“The major spending reforms over the last 40 years have ridden in conjunction with a debt ceiling increase.”
WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry (NC-10) appeared before a breakfast discussion of The Ripon Society yesterday morning, delivering remarks in which he not only laid out his priorities as Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, but talked about the need to get federal spending under control and the debt limit measure the House just passed to help achieve that goal.
“I have three objectives for the House Financial Services Committee,” the North Carolina lawmaker stated. “One is to update our Gramm-Leach-Bliley standards. Those standards were written in the 90s without contemplating mobile internet. So we have to update those data privacy standards. We reported that bill out with the same two challenges that my Democrat colleagues expressed at the beginning and at the end. But otherwise, they liked the bill. So, we can go negotiate on that, and Energy and Commerce will have their data privacy package. Those things marry up pretty well. And if not, we’ve got our options for taking that across the Floor. But we reported that out in the first quarter of the year.
“Also in the first quarter of the year, the intention was to report out the capital formation package. Ann Wagner has had four subcommittee hearings, with hours of testimony and great panels. She’s worked with members intently to get out over 30 bills. She built great consensus … So, kudos to Ann Wagner for her work there. That was my second priority — capital formation. Updating the standards by which public companies operate in the public sphere. I’m very proud we were able to report that out yesterday.
“The third priority is to give regulatory form and legal clarity to digital assets. We have no definition of a legal, digital asset. We have no means of exchange, nor do we have an on-ramp to the digital world with a federal law, which is a stablecoin regime. I tasked French Hill with the Chairmanship of the Digital Asset Subcommittee, not because he wanted it, but because he would be best. And he has shown that he is best, and he’s building consensus around serious policy. And we’re going to make policy — we’re going to make law here. I hope to get that reported out before it gets too hot here in DC.
“So that’s the committee agenda. I’m happy to have two of my three major priorities reported out as of last night.”
McHenry officially took the reins of the Financial Services Committee in January of this year after being selected by his colleagues last fall to serve as Chairman. First elected to the House in 2004 at the age of 29, he has risen rapidly since coming to Washington. In 2009, he was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the “40 Under 40,” a list of rising stars in American politics. Six years later, in 2015, he joined the House Republican leadership with his appointment as Chief Deputy Whip.
In addition to talking about his priorities as Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, McHenry also touched on the measure to raise the debt limit that was approved by the House on Wednesday night, and the fact that tying a debt limit increase to a reduction in spending has been done successfully before.
“In the mid-80s,” he noted, “because there were serious economic priorities that had to be addressed and serious budget priorities, they used the debt ceiling to take stock of our fiscal house. And they did it with not that much drama — some, not that much. But the major spending reforms over the last 40 years have ridden in conjunction with a debt ceiling increase. That was certainly the case in the 80s, that was the case in the 90s, and that definitely has been the case for the last 20 years in Congress.
“When Democrats were in the majority, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi negotiated with President Trump for higher spending levels. They were taking stock of their fiscal house and fiscal priorities, and they raised spending in conjunction with the debt ceiling increase. Speaker McCarthy laid out clearly — very early on — that he wanted to take stock of our fiscal house and pare spending and move growth opportunities in connection with that.”
“The Speaker met with President Biden on February 1st to engage in a dialogue on raising the debt ceiling. And that was the last conversation they had … I hope that this is the start of negotiations with the President. That is the hope, and that was the goal of passing this legislative product last night.”
To view McHenry’s remarks at yesterday’s breakfast discussion of The Ripon Society, please click the link below:
The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.