Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today sent the attached letter to Chairman Jeb Hensarling, responding to his refusal to allow Richard Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), to testify before the Committee.  Mr. Hensarling declared his intention to block Director Cordray in a letter released… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, joined by Representative Michael E. Capuano and 65 of their Democratic House colleagues, has released a letter to key Members of the House Committee on Appropriations urging adequate funding for critical community development and housing programs in the Fiscal Year 2014 Transportation, Housing and Urban… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, joined by Representative Carolyn Maloney and 51 other Members of Congress, has released a letter to key Members of the House Committee on Appropriations calling for full funding of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the amount requested by the Obama administration for fiscal year 2014. The… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, has introduced legislation to provide the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the authority to impose and collect user fees on investment advisors. The Investment Adviser Examination Improvement Act of 2013 (H.R. 1627) would provide the SEC with a dedicated funding source in order to make… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, and Congressman Collin C. Peterson, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture have submitted a motion for leave to file an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals focusing on the position limits rule promulgated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC’s rule would… Read more »

Ranking Member Waters opening statement at 4-16-2013 Financial Institutions Subcommittee Hearing titled, “Examining Community Bank Regulatory Burdens” I want to thank the witnesses for taking time to come talk to us today. I know it’s still a challenging time for community sized institutions such as yourselves and it can’t be easy to take time away from your businesses. And I want to… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement in response to testimony by Daniel Stipano, deputy chief counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), in his appearance before the Senate Banking Committee.  In his testimony, Stipano stated that the OCC “would welcome a legislative change”… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, convened a bipartisan panel this morning on Capitol Hill to discuss various proposals for reform of the Government-Sponsored Enterprises and the secondary mortgage market.  “The goal of this panel is to emphasize the imperative for reform, inform our members, and hopefully spur the Financial… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, announced today that she has introduced legislation to reform the use of independent consultants in banking regulation and enforcement processes.   She is joined by Representatives Elijah E. Cummings, Al Green and John Conyers, Jr. as original cosponsors. The Stop Outsourcing Banking… Read more »

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 »