Texas’ Hensarling Elected Chair of House Financial Services Committee

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) has been elected chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Hensarling replaces Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama) who headed the committee for the past six years.

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""I want to thank Chairman Spencer Bachus for his outstanding service on this committee,"" Hensarling said upon his appointment. ""He has been a tireless proponent of free enterprise and free markets, and it has been a pleasure to serve under his leadership.""

Hensarling previously served as vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Like Bachus, he is a conservative supporter of a limited government and a free market economy. He has fought to cut government spending and reduce debt.

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With a stated goal of fostering ""the deepest, most liquid, competitive, efficient, innovative, and transparent capital markets the world has ever known,"" Hensarling outlined a few broad goals as he stepped into his new role last week.

""[W]e must end the phenomenon of ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├ï┼ôtoo big to fail' and reinstate market discipline,"" he said.

""We must also reduce taxpayer risk in the marketplace and cut the sheer weight, volume, complexity, and uncertainty of the federal red tape burden that makes capital more expensive and less valuable,"" he continued.

Doing so will bolster a free enterprise system, which Hensarling says is ""the best housing and jobs program known to man.""

In addition to previously holding the vice chairman position on the House Financial Services Committee, Hensarling has also headed up the House Republican Conference as chairman and was co-chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

Hensarling co-authored the ""Spending, Deficit, and Debt Control Act,"" which was praised by several conservative groups. He also proposed the ""Spending Limit Amendment,"" which intended to limit government spending to no more than 20 percent of the economy.