Effort Stalls on OCC Reg Vote

An effort to get the House Financial Services Committee to vote on two resolutions that would overturn the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's pre-emption regulations appears to be going nowhere.Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, along with nine other members of the committee, have urged the chairman, Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, to schedule a vote when Congress returns in September. However, preliminary indications are that Chairman Oxley, who supports the OCC's position, will not schedule a vote. Rep. Frank has spoken with the chairman, according to Kay Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the ranking Democrat on the committee. However, Rep. Frank received "no indication" that the chairman would allow a vote, she said. The two resolutions (H.R. 4236 and H.R. 4237), sponsored by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., would overturn OCC regulations that exempt national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries from compliance with state predatory lending laws and shield them from state investigations and enforcement actions. "Even if you disagree with Mr. Gutierrez's legislation, we hope you agree that the full House deserves an opportunity to debate and vote on this important issue," a July 21 letter to Rep. Oxley says. Eight Democrats, one Republican, and one independent signed the letter.