In the House Financial Services Committee markup to consider its Budget Views and Estimates for Fiscal Year 2018, Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Committee Democrats urged Committee Republicans to join them in holding the Trump Administration accountable and supporting amendments that would help middle class families and the most vulnerable populations. Throughout the markup,… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, spoke on the House floor in strong opposition to H.R. 1009, a bill that would aid the Trump Administration in obstructing the important work of independent federal regulators and harm working families. The full text of Waters’ statement, as prepared for delivery, is below: Thank you Ms.… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, rebuked Committee Republicans for putting forth budget views that fail to address issues of wealth inequality, the racial wealth gap, homelessness, affordable housing, consumer protection, and investor protection. As Prepared for Delivery Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today, this… Read more »

The experience of being crushed by student debt is no longer limited to the young. New federal data shows millions of Americans who are retired or nearing retirement face this burden, as well as the possibility of having their Social Security benefits garnished to make payments. Americans age 60 and older are the fastest-growing age group of student loan debtors. Older debtors, many of… Read more »

Today, in response to a series of bills introduced by Senate Republicans to undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, made the following statement: “Republicans are wasting no time in their shameful efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In the time… Read more »

Richard Cordray deserves to stay director of CFPB. While bankers and their congressional allies fume that a consumer protection agency created after the financial crisis has amassed too much power, the agency keeps on doing what it does so well: putting money back in the pockets of people who’ve been mistreated by big banks, credit card issuers or other financial players. In its… Read more »

Today at the House Committee on Financial Services markup of its Oversight Plan, Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) underscored Democratic priorities for the 115th session of Congress: As Prepared For Delivery Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To begin, let me say that I appreciate that there was an attempt to present this oversight plan in a straightforward and clear manner. The… Read more »

Following their joint op-ed published in The Hill, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, and Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, penned a letter to President Donald Trump, warning him against removing Richard Cordray, Director of… Read more »

In an op-ed published today in The Hill, House Democrats of the Congressional Black Caucus, led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, and Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, published an op-ed demanding President-elect Donald Trump reject any attempts to remove the Director of the… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement following a report published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB/Bureau), demonstrating that over one-in-four consumers contacted by debt collectors felt threatened. This report is a result of the first-ever national survey of consumer experiences… Read more »

Today, Financial Services Committee Democrats, led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), demanded that President-elect Donald Trump reject any attempts to deregulate Wall Street by removing the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Richard Cordray, prior to the expiration of his term in July 2018. In a letter to President-elect Trump, the Members said they will… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, signed onto an amicus brief filed today with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s petition to have the entire court revisit an earlier decision by a three-judge panel that struck down the Bureau’s structure. Waters was joined by 20 current and… Read more »

Last week, a panel of conservative judges from the D.C. Circuit Court challenged the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is the only federal agency solely dedicated to protecting consumers’ financial interests. Here’s a look at what that decision really means: Don't disarm consumer protection: Our view, USA Today “Despite all their complaints about the new… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision today regarding the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): “The CFPB is a critical part of the Dodd-Frank Act and has returned nearly $12 billion to more than 27 million consumers by going after fraud… Read more »

Today, 104 House Democrats, led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging it to adopt a strong final payday lending rule and close loopholes that harm consumers. Congress gave the CFPB the authority to study and regulate the payday lending industry to curb its… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, derided Republicans’ reckless plan to repeal Wall Street Reform during Committee consideration of H.R. 5983. In her opening statement, Waters noted that “nearly all the rules we enacted to make banks safer and stronger would be repealed, and replaced by a phony choose-your-own regulatory regime… Read more »

In the wake of a settlement between Wells Fargo and the City and County of Los Angeles, as well as federal regulators including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement: “Yesterday, we learned that… Read more »

Today, 65 House Democrats, led by Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services; John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary; and Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau expressing… Read more »

Today, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the Republican plan to gut the Dodd-Frank Act. Committee Democrats and the Democratic witness, Georgetown University Law Professor Adam Levitin, explained how this plan would benefit special interests and expose us to another financial crisis. “The Choice Act is a bad choice, is a recipe for financial disaster. It… Read more »

In opening remarks during a Financial Services Committee hearing today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Committee’s Ranking Member, denounced Republicans’ deregulatory agenda that puts the needs of special interests above working Americans. Waters noted that Chairman Hensarling’s legislation, the “Wrong Choice Act,” to gut Dodd-Frank would make “radical changes to our… Read more »

It’s been eight years since the financial crisis devastated our economy and six years since Democrats passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act to get us back on the road to recovery. As Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, I’m proud that our efforts have led to financial system that is safer, fairer, and stronger. Under the Obama Administration, we’ve had 76… Read more »

Last night, the House of Representatives passed a harmful Republican spending bill, H.R. 5485, which would underfund the nation’s financial services regulators for fiscal year 2017 and put consumer protection and financial stability at risk. Despite Democratic efforts to improve the bill through the amendment process, Republicans pushed through this legislation, which would make it harder… 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… 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… 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… Read more »