Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, will moderate a bipartisan panel discussion on plans to reform the nation’s secondary mortgage market. The discussion will consider the lingering challenges facing the housing market, the principles that should frame Congress’s consideration of housing finance reform, and various approaches to ensure… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, congratulated Mary Jo White today on her swearing in as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. “I am pleased to have her on the job,” said Waters.  “I am sure that her reputation as a tough federal prosecutor will assist us in overcoming any attempts to slow implementation of the Wall… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, spoke before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness today. Waters’ 30 minute speech outlines policy areas such as regulatory relief for community banks in which she is optimistic about working with the Republican majority on the Committee. However, she made clear… Read more »

Plans to Introduce Legislation to Address the Use of Consultants Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement today in response to a GAO report on the Independent Foreclosure Review.  The study was conducted as the result of a request by Congresswoman Waters, Senator Robert Menendez, Congressman Brad Miller,… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, today commended a proposal by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that would ban the payment of lucrative commissions and reinsurance fees to banks in return for their purchase of “force-placed” insurance. Currently, mortgage servicers are permitted to require homeowners to purchase property… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, introduced the Project Rebuild Act of 2013 on Thursday afternoon. This legislation would provide funding for the rehabilitation of foreclosed and abandoned properties, helping to prevent the deterioration of neighborhoods which leads to plummeting housing prices and lower quality of life for… Read more »

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, along with Rep. Maxine Waters and 44 other cosponsors, today announced the introduction of the “Overdraft Protection Act”, H.R. 1261, at an event outside the House chambers. The bill would require a bank or other financial institution to obtain a consumer’s affirmative opt-in to any overdraft protection… Read more »

(As Prepared) I’d like to thank my colleague on the Financial Services Committee, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, for organizing this press conference.  She was a leader in passing the “Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act” -- otherwise known as the CARD ACT.  I was proud to work with her on that legislation as an original co-sponsor.   Now… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today made the following statement on the House Floor: Thank you Mr. Speaker, and I thank Mr. Van Hollen for yielding me time. Today I rise in strong opposition to the Republican’s Budget, a budget that makes absurd claims to reducing the deficit by repealing crucial government authority to protect… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today made the following opening statement at the full committee hearing on the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).  The FHFA is conservator of the Government Sponsored Enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Edward DeMarco, Acting Director of the FHFA, will appear before the committee as… Read more »

Today Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, reintroduced the FHA Emergency Fiscal Solvency Act. The legislation, co-sponsored by Representative Michael E. Capuano, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, is designed to strengthen FHA and to help ensure its long-term solvency. In recent years, the agency has stepped… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released a letter to Edward DeMarco, Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)  raising questions about FHFA’s recent decision to prohibit Fannie Mae from moving forward with a plan to save taxpayers and borrowers  from unnecessarily high costs related to … Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today welcomed the testimony of Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.  Mr. Bernanke appears before the Committee today as required by the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978.  The complete text of Ranking Member Waters’ opening statement… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, led committee Democrats today in calling for an open debate on the effects of sequestration, requesting that all Committee members put aside theoretical discussions of “Budget Views and Estimates.”  The complete text of her opening statement… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released a letter to Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Thomas Curry, Comptroller of the Currency, seeking additional, detailed information from the regulators about the termination of the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR). Ranking Member Waters has been a leading advocate for… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder commending recent work by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and banking regulators in investigating and prosecuting wrongdoing related to LIBOR manipulation, money laundering and violations of the… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement in response to the announcement by the Department of Justice that it has filed a civil suit against Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P): “I want to commend the Justice Department for taking long overdue action to hold S&P accountable for its… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, today sent the attached letter to Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the committee, requesting that he hold a hearing about the abrupt end of the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) process. On Jan. 7, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board announced a settlement in which… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released a letter to Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Thomas Curry, comptroller of the currency, asking for detailed information about the abrupt termination of the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) process. Ranking Member Waters, a leading advocate for foreclosure… Read more »

  Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC), today released the following statement in response to the news that President Barack Obama will nominate Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  The CFPB was established by the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was drafted and… Read more »

  Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today welcomed President Obama’s nomination of Mary Jo White to be the next chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stating: I offer my congratulations to Mary Jo White on being nominated to chair the SEC. Ms. White has had a very distinguished record… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement after the Committee’s first markup.  In her statement, she praises the bipartisan tone of the markup but also responds to a claim by the Committee majority made in a press release strong issued last night. I appreciate the bipartisan nature of today’s… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement today in response to the announcement by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of a rule governing actions by mortgage servicers: The rule is a strong first step towards limiting widespread predatory practices by the mortgage servicing industry, which have led to… Read more »

(January 16, 2013) – A contingent of 12 Members of the House of Representatives today filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in support of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Resource Extraction Rule. The rule is based on a provision in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The rule is designed to… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today announced the Democratic Members of the subcommittees of the FSC.  The memberships of the subcommittees were determined by an open bidding process within the Democratic caucus of the committee.  The process was guided in part by Members’ years of service to the committee, but it also… Read more »