Fernand St. Germain

Fernand Joseph St. Germain (born January 9, 1928) is a former U.S. Representative from Rhode Island.

Born in Blackstone, Massachusetts, St. Germain attended parochial schools in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. He graduated from Our Lady of Providence Seminary High School, 1945, and from Providence College, 1948. He served in the United States Army from 1949 to 1952, and then graduated from Boston University Law School, 1955.

St. Germain was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1952 to 1961. He was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Rhode Island in 1956.

St. Germain was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-seventh and to the thirteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1961-January 3, 1989). He served as chairman of the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs (Ninety-seventh through One Hundredth Congresses); the Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 is named after him.

St. Germain played a large role in creating the Savings and Loan crisis by passing legislation which removed regulations on Savings and Loans which allowed them to engage in risky business practices. [ [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Corporate_Welfare/S&L_Bailout.html] ]

He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the One Hundred First Congress in 1988. He is a resident of Newport, Rhode Island.

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