Your Legislators: Garrett Wants Congress to Defend DOMA Against Litigation

New Jersey 5th Congressional Representative Scott Garrett has co-sponsored a bill to have Congress defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) against any litigation in any Federal court of the United States when the Justice Department fails to.

With President Obama issuing a directive to not defend DOMA, House Republicans will do so themselves. Said Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) in a statement: "This action by the House will ensure that this law’s constitutionality is decided by the courts, rather than by the president unilaterally.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) opposed Boehner and House Republicans' decision.

Pelosi criticized the decision, saying it was wrong to “sap hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, if not more, during a time of limited fiscal resources.”

“Pursuing this legal challenge distracts from our core challenges: creating jobs, strengthening the middle class, and responsibly reducing the deficit. And that is why I voted against this action today,” Pelosi said in a statement.

Garrett, a staunch conservative, did not issue a statement on his position though he's previously voted to preserve marriage solely between a man and a woman.

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Garrett and Rep. Carolyn Mahoney, of New York, a Democrat, have introduced the Covered Bond Act of 2011 (H.R.940). According to the two legislators, the bill would help facilitate a covered-bonds market in the U.S. to add liquidity to capital markets.

The bill would create a legislative framework to ensure certainty for covered-bond programs and supervision by federal regulators like the SEC. Mahoney said the bonds are successful in Europe and present "a significant opportunity" for U.S. financial markets. Garrett chairs the House subcommittee that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In other financial news, the Republican Congressman is also the latest Republican to try to slow down the pace by which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is rewriting regulatory rules. Garrett wrote the agency chairman earlier in March opining that the speed in which the commission is moving doesn't allow for the financial industry to fully take in the proposed rules for derivatives trading.

Garrett also told the SEC on Thursday that it needs to make greater reforms before receiving the funding it's requesting. The SEC, reportedly believe the agency needs a greater war chest before it can carry out responsibilities mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

"Before we can even think about giving this agency yet another funding increase, at minimum, the agency will need to show major progress in implementing recommended reforms," Garrett said.

Finally, in the Garrett Finance 411 this week, the Wantage rep introduced Equitable Treatment of Investors Act last month but is making the news this week. The bill would define net equity as what is shown on customers' last account statements before an offending firm has filed bankruptcy.

Garrett's introduced bill would help those who profited from Madoff's scheme but are not defendants in the fraud by eliminating the possibility of "claw-back" lawsuits, such as the ones filed by Irving Picard, the Madoff trustee in charge of liquidating the estate.

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Garrett also co-sponsored the Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011, sponsored by California State Sen. Zoe Lofgren (D-16). The bill, similar to introduced bills in 2008 and 2009, would prohibit states from imposing new discriminatory taxes on wireless goods and services for five years.