Pub. 5 2010-2011 Issue 5

January/February 2011 15 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. D URING THE ELECTION ON NOV. 2, 2010, 63 seats changed hands from Democrat to Republican. The House of Representatives will now have 242 Republican seats and the Democrats will have 192 seats. The Senate, however, will continue to be under Democratic control, albeit at the smaller margin of 53 Democrats to 47 Republicans. The Republicans picked up six seats in the Senate. What do these electoral changes mean for your financial institution in Nebraska? Whether your bank is located in Scottsbluff, Grant, Grand Island, Pender, Lincoln, or Omaha, the 112th Congress will impact your banking business. Staying apprised of these developments will enable your bank to be more proactive and forward thinking as potential statutory changes are considered by Congress. On Jan. 3, 2011, members of the 112th Congress were sworn in as Senators and Representatives. This event was the culmination of the historic 2010 election. As is well known, the Republicans have taken back control of the House of Representatives. The 112th Congress: What Should Nebraska Bankers Expect? Kyle J. Gilster , Husch Blackwell LLP Q 112th Congress — continued on page 16 New Committee Chairmen to Be Selected The most obvious change in the 112th Congress is that a new chairman will be selected in both the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. With the retire- ment of Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) is expected to become the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Sen. Johnson has the seniority advantage and is currently chairman of the Financial Institutions Subcommittee. He has a strong re- cord of supporting community banks, in light of the large number of small, community banks in South Dakota. Both the chief of staff and legislative director for Sen. Johnson are native Nebraskans. Sen. Johnson was also an active participant in the consideration of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999 and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010. It is also important to note that Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) will continue to serve on the Senate Bank- ing Committee. The next chairman of the House Financial Services Committee will be Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL). Rep. Bachus represents the Sixth District of Alabama, which is in the Birming- ham area. Bachus had been the rank- ing member of the committee under Democratic Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA). Bachus, who will be start- ing his 10th term in Congress, has a strong record of supporting commu- nity banks as well as the large banks that are headquartered in Alabama. Financial Agenda for the 112th Congress The consequences from the election will influence the agenda of banking issues in both the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Commit- tees. 2011 will be the year of oversight of the administration’s implementation COUNSELOR’S CORNER