Latest news with #FrankLucas
E&E News
2 days ago
- Climate
- E&E News
House lawmakers revive bipartisan forecasting bill
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced legislation Friday to help the National Weather Service make critical upgrades to its forecasting and storm prediction capabilities. The 'Weather Act Reauthorization bill,' H.R. 3816, would 'fund ongoing critical research programs while also establishing new programs to advance forecasting, expand commercial data partnerships, strengthen emergency preparedness, and advance tools for farmers, ranchers and resource managers,' according to a release from sponsor Rep. Frank Lucas. The Oklahoma Republican used to chair the Science, Space and Technology Committee. The panel's current ranking member, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), is the bill's main co-sponsor. Advertisement The legislation would fund the modernization of weather research programs, including for tornado warning and hurricane forecasting technologies. And it would increase NOAA's access to forecasting data by expanding its authority to contract with the private sector.
Bloomberg
07-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
We Must Hold Faith When It Comes To The Market: Rep. Lucas
Republican Representative Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, said he's confident that Trump and his team will make the right strategic adjustments on tariffs if necessary. (Source: Bloomberg)
Reuters
04-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Fed's rules, toolkit under the microscope as US House task force gets underway
Summary Companies WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - A new task force in the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday begins its examination of the Federal Reserve's policy tools, rules and track record, and members of the panel indicated it will be an effort to reassess the central bank's role and goals. Its first hearing will be wide-ranging, as the Republicans in charge find the appropriate tenor within the larger House Financial Services Committee, which oversees the central bank and is led by Chairman French Hill. Representative Frank Lucas, the Oklahoma Republican who leads the Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity Task Force, has expressed skepticism over the Fed's dual mandate, questioning if its pursuit of maximum employment comes at the expense of price stability. Other Republicans on the task force said in interviews they seek clarity on the Fed's structure and vision of itself. "My frustration with the Fed is they claim to be a governmental agency when it's convenient, they then claim to be an independent agency when that's convenient," said Representative Bill Huizenga from Michigan. Representative Monica De La Cruz from Texas riffed on President Donald Trump's campaign slogan and said her goal was to "make lending great again" by examining the "crushing" regulations imposed on community banks by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law. Tuesday's hearing starts at 10:00 a.m. EST (1500 GMT). It will not feature any current Fed policymakers, though former Fed Vice Chair Donald Kohn, now at Brookings, is slated to appear. Also expected are Joseph Wang, a former senior trader on the Fed's open markets desk and currently chief investment officer at Monetary Macro, Norbert Michel of the libertarian Cato Institute, and Mike Konczal, former chief economist for the Biden administration's National Economic Council. The top Democrat on the task force, Representative Juan Vargas from California, said in an interview he will defend the Fed's mandate including employment, as well as the bank's independence. "I am very concerned that Republicans want to stick -- as they say -- 'the old nose of the camel under the tent' on this one and make the Fed less independent," Vargas said, "I think that's a very bad idea." Fed watchers are waiting to see the approach of the new panel and if the central bank will interact with and be responsive to the group. The Fed assiduously guards its monetary policy independence, which economists say is critical to a central bank's ability to fight inflation effectively. The 14-member task force features a mix of veteran Republican and Democratic members who have spent considerable time on issues related to the Fed. Eight of them have met with Fed Chair Jerome Powell at least once since he became chair in 2018. Republican Andy Barr from Kentucky has spent the most time interacting with Powell -- about eight hours in total including a breakfast meeting at the end of last year -- according to Powell's calendar. Six of the representatives have not met with the Fed chair, according to Powell's calendar, which is updated through the end of 2024.
Bloomberg
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Rep. Lucas on Government Funding, Agriculture Tariffs
Representative Frank Lucas (R) Oklahoma, shares his thoughts on whether or not a clean continuing resolution will pass when discussing Congress and government funding. He also talks about President Trump's proposed agriculture tariffs and the long-term impacts it could have on United States farmers. Rep. Lucas speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
Reuters
25-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: Head of Fed-watchdog task force in Congress plans broad U.S. central bank review
WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The head of a new congressional panel gearing up to strengthen Capitol Hill's oversight of the Federal Reserve plans a broad review of how the U.S. central bank makes its interest rate decisions, including whether controlling inflation should be prioritized over safeguarding employment. "A substantial number of my Financial Services Committee colleagues and the chairman want to discuss that issue," Representative Frank Lucas, an Oklahoma Republican, told Reuters in an interview on Monday ahead of next week's first hearing of the Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity Task Force. "Is there really a dual mandate? And how does that affect the primary mandate of price stability?" The Fed's dual mandate - to foster price stability and maximum employment - was imposed by Congress in 1978, and right now it is close to both goals: The unemployment rate is 4% and inflation has eased to 2.6% relative to a 2% target, a far better outcome than many feared. But the experience following the COVID-19 pandemic, with inflation surging to 40-year highs and the Fed scrambling to beat it with rapid rate hikes, has left scars. Lucas, a three-decade congressional veteran, is keen to explore whether the Fed's approach was flawed. Across a series of hearings in coming months, he will also look at longstanding issues like whether the Fed should make more use of monetary policy rules in its decisions, perhaps not to the full exclusion of its own discretion but as a way to give the public more certainty about the direction of policy. "If your primary focus is price stability, and if you want the forces of the economy to be able to make decisions, then a more rules-focused process provides certainty to that," Lucas said. Lucas acknowledged the difficulty of amending the Federal Reserve Act given narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate, and the nearly 50-year legacy of the dual mandate, but he expects his process potentially to lead to recommended legislation, a series of reports, or recommendations to the Fed. That is timely, he said, given the Fed is currently conducting its own review of an operating framework that in 2020 intensified its focus on joblessness - and which some argue slowed its response to price pressures that began building in 2021. "These issues are relevant right now," he said. Along with monetary policy, the panel - composed of eight Republicans and six Democrats - will look at issues around the functioning of the U.S. Treasury market.
