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 »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on legislation that would fund financial services agencies for fiscal 2017, which the House Appropriations Committee approved today: “Republicans, once again, are using every tool at their disposal to push an agenda that would hurt consumers and threaten the… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, denounced Chairman Jeb Hensarling’s proposal to weaken our country’s financial and consumer protections: “Today, just steps from Wall Street, Chairman Hensarling unveiled a special interest wish list that would deregulate the financial sector to the detriment of consumers and investors. In the… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s efforts to protect consumers from abusive lending practices: “The CFPB has taken an important step today to rein in payday lenders that prey on financially vulnerable Americans. These loans often come with… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on an announcement from Google that it will ban ads for short-term loans with high interest rates: “Today, Google announced an initiative to protect consumers from predatory payday lending by banning ads for short-term loans with high rates. After studying… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement applauding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed rule on forced arbitration: “Everyday contracts, such as credit card agreements and checking accounts, should not use fine print to automatically deny consumers the right to access the civil… Read more »

Today, Democrats on the Financial Services Committee voted against Republican attempts to weaken consumer protection and Wall Street reform in effort to produce illusory budget savings as part of the Majority’s failed budget process. The party-line votes were as follows: H.R. 1486, the Taking Account of Bureaucrats’ Spending Act (33-20): The bill would repeal the current… Read more »

At a Financial Services Committee markup of two bills designed to undercut the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, denounced the measures as efforts to disarm our financial regulators and weaken reforms established after the 2008 crisis. Waters criticized both… Read more »

Three top Democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate a nonprofit group for using their quotes out of context to criticize the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Reps. Maxine Waters, Keith Ellison, and Al Green wrote in a letter to the FTC today that Internet and TV ads from Protect America's Consumers may have… Read more »

The week before last, I attended a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee in Washington. I was there with a group of public-interest advocates in a show of support for the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its director, Richard Cordray, who endured harsh grilling from lawmakers on the panel. Since the CFPB opened its doors, it has directed some of the… Read more »

In a powerful article today, the American Banker took House Financial Services Committee Republicans to task over their shameful questioning of CFPB Director Richard Cordray. Highlights from the article are below: “But if the committee meant to conduct true oversight of an agency so many Republicans clearly detest, it failed miserably.” “Time and again, lawmakers… 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 Committee, praised the agency’s work to diligently protect consumers and ensure fairness in the financial system, even in the face of Republican efforts to undermine, eliminate and render… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement in response to the Committee Chairman’s dangerous plan to roll back the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: “This is just another attempt by the majority to gut administration policies that have helped millions of Americans. The Dodd-Frank law was… Read more »

In opening remarks during a Financial Services Committee markup today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Committee’s Ranking Member, both scolded Committee Republicans on their attempts to once again roll back investor protections and also called for the Committee to focus on addressing poverty and homelessness in the United States. Waters noted that while some of the measures… Read more »

In opening remarks during a Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee hearing, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, associated the hazards of previously unregulated financial products, such as payday lending, to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is preparing regulations for… Read more »

Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Representatives Keith Ellison (D-MN), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), and Michael Capuano (D-MA) are calling for a joint Department of Justice (DOJ) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) investigation in response to the Seattle Times and Buzzfeed News’ investigative series concerning allegations of discriminatory lending and collection practices… Read more »

In response to a Democratic staff report highlighting shortcomings in personnel diversity policies and practices at seven major financial regulators, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, along with senior members of the panel and members of the Tri-Caucus, released the agencies’ responses to the report’s recommendations for enhancing… Read more »

During a hearing where members of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, appeared before the full Committee, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, underscored the need for a coordinating regulatory body in the wake of the financial crisis and highlighted its work to provide stability to investors, consumers and our national… Read more »

During general debate on the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act, H.R. 1210, on the House floor today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, led opposition to the measure, which would allow the largest banks in the country to make the sorts of predatory and risky loans that left the American economy on the brink of collapse.… Read more »

Delivering remarks on the House floor in opposition to H.R. 1737 today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of Committee on Financial Services, denounced efforts to undermine policies to root out longstanding discriminatory lending practices in auto financing. Waters specifically pointed to the consequences of the bill, which would nullify critical guidance to prevent… Read more »

Federal financial services agencies have yet to reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the American population in their workforces – this according to a Democratic Financial Services Committee staff report released during a press conference today led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee. Senior Democratic Members in attendance included the… Read more »