Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) – the leading Democrats on the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees – issued the following statement after the U.S government removed GE Capital’s designation as “systemically important” to the financial system. The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), which includes the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve, rescinded GE Capital’s designation for stricter oversight after the firm made changes to reduce its thr... Read more

As a massive overhaul of the World Bank’s long-standing social and environmental safeguard policies moves to its final stage, two leading House members on international development issues expressed concern over the Bank’s proposed safeguards on worker rights. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew, Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, and Gwen Moore (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade, said they were con... Read more

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement on legislation Chairman Hensarling unveiled yesterday to repeal critical parts of the Dodd-Frank Act, which would make financial markets less safe and put consumers at risk: “Chairman Hensarling’s plan to kill Wall Street Reform puts special interests ahead of American consumers,” Rep. Waters said. “The Wrong Choice Act would allow megabanks and other financial instituti... Read more

Yesterday, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, spoke at a press conference about the harms caused by predatory payday loans and the need for strong rules to protect victims from abusive practices. Waters spoke alongside advocates from consumer, civil rights and faith-based groups to urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to finalize strong rules to rein in payday lenders, following a proposal the Bureau released earlier this month.... Read more

In opening remarks during today’s semi-annual Humphrey-Hawkins hearing with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, lauded the Federal Reserve Chair’s cautious approach to raising rates and her work to increase economic inclusion. Waters touted the actions taken by the Fed, the Administration and Democrats in Congress, which have led to “the longest-ever streak of private-sector job growth, rising home pric... Read more

State-level regulation of the payday lending industry is insufficient in protecting consumers, a House Financial Services Committee Democratic staff report revealed, underscoring the need for strong federal consumer protections. Because of the history of abuse in payday lending, many states have attempted to restrict these kinds of loans in order to protect consumers. However, the report released today, “Skirting the Law: Five Tactics Payday Lenders Use to Evade State Consumer Protection Laws,” ... Read more

In opening remarks during a Financial Services Committee markup today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Committee’s Ranking Member, pushed back against Republican efforts to dismantle Wall Street reforms, including much-needed investor and consumer protections. Waters noted that while she supports some of the measures under consideration, she is dismayed by broader Republican attempts to undercut Dodd-Frank and the protections put in place to prevent another financial crisis. “This markup... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on House Republicans’ so-called regulatory reform agenda: “House Republicans are once again making it clear that they do not care. Last week, they showed America that they don’t care about people living in poverty by releasing a fake poverty agenda that would punish and blame the poor instead of investing in critical resources like housing. This week, they are focus... Read more

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, today delivered a major speech at an AFL-CIO conference on monetary policy in the United States. In her remarks, Ranking Member Waters said the Federal Reserve should pay due consideration to the needs of workers when setting interest rate policy and expressed concerns about the impact of any premature rate increases on workers as well as low-income and minority communities. “The Fed’s decisions have serio... Read more

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, spoke on the House floor today about the state of homelessness in the United States and how the Republican poverty plan does nothing to address this crisis. In her remarks, Ranking Member Waters noted that the recently introduced Republican poverty agenda, “would only exacerbate homelessness and punish the poor.” To that end, Waters urged support for her bill H.R. 4888, the Ending Homelessness Act of 2016 ... Read more

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on legislation that would fund financial services agencies for fiscal 2017, which the House Appropriations Committee approved today: “Republicans, once again, are using every tool at their disposal to push an agenda that would hurt consumers and threaten the stability of our financial system. The spending bill approved by the Appropriations Committee today would underfund ... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement after President Obama vetoed legislation that would overturn the Labor Department’s fiduciary duty rule: “I am pleased that President Obama has vetoed harmful legislation that would overturn the Labor Department’s efforts to protect seniors from conflicted financial advice that costs them $17 billion a year in retirement savings. The Labor Department’s rule to prote... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on House Republicans’ harmful plan that would exacerbate poverty in this country: “Today, Republicans have unveiled a fake poverty program that shows, yet again, they are out of touch with the realities of poverty in America. This is nothing more than a weak attempt by Republicans to make it look as if they really care about the problems they have long ignored. But ... Read more

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, denounced Chairman Jeb Hensarling’s proposal to weaken our country’s financial and consumer protections: “Today, just steps from Wall Street, Chairman Hensarling unveiled a special interest wish list that would deregulate the financial sector to the detriment of consumers and investors. In the six years since Democrats saved our economy from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Republi... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s efforts to protect consumers from abusive lending practices: “The CFPB has taken an important step today to rein in payday lenders that prey on financially vulnerable Americans. These loans often come with outrageous terms, such as interest rates that can top 1,000 percent, and trap millions of Americans a year in a cycl... Read more

WASHINGTON -- Today, Reps. Maxine Waters, Elijah E. Cummings, and Bobby Scott, Ranking Members of the House Committees on Financial Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Education and Workforce, issued the following statement on news that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, and other industry groups have filed a lawsuit to overturn the Department of Labor’s conflict of interest rule: “Quite simply, the Department of Labor's new rule helps... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, introduced landmark legislation to overhaul the American credit reporting system so that it is fairer, more accurate, and less confusing for consumers. Consumer reporting agencies compile and maintain files for about 200 million adults. These reports play an important role in Americans’ lives as most creditors use them to make decisions about whether to extend credit and on what terms. These repo... Read more

Congresswoman Member Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, spoke on the House floor today about the state of homelessness in our country and sent a letter to Congressional Appropriators urging an extension of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). In her letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Waters requested that the sunset date for USICH -- which is scheduled for Oct. 1, 2017 – be repea... Read more

Congresswoman Member Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, submitted the following statement for the record at a Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee hearing titled “Interest on Reserves and the Fed’s Balance Sheet”: Thank you Chairman Huizenga and Ranking Member Moore for organizing today’s hearing. As we look at the Fed’s implementation of monetary policy in the post-crisis environment I think it’s important to look at the circumstances that have brought us... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on an announcement from Google that it will ban ads for short-term loans with high interest rates: “Today, Google announced an initiative to protect consumers from predatory payday lending by banning ads for short-term loans with high rates. After studying the data, Google found that some credit products trap consumers in a never-ending cycle of debt. According to G... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, introduced legislation with 14 other California Democrats representing the County of Los Angeles to address concerns with the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) initiative to consolidate its multifamily offices, known as the “Multifamily Transformation.” The initiative is currently being implemented in certain regions across the country and the Los Angeles field office will be affec... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on the Obama Administration’s new rules and proposals to fight money laundering: “I welcome the Administration’s announcement today of a major package of initiatives designed to help fight financial crime, protect the integrity of the U.S. financial system, and give law enforcement more effective tools to trace the activities of terrorist groups and help stop the fl... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement applauding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed rule on forced arbitration: “Everyday contracts, such as credit card agreements and checking accounts, should not use fine print to automatically deny consumers the right to access the civil justice system when they have been harmed by financial corporations. Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bure... Read more

WASHINGTON -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement today regarding an announcement from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that it will allocate $174 million to states from the National Housing Trust Fund: “There is a serious lack of affordable housing units in this country, causing undue hardships for many Americans who have trouble paying their rent. We created the National Housing Trus... Read more

In remarks on the House floor today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, took a strong stand against H.J. Res. 88, a Republican measure that seeks to dismantle the Labor Department’s recently finalized rule governing investment advice for retirement accounts. In her remarks, Ranking Member Waters noted that resolution would invalidate a carefully crafted rule that would close loopholes and gaps in the law and require all advisers to put thei... Read more