Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services spearheaded a letter to Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Consumer Bureau) Director Leandra English and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney, questioning Mulvaney's recent decision to reorganize the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity (OFLEO) and strip it of enforcement and supervisory authority. Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Co... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, released a statement on a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report titled, “Rental Housing: Improvements Needed to Better Monitor the Moving to Work Demonstration, Including Effects on Tenants” (GAO-18-150). The GAO report was requested in 2015 by Ranking Member Waters, who has been a longstanding critic of the program. The report’s release comes on the heels of President Trump’s FY2019 bud... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, released a statement in response to the release of Fannie Mae’s fourth quarter and full-year 2017 earnings report, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) decision for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to proceed with the allocation of funding to the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund in 2018. Fannie Mae’s financial documents indicate that FHFA will request a small draw for Fannie Mae from ... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following floor statement in opposition to H.R. 3978, a bill that threatens many of the important reforms Democrats made to restore investor confidence in our capital markets after the financial crisis: As Prepared for Delivery Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 3978, the “TRID Improvement Act of 2018.” H.R. 3978 has been dramatically expanded without input from Democrats to... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following floor statement in opposition to H.R. 3299, a bill that would make it easier for bad actors to get around interest rate caps that states have put into place to protect borrowers from predatory payday debt traps. As Prepared for Delivery Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 3299, or the so-called “Protecting Consumers’ Access to Credit Act of 2017.” There is a good reaso... Read more

Today, in response to the Trump Administration’s release of its full budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year 2019, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement: “Trump’s budget proposal would harm American consumers, hurt our nation’s communities and wipe out financial reforms that are in place to prevent another financial crisis. “Trump proposes to eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s independent fun... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following floor statement in opposition to H.R. 4771, a bill that may promote bank mergers and acquisitions and decrease the number of community banks. As Prepared for Delivery Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4771, the Small Bank Holding Company Relief Act of 2018. This bill is another Republican-led measure to roll back appropriately tailored policies to regulate the financial se... Read more

At a full Committee hearing of the House Committee on Financial Services, Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), pressed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the Trump Administration’s inaction on the Russia sanctions passed with broad bipartisan support by Congress in 2017 to punish Russia for interfering in our democracy. Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) requires sanctions on persons engaging in transactions with the intelligence or defense secto... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following floor statement in opposition to H.R. 1153, the so-called Mortgage Choice Act of 2017: As Prepared for Delivery Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise today in opposition to H.R. 1153, the so-called “Mortgage Choice Act of 2017”. Unfortunately, this bill is yet another attempt to undermine the strong consumer protections Democrats established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and C... Read more

Today, at a hearing with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin entitled “The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council,” Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following opening statement: As Prepared for Delivery Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome back, Secretary Mnuchin. I am looking forward to your testimony today on the annual report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). I am very concerned that the Tr... Read more

Today, in response to the announcement that the Federal Reserve Board has moved to restrict the growth of Wells Fargo until it sufficiently improves its governance and controls, and that the bank will replace three current board members by April and a fourth board member by the end of the year, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement: “I applaud Janet Yellen for her leadership in taking strong action to penalize Well... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement regarding Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve). Her term ends on February 3, 2018. “Janet Yellen has led the Federal Reserve with extraordinary distinction and served as a tireless champion for the interests of America’s most vulnerable populations. During her historic tenure, she has consistently demonstrated an u... Read more

Today, in response to a decision by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia Circuit upholding the constitutionality of the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Consumer Bureau), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement: “Today, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia Circuit confirmed what we have always known: the Consumer Bureau is constitutional and is here ... Read more

Today, following a series of baffling statements from the Trump Administration regarding its failure to act on the Russia sanctions enacted by Congress in 2017, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, sent a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, demanding answers as to why no action has been taken to hold Russia accountable. The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which was p... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection sent a letter to Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Consumer Bureau) Director Leandra English and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney, questioning Mulvaney's recent actions that benefit payday and installment l... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of House Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s failure to impose sanctions on persons engaging in transactions with the intelligence or defense sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation, pursuant to section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. “More than a year after our intelligence community unanimously concluded that Putin and th... Read more

This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it will: Help out predatory payday lenders by reconsidering the sensible and much-needed rule on payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans. Launch a review of all “activities” of the Consumer Bureau by publishing a series of Requests for Information (RFIs) in the Federal Register. RFIs are a beginning step by federal agencies to make changes to any rules they may have already put into place. Withdraw a lawsuit aga... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following floor statement in opposition to H.R. 2954, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act: As Prepared for Delivery Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2954, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act, which would undermine efforts to monitor trends in mortgage lending, combat discriminatory and predatory lending, and ensure that consumers who reside in low- and modera... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following floor statement in opposition to the World Bank Accountability Act, a bill that would allow for cuts to funding for the International Development Association (IDA). IDA provides grants and other assistance to the world’s 77 poorest countries, which are home to more than 450 million people living in extreme poverty. As Prepared for Delivery I rise in opposition to H.R. 3326, the Wo... Read more

Today, at a House Financial Services Committee markup of 17 bills, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following opening statement: As Prepared for Delivery Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, here we are yet again marking up a large number of bills, many of which could be harmful to consumers, investors, and our economy. Once again, the slate of bills for consideration includes several measures that would roll back or weaken imp... Read more

Today, in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s announcement that it will reconsider the sensible and much needed rule on payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement: “The Trump Administration has struck again as it continues efforts to roll back important protections that benefit America’s hardworking consumers. In October, under the leader... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, Congressman Dan Kildee (D-MI), Vice Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade, Congressman Al Green (D-TX), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance, sent a le... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following statement at a press conference highlighting House Republicans’ refusal to address Russia’s threat to our democracy and national security: As Prepared for Delivery “Good Afternoon. Beginning in early 2017, I and other Democrats on the Financial Services Committee called upon the Chairman of the Committee to utilize the investigatory powers of the Committee to scrutinize the suspic... Read more

Today, in response to the Trump Administration’s decision to delay the implementation of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement: “The Trump Administration’s move to delay the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule is a flagrant attack on efforts to ensure fair housing opportunities for all people, including minorities, women, families with children, and pers... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following floor statement in opposition to H.R. 4015, a bill that would undermine sound corporate governance: Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4015, the so-called Corporate Governance Reform and Transparency Act, would create an untested, inappropriate, and burdensome regulatory framework for proxy advisory firms, making it much more difficult for shareholders to obtain unbiased research used to make well... Read more