In response to President Trump’s signing of a Joint Resolution to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule to protect consumers by restricting forced arbitration clauses, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement: “By signing the repeal of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule banning forced arbitration, President Trump stripped millions of Americans of their right to band together and take fi... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, introduced the Preventing Foreclosures on Seniors Act, a bill to make reforms to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) reverse mortgage program to help prevent unfair foreclosures on seniors. HUD’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) program allows seniors to take out reverse mortgages, which convert a portion of their home equity into cash to supplement their income in ... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) introduced the Making FHA More Affordable Act, a bill to repeal the requirement that Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers pay mortgage insurance premiums for the life of the loan, and reinstate the FHA’s previous policy of only requiring borrowers to pay premiums until the outstanding principal balance reaches 78 percent of the original home value. “Families who take out home loans through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) should not be ... Read more

Today, at a Minority Day Hearing to examine the massive data breach that occurred at Equifax, and to consider and discuss ideas for ensuring the integrity of our country’s consumer reporting system and safeguarding consumer data, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following opening statement: As Prepared for Delivery Thank you to all of the witnesses who are here today. To better understand the causes and impact of the massive data... Read more

On Wednesday, October 25, 2017, House Financial Services Committee Democrats will lead an additional hearing to examine the massive data breach that occurred at Equifax, and to consider and discuss ideas for ensuring the integrity of our country’s consumer reporting system and safeguarding consumer data. The hearing, referred to as a “Minority Day Hearing,” is the second hearing before the Financial Services Committee during the 115th Congress where Democrats can select the panel of witnesses. E... Read more

Today, in response to Senate passage of a Joint Resolution to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule to protect consumers by restricting forced arbitration clauses, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement: “Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an important rule to prohibit forced arbitration clauses in consumer contracts for financial products. These clauses, which are ... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following floor statement on H.R. 3898, the Otto Warmbier North Korea Sanctions Act: As Prepared for Delivery First, let me say that I'm very pleased that, by naming this legislation after Otto Warmbier, we are able to honor him and let his family know that we will not forget him. Nor will we forget the brutal, lethal treatment of this young, decent American student by the government of Nor... Read more

Today, in response to the Office of Comptroller of the Currency’s move to weaken its examination policies for the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement: “The Community Reinvestment Act is a vital law that places an obligation on banks to responsibly invest in and serve the communities where they are chartered, and prevents discriminatory lending and redlining. Under Acting Comptrol... Read more

In response to President Trump’s announcement today that he will not certify to Congress that Iran is meeting its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement: “Trump has absolutely no concept of what is in the national interest of our country. His decision to decertify a pivotal agreement that has so far delivered on its promise of blocking Iran’s path to ... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement from the House floor in support of the supplemental disaster relief funding bill. As Prepared for Delivery Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this critical disaster relief funding. In the wake of the destruction that this historic hurricane season has wrought on Texas, Florida, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Gulf Coast, I am very pleased that in addition t... Read more

Today, at the first full committee hearing of the 115th Congress to examine the future of housing in America under U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, questioned Secretary Carson about the devastation in Puerto Rico and President Trump’s threatening and denigrating tweets on the matter. In the exchange, Ranking Member Waters highlighted President Trump’s tweets, in ... Read more

Today, at a full Committee hearing with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement: Thank you Mr. Chairman. America is currently in the midst of the worst rental housing crisis that we’ve ever experienced, and it is hitting our lowest income families the hardest. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the United States has a sh... Read more

Today, at a House Financial Services Committee markup of 23 bills, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following opening statement: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I must indicate that this is the largest number of bills that I’ve ever experienced being taken care of in Committee, and it does cause me some concern. I know there may have been some questions about filing deadlines, et cetera. However, I do not wish us to get bogged... Read more

Today, in response to a report released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that calls for the rollback of Dodd-Frank capital markets regulations, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement: “The report released by the Treasury Department today is nothing less than a blueprint for dismantling strong reforms that Democrats put in place in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The report reco... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule on payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans: “I applaud the Consumer Bureau and its Director, Richard Cordray, for taking this important step to finally rein in payday lenders. When the rule takes effect, these lenders will have to ensure that consumers can actually afford to pay off their p... Read more

Recognizing that the American public deserves answers and a promise to safeguard their personal identifying information, Financial Services Committee Democrats, led by Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), used an obscure parliamentary maneuver to demand a Minority Day hearing to continue to discuss the numerous issues with the current credit reporting system and to cast more light on the many negative repercussions of the Equifax breach for millions of Americans. In their letter to Chairman Hens... Read more

Today, at a full committee hearing to discuss the massive security breach at Equifax, one of the nation’s largest credit reporting agencies, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, delivered the following opening statement: As Prepared for Delivery Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The massive breach at Equifax and the company’s subsequent failures are a lapse on a scale we have never before seen. Equifax’s failure to safeguard consumer data is all the m... Read more

Today on the House floor, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, delivered remarks in strong opposition to the 2018 Republican budget. As Prepared for Delivery Thank you Mr. Yarmuth. I rise in strong opposition to the Republicans’ 2018 Budget, which would dramatically increase our deficit and debt by trillions of dollars to give millionaires and billionaires a massive tax cut. Don’t be fooled, this plan directly benefits President Trump, his fa... Read more

Today, at a press conference to unveil Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, groundbreaking legislation titled the Megabank Accountability and Consequences Act (H.R. 3937), Ranking Member Waters delivered the following remarks: As Prepared for Delivery Good afternoon, and welcome. I would like to thank Representatives Green, Ellison, Kaptur, Sarbanes and Jayapal for being here today. I would also like to recognize the consumer groups in the r... Read more

Following her release of a Democratic staff report titled “The Case for Holding Megabanks Accountable: An Examination of Wells Fargo’s Egregious Consumer Abuses,” Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, introduced groundbreaking legislation that would hold megabanks like Wells Fargo accountable when they exhibit a pattern of abusive behavior towards hardworking American consumers. “Rampant violations of consumer protections by megabanks ar... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following opening statement at a full committee hearing entitled “Sustainable Housing Finance: An Update from the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.” As Prepared for Delivery Today we welcome back our former colleague and my good friend, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt. It has been more than two years since Director Watt last testified before us, and I must not... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, released a Democratic staff report detailing a pattern of abusive business practices by Wells Fargo and finding that prudential regulators have failed to utilize the full extent of their authorities to end unlawful practices at megabanks like Wells Fargo. “Last September, our country first learned of the fraudulent account scandal at Wells Fargo,” said Ranking Member Waters. “Since then, it has beco... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement regarding H.R. 3823 on the House floor: As Prepared for Delivery Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in opposition to this bill, which began as a must-pass reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, but has now become a Christmas tree for unrelated Republican priorities. Puerto Rico is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis following Hurricane Maria that is ... Read more

Today, in response to the announcement that Equifax CEO Richard Smith has retired, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement: “The retirement of Equifax’s CEO, just days before he is scheduled to testify at congressional hearings about the breach that occurred under his watch, does not relieve the company of its duty to provide answers to, and adequate redress for, the many millions of Americans who had their sensitive... Read more

Following the announcement that representatives from the United States and European Union signed a covered agreement, a mechanism established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), on international insurance and reinsurance matters, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement: “I commend former Federal Insurance Office (FIO) Director Michael McRaith and his team for their hard wo... Read more