Luetkemeyer to Remain as Ranking GOP Member on House Subcommittee
As committee assignments are handed out, credit union leaders should take notice.
Rep. Blaine Lutkemeyer of Missouri, a House Republican whose family has owned a community bank for more than 100 years will continue to serve as the ranking Republican on the House Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions Subcommittee.
Luetkemeyer, whose family founded the Bank of St. Elizabeth in 1914, will remain as the lead Republican on the panel, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the ranking GOP member of the full Financial Services, said as the committee convened its first meeting.
During the last Congress, Luetkemeyer questioned the purchase of community banks by credit unions. In a hearing with financial regulators during the last Congress, Luetkemeyer said he was afraid that a battle between the two sectors might develop.
“I’m fearful of a war breaking out,” he said at the time.
Luetkemeyer’s family still owns the bank. As of 2018, the most recent financial disclosure report available, Luetkemeyer’s wife still served on the bank’s board, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
During the last Congress, Luetkemeyer also pushed policymakers to delay or kill the Current Expected Credit Losses Standard. He also sponsored legislation that would require financial regulators to make clear the difference between rules and guidance.
House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) earlier this month announced that Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) will serve as chairman of the House Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions Subcommittee.
On the other side of Capitol Hill, Senate leaders announced Wednesday that they had reached a power-sharing deal that will allow the Senate to operate with its current 50-50 split.
As a result of that agreement, Senate Democrats will gain control of the body’s committees. That means that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) will take over as chairman of the Banking Committee. The committee also will have a new ranking Republican, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).
Senate Democrats also announced that Georgia’s newly elected Democratic senators, Sens. Senator Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, will join the Banking Committee.
As Brown took over the committee, he issued a statement outlining his priorities as chairman.
“For too long, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee has only delivered for Wall Street – under new Democratic leadership, we’re going to get to work for everyone else, and put workers, and their families, and what matters to their lives at the center of everything we do,” Brown said.
He also said Wednesday that he met with Rohit Chopra, President Biden’s nominee for CFPB director, adding that he was pleased with Biden’s choice.
“Rohit Chopra is the kind of bold and experienced person we need to serve as the next Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” Brown said. “During our meeting, we discussed his plans to rebuild the CFPB after the Trump Administration weakened the agency, as well the agency’s plans to protect consumers – and in particular homeowners – during and after the pandemic.”