This week was packed with meetings with constituents, continued discussions on the House's tax reform proposal, committee work and votes on the House floor.
As you may remember, earlier this year, I introduced legislation that would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service in Pacific as the "Specialist Jeffrey L. White, Jr. Post Office" to honor the life of Jeffrey White, who gave his life in defense of our country in 2012. This week, I'm proud to say the legislation was brought to the House floor and passed in overwhelming bipartisan fashion. While the naming of this post office is only a small gesture of thanks compared to the sacrifice White and his family have made for all of us, it is my sincere hope each time the Whites and individuals in Pacific walk by this building, they are reminded of just how grateful and proud we are to call Jeffrey White one of our own.
In addition, several important bills were passed in the House Financial Services Committee this week.
One bill deals with a topic I have discussed at length, the elimination of Operation Choke Point. This program was an Obama Administration initiative led by the Department of Justice and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that destroyed legitimate businesses to which the administration was ideologically opposed by intimidating financial institutions into denying banking services to those businesses. In August, the Department of Justice informed me they will bring this program to an end. While I am incredibly pleased the Trump Administration made the right decision, it does not mean future administrations will continue to do so. We must have guardrails in place so this program never happens again. After this week, my legislation, the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act, is one step closer to being signed into law.
The other bill we passed out of committee is my bipartisan legislation, the Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act. In short, this bill would protect United States citizens from actual risk posed to the financial system. Under the current regulatory framework for the designation of systemically important financial institutions, or SIFIs, risk is determined based solely on size regardless of the bank's complexity or services provided. This places many unnecessary and extremely costly burdens on some banks that pose no systemic risk at all, which drives up the cost for consumers. My legislation will closely tie the safeguards intended in the designation of a bank holding company with real risk in the system by requiring the Federal Reserve to examine interconnectedness, the extent of readily available substitutes, global-cross jurisdictional activity and complexity when determining an institutions systemic risk.
If you have any questions about these three pieces of legislation that were passed in the House of Representatives or in the House Financial Services Committee, please do not hesitate to reach out to my offices.
Lastly, on the third Wednesday in October each year, we recognize "Missouri Day." Native Missourian, Anna Brosius Korn, established this day as a time for us to celebrate the achievements of Missourians and honor the great state that we call home. Happy Missouri Day to everyone!
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U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., shares his perspective each week on national issues, including ones that affect Missouri. He represents the state's 3rd District, which includes Jefferson City. His local office can be reached at 635-7232.