Fernand Joseph St Germain (January 9, 1928 – August 16, 2014) was an American politician from

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served in the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. He is best known for his sponsorship of the

Garn–St. Germain Depository Institutions Act The Garn–St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 (, , enacted October 15, 1982) is an Act of Congress that deregulation, deregulated savings and loan associations and allowed banks to provide adjustable-rate mortgage, adjustable-rate mor ...

, which deregulated the

savings and loan association A savings and loan association (S&L), or thrift institution, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans. While the terms "S&L" and "thrift" are mainly used in the United States, ...

industry.

Early life

Born in

Blackstone, Massachusetts Blackstone is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,208 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Providence metropolitan area. History This region was first inhabited by the Nipmuc. Blackstone was sett ...

, he was raised and attended parochial schools in

Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsoc ...

. He graduated from Our Lady of Providence Seminary High School, 1945, and from

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

in 1948. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as a pharmacy and laboratory technician from 1949 to 1952. St Germain did not spell his name with a period saying that he was no saint.

Career

In 1952, at the age of 24, St Germain won a seat in the

. Three years later, he graduated from

Boston University School of Law The Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Ap ...

and was admitted to the bar. In 1960, he was elected to Congress, where he would serve 14 terms. He later joined the

United States House Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the United States congressional committee, committee of the United States ...

, becoming the committee chairman in 1981. In 1982, he and

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

member

Jake Garn Edwin Jacob "Jake" Garn (born October 12, 1932) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Utah. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1974 to 1993. Garn ...

from

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

sponsored the

. One of the act’s primary features was its deregulation of the savings and loan industry. Although the provisions of the act were to protect thrift savings institutions from rapidly rising interest rates by allowing them to offer new deposit accounts and make additional types of loans, its loosening of regulations arguably precipitated the

Savings and loan crisis The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s (commonly dubbed the S&L crisis) was the failure of approximately a third of the savings and loan associations (S&Ls or thrifts) in the United States between 1986 and 1995. These thrifts were b ...

. St Germain voted for the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987. The Act asserts United States title to certain abandoned shipwrecks located on or embedded in submerged lands under state jurisdiction, and transfers title to the respective state, thereby empowering states to manage these cultural and historical resources more efficiently, with the goal of preventing

treasure hunters Treasure hunting is the physical search for treasure. One of the most popular types of modern day treasure hunters are historic shipwreck salvors. These underwater treasure salvors try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with both c ...

and salvagers from damaging them. President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

signed it into law on April 28, 1988. In 1985, St Germain was accused of using his office for personal benefit.

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

published an investigation into the Congressman’s finances. The ''Journal'' examined his financial disclosures and found that he was able to secure no-down-payment loans of $1.3 million to acquire several

IHOP IHOP Restaurants LLC ( ; acronym for International House of Pancakes) is an American multinational pancake house restaurant chain that specializes in American breakfast foods. It is owned by Dine Brands—a company formed after IHOP's purchase ...

(International House of Pancakes) restaurants even though he only had a salary of $42,500 per year. An aide in St Germain’s office contacted federal regulators repeatedly about the application of Florida Federal Savings and Loan to convert to stock ownership. After the application was approved, St Germain made a $15,000 investment in the company’s stock. The chairman of the S&L told the ''Journal'' that he did offer St Germain access to real estate deals not available to the general public but contended that he did not request assistance with the application. Although the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

and the

United States House Committee on Ethics The U.S. House Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Before the 112th Congress, it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Th ...

both declined to pursue charges against him, the controversy factored into his

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

re-election efforts. In 1986, Republican John Holmes gave him his first tough race in many years, taking 42% of the vote. But St Germain had to spend more than twice what he had in the prior election. Holmes attacked him for taking $35,000 from a developer. Republican

Ronald Machtley Ronald Keith Machtley (born July 13, 1948) is an American politician and former president of Bryant University. Machtley served three terms as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island from 1989 to 19 ...

defeated him in November 1988 in a campaign that was notable for Machtley taking a live pig named "Les Pork" on the campaign trail to emphasize his commitment to reducing

pork barrel ''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for allocating government spending to localized projects in the representative's district or for securing direct expenditures primarily serving the sole interests of the representative. The u ...

spending by Congress.

Death

A resident of

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, St Germain died of kidney failure on August 16, 2014, at his home in Newport.

Award and honors

*1985 : Honorary degree from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

(LL.D.)

References

External links