In an effort to address a rapid decline in the availability of affordable housing, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, today introduced the Project Based Voucher Improvement Act. The bill would allow public housing authorities (PHAs) increased flexibility to develop new units of housing to serve vulnerable populations, including the homeless, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, and to create housing opportunities in areas where vouch... Read more

In opening remarks during a hearing in observance of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, outlined the accomplishments of the agency and the impact HUD has had in the lives of America’s most vulnerable individuals and families. Waters also focused on the need for more robust support for HUD programs, highlighting a visit to N Street Village, a homeless service... Read more

The leading Democrats on the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees today voiced their strong objections to Republican efforts to use must-pass government funding legislation to repeal, undermine, or delay financial reforms and consumer protections. In a letter to Congressional leaders, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said they will oppose efforts to use ideological policy riders to jam financial deregulation proposals through the appropriations process. B... Read more

In advance of a Committee hearing on the 50th anniversary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services, joined by Committee colleagues Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, and Rep. Al Green (D-TX), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, for a visit to N Street Village, a homeless pr... Read more

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, offered the following statement for the record in response to a special meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors earlier today with Mayor Eric Garcetti and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Juliàn Castro to address the City and County of Los Angeles’ ongoing efforts to address homelessness: “As Ranking Member of the Financial Servic... Read more

In advance of a hearing to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in light of its 50th anniversary, Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), will lead a group of Financial Services Committee Members on a tour of the N Street Village – a homeless service provider for low-income and homeless women in Washington, D.C. – to highlight the critical need for investment in programs that support our nation’s most vulnerable populations, and the many ways these programs l... Read more

As a majority of the House of Representatives, Democrats and Republicans, came together today to gather enough signatures on a discharge petition to force a vote on the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, provided the 218th signature required by House rules to move the historic process forward. The discharge process has only been used five times in U.S. history successfully, and Waters’ signature re... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued letters to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) urging the agency to review two controversial demonstration programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Moving to Work (MTW) and the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). The letters come as Congress considers a significant expansion to the MTW program and as HUD oversees the implementation of a recently approv... Read more

In opening remarks during a Financial Services Committee markup today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Committee’s Ranking Member, outlined the negative impacts of the group of bills under consideration and stressed the need to revive export credit financing for American businesses and workers. Specifically, the Ranking Member pointed out that the measures threaten to hamper efforts to boost protections for the retirements savings of hardworking Americans, increase transparency in our ma... Read more

In opening remarks during today’s full Committee hearing with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Financial Services panel, commended the results outlined in the agency’s semi-annual report. Waters also underscored the importance of the agency’s work to develop rules on payday lending, debt collection and mortgage lending. This critical work has continued despite incessant attacks and failed constitutional chall... Read more

In response to G.E.’s second major announcement in the past two weeks that it will expand its operations in Europe where export credit financing is made readily available, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, released the following statement: “I am disappointed that as another day has passed without action from House Republican Leadership to revive the Export-Import Bank, more American jobs will be lost to countries that have well-functioning... Read more

Following the announcement of a decision today by the Federal Open Markets Committee to hold off on raising interest rates, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, commended the cautious and prudent approach to ensuring continued economic growth of the U.S. economy. In the statement, Waters noted global market volatility and the fact that many families in minority communities have yet to fully benefit from the progress the economy has made, and ... Read more

In response to General Electric’s announcement of relocation of its production and jobs to France, Hungary, and China in the wake of the expiration of the Export-Import Bank’s charter, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, underscored the negative impacts of Republican’s obstruction on communities across the nation. The ranking Democrat went on to urge Republicans in leadership to bring Ex-Im reauthorization legislation up for a vote before th... Read more

During floor debate on H.R. 3461, a resolution to approve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the deal struck between Iran and six world powers in July, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, led several Democrats in expressing their support for the deal on the House floor. Waters remarks also emphasized growing support for the deal and touted it as the best alternative to any potential military action in Iran. She delivered the following r... Read more

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Democrat on the Committee on Financial Services, hosted an in-depth discussion today with actor, activist, and philanthropist Richard Gere and a panel of policy experts on the state of homelessness in America, focusing on the need for additional resources, coordination, and attention to help prevent and end homelessness in America. In addition to Gere, the panel of homelessness policy experts included Nan Roman, President and CEO of the National Allia... Read more

Today, September 9, 2015, marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) founding. In commemoration of this milestone, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, commended HUD for its unparalleled work expanding opportunity and providing safe, decent, and affordable housing for millions of families across the country. Congresswoman Waters also reiterated the importance of HUD, noting that the agency’s ... Read more

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of Committee on Financial Services, will participate in the observance of the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina to highlight the progress made since the depths of the storm and underscore the remaining work that must be done to ensure full recovery in the Gulf. Congresswoman Waters played an instrumental role in the post-storm recovery, leading the subcommittee charged with oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). ... Read more

Following an announcement of several hundred layoffs planned at Boeing’s satellite factory in southern California, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, underscored the very real impact the Export-Import Bank’s shut down is having on American workers. The layoffs add to the growing number of jobs at risk as a result of the export credit agency’s inability to generate and negotiate new deals on behalf of American exporters. Further, the announc... Read more

Following an announcement of a settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA) to resolve allegations that it collaborated with the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, as well as the County’s Sheriff’s Department to discourage low-income African American residents from utilizing Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, expressed her... Read more

As House Republicans prepare to leave town for a nearly six-week summer recess, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, took the party to task for failing to take any action to re-open the Export-Import Bank, which has been shut down for nearly a month. Waters blasted Republicans for voting against a procedural motion called the “previous question,” which would have forced a vote on legislation to extend the Bank’s charter through 2019. The legisla... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, introduced legislation to reform a controversial demonstration program at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) known as the “Moving to Work” (MTW) program. The measure, entitled the “Moving to Work Reform Act,” seeks to address many of the known shortcomings of the current demonstration program by requiring HUD to subject all future MTW agreements to several new terms and condi... Read more

At the second in a series of hearings on the fifth anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, noted that while Dodd-Frank has done much to stabilize our financial system, the devastating effects of the crisis continue to affect some of the most vulnerable segments of our population. She also underscored the importance of focusing on public housing, the cities and towns still devastated from the foreclosure crisis, an... Read more

At a hearing to discuss the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act's increased capital and liquidity requirements for the nation's biggest banks, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of Financial Services Committee, strongly rebuked critics by showing how these requirements have effectively stabilized and strengthened financial markets. The top Democrat pointed to reports of record profits for banks and increases in lending as clear signals that Dodd-Frank has made our financial system ... Read more

Following a meeting at the White House with President Obama and small business owners affected by the shutdown of the Export-Import Bank, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, underscored Democrats’ commitment to passage of a long-term reauthorization of the export credit agency. She issued the following statement: “I am pleased to join President Obama in continuing to bring attention to the need for the immediate reauthorization of the Export... Read more

Today, a broad and diverse group of House Democrats expressed their strong support for a rule proposed by the Department of Labor (DOL) that seeks to ensure those providing investment advice are actually working in the best interest of retirement savers. In a letter led by Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee and Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Education and Workforce Committee, the lawmakers praised the DOL’s efforts, led by Labor Secretary Th... Read more