Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, touted the importance of the recently-released Volcker Rule for ensuring taxpayer dollars are no longer used to protect banks from risky trading losses. In a statement delivered in a hearing of the full Financial Services Committee on the measure, Waters underscored that a strongly… Read more »

As regulators contemplate changes to a provision of the “Volcker Rule” related to the treatment of investments in Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) backed by Trust Preferred Securities (TruPS), 22 Democratic members of the Financial Services Committee have expressed their support for providing important regulatory relief to the community banking sector while preserving strong… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today commented on the release of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) report to Congress on “How to Modernize and Improve the System of Insurance Regulation in the United States.” The FIO was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010, and makes… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement following the approval of the “Volcker Rule,” which bans proprietary trading by banks. “A seminal component of the 2010 Wall Street Reform Act was the inclusion of the ‘Volcker Rule,’ designed to stop banks from using taxpayer-backed customer deposits for trades… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement in reaction to the agenda of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which was released last week. “While I’m pleased to see the SEC will be dealing with a number of important issues next year, including derivatives regulation and measures to increase… Read more »

As the House and Senate work to reconcile differing versions of legislation to implement an Obama Administration deal with Mexico to develop oil and gas resources in the Gulf of Mexico, three leading House Democratic lawmakers called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to reject House Republican efforts to waive a provision in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Former Representatives Barney Frank today released the statements in opposition to H.R. 992, the Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act. Waters led opposition on the House Floor and expressed her concerns about weakening of Dodd-Frank reforms before regulators have completed them. Waters stated: “The financial crisis of 2008 wreaked untold havoc on the… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement regarding her opposition to H.R. 2374, the Retail Investor Protection Act. Waters led opposition on the House Floor and expressed her concerns about how the deceptively-titled legislation would undermine protections for those trying to save for retirement.… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement in response to actions by U.S. and UK regulators to levy a nearly $1 billion fine against JP Morgan. “Today’s announcement of fines levied against JP Morgan validates Congress’ decision to provide our regulators with broad authority to regulate derivatives… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, led committee Democrats today in encouraging Financial Services Committee Members to, “read the law,” in hopes to “facilitate a rational discussion based on actual provisions within the law.” During the full committee hearing titled, “Examining How the Dodd-Frank Act Could Result in More Taxpayer-Funded… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, made the following statement today at a meeting of the Committee held to mark up the following legislation: H.R. 2374, the Retail Investor Protection Act H.R. 1135, the Burdensome Data Collection Relief Act H.R. 1105, the Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act H.R. 1564,… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, made the following statement today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. Ranking Member Waters opposed the passage of H.R. 1256, the Swap Jurisdiction Certainty Act, under closed rule. Ranking Member Waters led the debate noting that H.R. 1256 handcuffs our regulators reach overseas, and… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, delivered  the following statement at today's full Committee hearing with Treasury Secretary Lew:   Thank you very much Mr. Chairman.  I am very pleased to welcome Secretary Lew to his first appearance before the Financial Services Committee to deliver the annual… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today made the following statement on the House Floor:   I rise to strongly oppose HR 1062.  This bill places significant additional requirements for economic analysis by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), effectively bringing any efforts at rulemaking to a standstill. Let’s be… Read more »

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the “SEC Regulatory Accountability Act” (H.R. 1062), a Republican bill which despite its common-sense title would greatly restrict the ability of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect millions of American investors. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, led debate for the… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, made the following statement at a meeting of the Committee held today to mark up legislation addressing the nation’s derivatives markets: Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this mark-up this morning on a broad package of bills related to a wide-range of issues facing this Committee.   Let me… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Chairman of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), seeking to elicit his views on the progress of the “living wills” provision of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.  The provision requires the nation’s largest… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement in reaction to the annual report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC).  Waters praises the FSOC’s work to monitor systemic risk and identify potential vulnerabilities in the financial system.  Ranking Member Waters also calls on members of… Read more »

In her opening statement today at a hearing of the House Committee on Financial Services, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the Committee, contested the notion that regulatory oversight is an impediment to recovery in the housing finance market. The title of the hearing called by the Republican majority is “Building a Sustainable Housing Finance System: Examining… 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 »

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, 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 »

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 (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 »