May 11, 1982: ’Net Worth Guarantee Act’ Gets House Committee Backing

The House Banking Committee approves H.R. 6267, the Net Worth Guarantee Act, by a vote of 25 to 15, with three abstaining. The approval is the first action of Congress to provide direct and specific financial assistance to troubled thrifts, although by a reported estimate in the New York Times, most of the nation’s 4,500 thrift depositories are “losing money” by this time. [New York Times, 5/12/1982, pp. D1, D13] Voting on the bill, which was introduced into the House by Representative and committee chairman Fernand J. St. Germain (D-RI) on May 4 (see May 4-October 15, 1982), is largely partisan: Republican members generally favor an alternative proposal by Rep. Chalmers P. Wylie (R-OH) that differs in qualifying firms at a higher current net worth, and in allowing regulators discretion over this qualification, although debate on the Wylie amendments is short-circuited by a motion to table the amendment made by Rep. Frank Annunzio (D-IL). [New York Times, 5/12/1982, pp. D1, D13] The Wylie provisions form the basis for the bill S.2531 which is introduced into the Senate on May 14, 1982 (see May 14, 1982). [New York Times, 5/12/1982, pp. D1, D13; Library of Congress, 5/19/2008]