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 »

Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), and 21 of their colleagues sent a bipartisan letter asking that FEMA fulfill its legal obligation to provide oversight of the private insurance companies that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In the wake of Superstorm Sandy and other recent disasters, FEMA and NFIP have… 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 »

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) – the leading Democrats on the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees – issued the following statement after the U.S government removed GE Capital’s designation as “systemically important” to the financial system. The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), which includes the Treasury Department and Federal… Read more »

As a massive overhaul of the World Bank’s long-standing social and environmental safeguard policies moves to its final stage, two leading House members on international development issues expressed concern over the Bank’s proposed safeguards on worker rights. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew, Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement on legislation Chairman Hensarling unveiled yesterday to repeal critical parts of the Dodd-Frank Act, which would make financial markets less safe and put consumers at risk: “Chairman Hensarling’s plan to kill Wall Street Reform puts special interests ahead of… 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 »

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen Wednesday pushed back on key elements of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling's proposed overhaul of banking regulations. In response to a question from a lawmaker at a committee hearing, Yellen was critical of doing away with the 2010 Dodd-Frank law's "orderly liquidation authority," the option that regulators have to manage… Read more »

In opening remarks during today’s semi-annual Humphrey-Hawkins hearing with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, lauded the Federal Reserve Chair’s cautious approach to raising rates and her work to increase economic inclusion. Waters touted the actions taken by the Fed, the Administration and… 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 »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on House Republicans’ so-called regulatory reform agenda: “House Republicans are once again making it clear that they do not care. Last week, they showed America that they don’t care about people living in poverty by releasing a fake poverty agenda that… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, today delivered a major speech at an AFL-CIO conference on monetary policy in the United States. In her remarks, Ranking Member Waters said the Federal Reserve should pay due consideration to the needs of workers when setting interest rate policy and expressed concerns about the impact of any… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, spoke on the House floor today about the state of homelessness in the United States and how the Republican poverty plan does nothing to address this crisis. In her remarks, Ranking Member Waters noted that the recently introduced Republican poverty agenda, “would only exacerbate homelessness and… 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 »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement after President Obama vetoed legislation that would overturn the Labor Department’s fiduciary duty rule: “I am pleased that President Obama has vetoed harmful legislation that would overturn the Labor Department’s efforts to protect seniors from conflicted… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on House Republicans’ harmful plan that would exacerbate poverty in this country: “Today, Republicans have unveiled a fake poverty program that shows, yet again, they are out of touch with the realities of poverty in America. This is nothing more than a… 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 »

WASHINGTON -- Today, Reps. Maxine Waters, Elijah E. Cummings, and Bobby Scott, Ranking Members of the House Committees on Financial Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Education and Workforce, issued the following statement on news that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, and other industry groups have filed a lawsuit to overturn… Read more »

On a cold rainy day last fall, dozens of people gathered in a plaza across the street from New Jersey's state Capitol. They held press conferences and slept overnight in lawn chairs. Everyone had come to make the same point: They'd made it through Superstorm Sandy, which hit the shores of New Jersey and New York in October 2012. But three years later, many hadn't made it home. Doug… Read more »

House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer, along with House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters, Monetary Policy & Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Gwen Moore, and Rep. Denny Heck, today sent a letter to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby urging action on the confirmation of J. Mark McWatters to a four-year term serving on the Board of the Export-Import… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, introduced landmark legislation to overhaul the American credit reporting system so that it is fairer, more accurate, and less confusing for consumers. Consumer reporting agencies compile and maintain files for about 200 million adults. These reports play an important role in Americans’… Read more »

Congresswoman Member Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, spoke on the House floor today about the state of homelessness in our country and sent a letter to Congressional Appropriators urging an extension of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). In her letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban… Read more »

Congresswoman Member Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, submitted the following statement for the record at a Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee hearing titled “Interest on Reserves and the Fed’s Balance Sheet”: Thank you Chairman Huizenga and Ranking Member Moore for organizing today’s hearing. As we look at the Fed’s implementation of… Read more »