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Committee Assignments
    
In this term of Congress, I am continuing my service on the two Committees on which I have served since I came to Congress in 1993 - House Financial Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.  I have advanced in seniority on these Committees in each successive term of Congress and now am the 7th ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee and the 6th ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

Financial Services Committee:  My service on the Financial Services Committee has been especially important because the 12th Congressional District is home to more banking and financial interests than any congressional district in the United States except the New York district in which Wall Street is located.  I use my position on the Committee to listen to and study the interests of financial institutions and the interests of my constituents (their customers and consumers) and to help craft the important legislative balance that must exist between these interests.
 
The Financial Services Committee has jurisdiction over all aspects of the financial services industry, including banking, insurance and securities.  The Committee has oversight jurisdiction over the Federal Reserve, the Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other financial regulators, over the government sponsored entities (FANNIE MAE and FREDDIE MAC) and their regulator, over U.S. involvement in the international monetary institutions (the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the North American Development Bank) and over the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  The Committee’s legislative and oversight authority extends to housing and consumer protection laws such as the U.S. Housing Act, the Truth In Lending Act, the Housing and Community Development Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Community Reinvestment Act, and financial privacy laws.
  
I serve as Chairman of one of the five Subcommittees of the Financial Services Committee, the Oversight and Investigations (O&I) Subcommittee.  The O&I Subcommittee is authorized to exercise oversight over all agencies, departments, and programs under the jurisdiction of the Financial Services Committee.  This Subcommittee does not generally initiate legislation, but has extensive jurisdiction to oversee and investigate and to make legislative records that the full Financial Services Committee or any of its Subcommittees can use to initiate, reauthorize or amend legislation.
 
I am also a member of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee.  The Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee has authority to oversee all the banking regulators, all matters pertaining to credit, access to financial services and the safety and soundness of the banking system. 
 
Judiciary Committee: My service on the Judiciary Committee has allowed me to use my legal training and my 22 years of experience in the practice of law before being elected to Congress to bring real-life experiences to deliberations about issues under the Committee’s jurisdiction.  These issues include all constitutional matters (including issues of federalism and the appropriate balance between the rights of the federal, state and local governments), affirmative action, antitrust, bankruptcy, charitable choice, civil rights and civil liberties, class actions, crime, election reform, homeland security, immigration, intellectual property, Internet issues, juvenile justice, media ownership, medical malpractice, product liability, reproductive rights, tort reform, voting rights and many others.
 
I serve on three Subcommittees of the Judiciary Committee:
  • The Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law has jurisdiction over the bankruptcy code, the Legal Services Corporation, Internet taxation issues, executive branch rulemaking and interstate compacts.
  • The Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties considers all proposed amendments to the Constitution and civil rights legislation and has oversight jurisdiction over the Civil Rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice and over the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
  • The Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property oversees copyright, patent and trademark law, information technology, the administration of the federal courts, the Federal Rules of Evidence, Civil Procedure and Appellate Procedure and judicial ethics.