Even if the Republicans keep control of the House next year, the House Financial Services Committee is likely to have a new chairman.
Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) said this week that he won’t seek a waiver of the House Republican Conference’s rules which limit a member to a total of six years as a panel’s chairman or ranking member. He has been chairman of the panel since last year and was the ranking Republican from 2007-2010. He is planning to seek reelection to Congress, where he has served since 1993.
Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), the panel’s third-ranking Republican, has run unsuccessfully for the top spot before and might run again but hasn’t announced plans. He is the sponsor of legislation that would raise the cap on member business loans from 12.25% of assets to 27.5% of assets.
As chairman, Bachus has at times praised credit unions but didn’t sign on as a cosponsor of the MBL legislation. He did cosponsor a bill aimed at providing regulatory and tax relief for community banks. Some of those benefits would also go to credit unions.
Bachus’ heavily Republican district includes parts of Birmingham and its suburbs.
The House Financial Services Committee’s top Democrat Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has already announced he won’t seek reelection to Congress this year. The panel’s number two Democrat, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), has been lining up support to succeed Frank but other members may enter that contest as well.
The parties will choose their committee leaders after this November’s elections.
