Spencer Bachus
Spencer Bachus (1947)-, the Republican Party (United States) Member of Congress for the 6th Congressional District of Alabama (U.S. state). He was reelected to his tenth term in 2010. As the Ranking Minority Member of the House Financial Services Committee, he is likely to become its Chairman now that the House has a Republican majority, although he is being challenged by Ed Royce (R-California).
He has called for a reduction of regulation on the financial industry, based in part on the job loss it could create, as well as loss of clients of financial services. In particular, he wants a reduction of the Dodd-Frank Act. He wants to privatize government underwriting organizations, such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. [1] It is less clear that this would cause significant numbers of jobs to be lost, as the financial industry has a substantial number of highly compensated employees, such that total compensation may not reflect the actual number of jobs. [2]
Bachus endorsed Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) for chair of the Republican Leadership Conference, a position for which Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Wisconsin) is contending. “In his role as Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Jeb has earned nationwide respect for his opposition to socialized health care and strong advocacy for fiscal responsibility and smaller government.” [3]
References
- ↑ Tom Braithwaite (4 November 2010), Regulators pressured to curb Wall St reforms
- ↑ Matthew Yglesias (4 November 2010), "Rep Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama) Plots to Weaken Financial Regulation, Strengthen Banks", Yglesias-Thinkprogress
- ↑ Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan (4 November 2010), "Bachmann leadership bid adds drama", Politico