Midterm Elections Wrap-Up

Nov. 15, 2010 — While the dust is still settling from some of the November 2 midterm elections, it's clear that many new faces will appear on in Congress, Governor's offices and in state legislatures.

Republicans made large gains across federal and state levels in the midterm election. The U.S. House of Representatives will be Republican-controlled for the 112th Congress. Twenty-nine governors will be Republican, resulting from a gain of five GOP governors from winning gubernatorial candidates or states where the governor's house changed party. Among state legislatures, there are also an increased number of Republican chambers.

Given the changes in the House of Representatives, the House Financial Services Committee will have a new Chairman, likely Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), and also a range of new members. Nearly 25 percent of the members of the 111th Congress House Financial Services Committee were either defeated or retired, including Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), a long time credit union advocate that was defeated in the election. Rep Barney Frank (D-MA) will likely serve as the Minority Ranking Member on the Committee.

Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) will likely resume the Senate Banking Committee chairmanship following Chris Dodd's (D-CT) retirement from the Senate. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) is expected to remain the Minority Ranking Member. A small portion of the sitting Senate Banking Committee either retired or was defeated in the November election. Sen. Johnson was quoted last week stating that he doesn't foresee any big changes with respect to the Dodd-Frank Act, but areas of the law may be tweaked.

Rep. Bachus has said that he will focus on regulatory oversight, an area he felt was lacking during Democratic control of Congress. It is not believed that Rep. Bachus will move to overhaul the Dodd-Frank Act, but may make changes to reinforce oversight. He is also expected to focus on housing and GSE issues, topics also on the mind of Sen. Tim Johnson for the Senate Banking Committee. The Republican majority in the House is expected to be less focused on consumer issues as compared to the Democratic control of the 111th Congress.

NASCUS will continue its legislative advocacy for supplemental capital for credit unions in the 112th Congress. Further, NASCUS will maintain its dialogue with Congress on the importance of the state regulatory authority and the state charter.