple technical correction to language that was included in last year's omnibus appropriations act. The language erroneously directed the United States Mint to strike medals of valor awarded by the Attorney General for the 9/11 heroes. Other similar medals of valor are not produced by the Mint.
Pearce said, "We want to make sure that the families receive their medals by September 11th. This bill will expedite the minting process so we can honor the lives of those who were killed on that day."
http://pearce.house.gov/news/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=8095