Rep. Loudermilk Calls for Resignation of FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg
Washington D.C. (May 10, 2024) | Today, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) released the following statement in response to both the Wall Street Journal investigation and independent report by Cleary Gottlieb regarding allegations of a toxic work culture and widespread misconduct at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC):
“The findings in this week’s Wall Street Journal article, as well as in Cleary Gottlieb’s independent review and report, are appalling and deeply troubling. These reports confirm FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg’s clear failure to address the rampant sexual harassment, abuse, discrimination, and gross mismanagement that occurred throughout his tenure as head of the corporation. The American people expect higher standards of professionalism, integrity, and accountability from Washington regulators.
“Martin Gruenberg must immediately step aside as Chair of the FDIC to ensure critical, ground-up reforms are implemented to address the misconduct and workplace culture issues at the FDIC. As head of this key bank regulatory agency for ten of the past thirteen years, he is solely responsible for allowing this inexcusable behavior to continue.
“I implore my colleagues to ensure Chairman Gruenberg and other senior leaders at the FDIC are held accountable, and call for all banking regulators to immediately evaluate their workplace culture and agency standards to address any similar shortcomings.”
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Rep. Loudermilk Supports Legislation Pushing Back on Burdensome Regulations, Preserving Domestic Energy Production and Protecting American Elections
This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) supported various pieces of legislation pushing back on burdensome regulations by the Biden Administration, preserving our nation's domestic energy production and protecting our nation's electoral process. Bills are as follows.
H.R. 6192 – Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act – Rep. Debbie Lesko (AZ-8)
The Biden Administration continues to pursue their radical Green New Deal agenda to the detriment of American consumers. This legislation pushes back on Biden’s war on American energy and preserves Americans’ access to affordable and reliable household appliances by prohibiting the Secretary of Energy from prescribing any new or amended energy conservation standard for a product that is not technologically feasible and economically justified.
The Energy and Policy Conservation Act (ECPA) outlines specific criteria that the Department of Energy (DOE) must follow when proposing new appliance efficiency standards. Under the ECPA, new standards must result in significant conservation of energy and be economically feasible and technologically justified.
The Biden Administration has consistently issued appliance efficiency standards that violate this statue, driving up costs for consumers and limiting product choice. Notably, these rules discourage the use of natural gas in favor of the electrification of appliances.
Homeowners spend about 34% more on appliances than they did 15 years ago. From 1995-2005, the average homeowner replaced their appliances every 12 to 13 years. Today, that replacement period runs every eight to nine years.
Specifically, H.R. 6192 would:
Eliminate unnecessary and duplicative rulemaking requirements under the ECPA.
Authorize the Secretary of Energy to amend or revoke a standard if it increases costs for consumers, does not result in significant energy or water savings, is not technologically feasible, or results in the unavailability of product.
Protects affordability by requiring DOE to consider the cost to low-income households and the full-life cycle cost of appliances when determining if a new standard is economically justified.
Establishes minimum thresholds for energy or water savings that must be achieved before imposing new standards.
Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from banning products based on what type of fuel those products use.
H.J. Res. 109 – Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 – Rep. Mike Flood (NE-1)
This resolution disapproves of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), which is an illegal rulemaking that weakens consumer protections, impedes financial innovation, and hinders competition by preventing financial institutions and firms from providing custodial services for digital assets.
SAB 121 requires public companies, including banks, that safeguard digital assets for their customers to record the value of those consumer-owned assets on their balance sheets. This treatment of digital assets held in custody on behalf of a bank’s customers deviates from traditional custodial practices. Recording the value of consumer-owned digital assets on banks’ balance sheets will increase banks’ capital and liquidity costs, which will ultimately be passed onto the American consumer.
Further, SAB 121 prevents financial institutions from engaging in digital asset custody, which leaves Americans’ assets vulnerable if a custodian becomes insolvent of enters receivership.
SAB 121 was issued on March 31, 2022, without any public input. More than a year later, on October 31, 2023, the Government Accountability Office determined that SAB 121 constitutes a “rule” for purposes of the Congressional Review Act.
The SEC cannot dictate banking policy with zero input from prudential regulators and the public.
This legislation provides much needed certainty for domestic hardrock mining operators by codifying longstanding regulatory practices and legal interpretation regarding use, occupancy, and operations on public lands.
In May of 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision revoking an approved mine plan for the Rosemont Copper Mine Project, located partially in the Coronado National Forest in Arizona, known as the “Rosemont decision.”
The “Rosemont decision” reinterprets key facets of the Mining Law of 1872 and upends longstanding precedent by requiring mining operators to prove public lands contain commercially developable mineral deposits, even if those lands will be used for support activities such as waste disposal or office sites, before a plan of operations can be approved.
If allowed to stand, the Rosemont decision would impact hardrock mining projects across Western states. The mineral-rich states of Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, and Idaho are located within the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit.
Domestic mining of hardrock and critical minerals ensures we are not reliant on adversarial nations like China for the technologies essential to Americans’ everyday lives. Further, American mining operators employ responsible mining and refining practices, unlike foreign actors who often engage in unacceptable labor practices, including child and slave labor, and do not adhere to environmental standards.
This legislation requires the inclusion of a citizenship question on the decennial census questionnaire and amends existing statutes to make clear that only citizens are included when determining the population of a state for the purpose of apportioning representatives and electoral votes.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, noncitizens comprise approximately 6.7 percent of the nation’s 333 million population. Including noncitizens in the apportionment of congressional districts impacts representation in Congress and undermines the constitutional principle of “one person, one vote.”
Under President Biden’s watch, nearly 4.7 million illegal aliens have been released into American communities and more than 1.8 million known illegal alien “gotaways” have escaped into the United States. Combined, that is larger than the population of 32 states. The Biden Administration’s failure at our southern border should not dictate how congressional districts and electoral votes are apportioned.
Opponents of including a citizenship question on the census argue it will depress participation. However, such a question does not indicate whether the respondent is here illegally. Further, the Census Bureau is required to follow strict confidentiality requirements with criminal penalties for disclosing personally identifiable information.
H.R. 7109 is limited to apportionment and would not implicate federal assistance programs.
Rep. Loudermilk Questions the Benefits of the Defense Production Act in a Cyber-related National Emergency Response
In case you missed it, this week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk(GA-11) questioned federal department and agency leaders from the Department of Defense (DOD), Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the benefits of using the Defense Production Act (DPA) to respond to a cyber-related national emergency.
Specifically, he highlighted our nation's cybersecurity talent pool as one of our greatest defense assets and emphasized the importance of following recommendations made in the 2020 U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission report to protect our nation's cybersecurity workforce by designating tasks under the DPA in the event of a national cybersecurity related event.
Rep. Loudermilk Demands Answers from House Clerk about Archiving of Committee Records by Committee Chairs
In case you missed it, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) also demanded answers from Acting U.S. House clerk Kevin McCumber about the proper archiving procedures for committee chairs.
Specifically, he referenced House Rule VII that requires all committee chairs to archive their records with the House Clerk.
The reason why this hearing is so critical is because it answers one of the many unanswered questions Rep. Loudermilk is getting to the bottom of as part of the House Administration Committee's Oversight Subcommittee investigation into the events of January 6th.
For context, former January 6 Select Committee Chair Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney should have archived all committee documents and records at the end of the last Congress from their two-year long investigation per House rules.
Rep. Loudermilk Joins The WallBuilders Show, Highlighting DC National Guard Whistleblower Hearing and Next Steps in January 6 Investigation
This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) sat down with Rick Green, David Barton, and Tim Barton on their radio program The WallBuilders Show to discuss the next steps in the January 6 investigation, which involves obtaining transcribed interviews from key Department of Defense (DOD) officials.
Rep. Loudermilk also discussed the significance of civilian control over the military and the essential nature of the separation of powers, highlighting the constitutional breaches that may have occurred on Jan. 6. He emphasized whistleblower testimony detailing how Pentagon leadership was more concerned with optics over U.S. Capitol security.
Rep. Loudermilk Joins Letter Expressing Concern Regarding Export-Import Bank's Commitment to Project Neutrality in its Financial Operations
This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined a House Financial Services Committee oversight letter led by National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions Subcommittee Vice Chairman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) to the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) urging them to keep their commitment to project neutrality in its financial operations, instead of channeling financing to exports in the green energy sector.
The letter asks whether the bank's financing decisions are still based on merits of the project without preferential treatment for green projects and whether the bank operates independently from executive branch policy directives.
Rep. Loudermilk Cosponsors Bank Failure Prevention Act to Enhance Competition in the U.S. Banking System
This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Reps. Andy Barr (KY-06) and Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05) as a cosponsor of H.R. 7403, the Bank Failure Prevention Act. This bill requires the Federal Reserve to act on merger applications in a timely fashion. Doing so would end uncertainty, reduce the likelihood of banks to fail, and enhance competition in the U.S. banking ecosystem.
Under the Biden Administration, there has been a negative posture towards mergers that have been substantially delayed with little transparency from Democrat-appointed regulators. This legislation would end the ambiguously long approval process by requiring the Federal Reserve to act on merger applications within 90 days. If no determination is issued after that period, the merger would be deemed approved. Mergers increase completion, foster a vibrant economy, generates cost savings passed down to consumers and makes the banking system more dynamic.
Click here to read the full text of the Bank Failure Prevention Act.
This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Rep. Scott Franklin (FL-18) in cosponsoring legislation (H. J. Res. 135) to claw back the Department of Labor's (DOL) newly finalized H-2A unionization rule set to take effect June 28, 2024. This over 600-page rule will increase costs for our nation's agricultural producers and allow temporary agricultural employees to unionize.
The Biden DOL's finalized rule, "Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States", will worsen an already complex regulatory environment and raises operating and compliance costs. Georgia is the third highest H-2A employing state in the nation, and this rule borders our hardworking farmers and threatens their private property rights.
Specifically, the legislation utilizes the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to rescind the DOL policy. A CRA resolution of disapproval is a special legislative procedure allowing Congress to overturn executive or agency action while providing clarity on the agency's statutory authority. When enacted, it also prohibits the agency from making any similar rule making procedures in the future.
Additional co-sponsors include: Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI); Carlos Gimenez (R-FL); John Rutherford (R-FL); Ben Cline (R-VA); Aaron Bean (R-FL); Neal Dunn (R-FL); Gus Bilirakis (R-FL); Dan Webster (R-FL); Jerry Carl (R-AL); Austin Scott (R-GA); Byron Donalds (R-FL); Clay Higgins (R-LA); Dan Meuser (R-PA); Greg Steube (R-FL); Andy Ogles (R-TN); Mark Amodei (R-NV); Bill Posey (R-FL).
Click here to read the full text of H.J. Res. 135.
Rep. Loudermilk Cosponsors Crucial Alzheimer's Bill
This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY-02) and Paul Tonko (NY-20) in cosponsoring H.R. 7218, the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Reauthorization Act that is set to expire this year. This critical legislation was first passed into law in 2018 and was signed by President Trump in 2019. This created a public health infrastructure to support prevention, treatment, and care for patients with Alzheimer's and related neurological diseases.
Specifically, the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Reauthorization Act will:
Continue to build an Alzheimer’s and related dementias network by establishing Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence and awarding cooperative agreements to public health departments, which will help the Centers and state, local and tribal public health departments develop and carry out Alzheimer’s interventions. This support will help the Centers and public health departments across the country strengthen their efforts aimed at increasing early detection and diagnosis, reducing risk, and preventing unnecessary hospitalizations of people living with Alzheimer's and related dementias.
Facilitate information sharing that will help ensure information on Alzheimer’s, cognitive decline, caregiving, and health disparities are analyzed and disseminated to the public in a timely manner.
IN THE NEWS: ‘Failing act of political theater’: Greene ostracized after Johnson ouster push
POLITICO:
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was never hugely popular among her more centrist colleagues. After forcing a vote on ousting Speaker Mike Johnson, even droves of conservatives seem to have abandoned her — leaving the Georgia firebrand with next to no allies in the House.
“People are calling me saying: 'Please, tell her to not do this.' Mike is a good man. He's doing the best he can. Trump's calling her and telling her not to,” said Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.). ”I think she's lost a whole lot of respect in her district.”
IN THE NEWS: More bad news for Fani Willis: Disqualification is back on the menu and state investigators are drilling deep
Blaze Media:
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is not only running for re-election but ostensibly running away from accountability over her various alleged improprieties. If the last several days have provided any indication, then Willis may be headed for a stumble.
The Georgia Senate Special Committee that was approved in January to investigate allegations of misconduct on Willis' part began drilling deeper Friday into the Democrat's use of taxpayer funds. The Washington Examiner indicated that there were various signs in the over four-hour hearing that lawmakers are determined to fully understand the Fulton County District Attorney Office's expenditures and prosecution of Trump.
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The U.S. House Judiciary Committee appears to also be closing in on Willis. Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) launched an inquiry into the alleged collusion between Willis and the Jan. 6 Committee in December 2023.
On Thursday, Jordan asked Nathan Wade to appear for an interview and to produce various documents pertaining to his former employment with the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.
"There are serious concerns about your role in the politically motivated prosecution initiated by Ms. Willis against President Donald J. Trump. You have reportedly 'profit[ed] significantly' from M. Willis's prosecution, with unsealed court filings alleging that you have been paid 'almost seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000) [from the FCDAO] since May of 2022 alone,'" Jordan noted in his letter to Wade.
"The committee understands that Ms. Willis reportedly compensated you and financed her politically motivated prosecution using a mixture of taxpayer funds, possibly including part of the $14.6 million in federal grant funds that her office received from the Department of Justice between 2020 and 2023," added Jordan.
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