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ICYMI: Frontline and NPR Investigate Flood Insurance Firms’ Compensation

| Posted in In Case You Missed It

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…

ICYMI: Hoyer, Waters, Moore, Heck Send Letter Urging Confirmation of J. Mark McWatters to the Board of the Export-Import Bank

| Posted in In Case You Missed It

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…

Waters Introduces Comprehensive Bill to Fix Credit Reporting in U.S.

| Posted in Press Releases

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’…

Waters: We Must Address the Crisis of Homelessness in America

| Posted in Press Releases

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…

Waters Statement at Subcommittee Hearing on the Federal Reserve’s Interest on Excess Reserve Payments

| Posted in Press Releases

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…

Waters Statement on Google Announcement to Ban Payday Lending Ads

| Posted in Press Releases
Tags: CFPB

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…

California Democrats Introduce Proposal to Reform HUD’s Multifamily Housing Program

| Posted in Press Releases
Tags: HUD

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, introduced legislation with 14 other California Democrats representing the County of Los Angeles to address concerns with the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) initiative to consolidate its multifamily offices, known as the “Multifamily Transformation.” The initiative is…

Waters Statement on Administration Action to Combat Financial Crime

| Posted in Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on the Obama Administration’s new rules and proposals to fight money laundering: “I welcome the Administration’s announcement today of a major package of initiatives designed to help fight financial crime, protect the integrity of the U.S. financial…

Waters Lauds CFPB Arbitration Proposal to Protect Consumers

| Posted in Press Releases
Tags: CFPB

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…

Waters Praises First-Ever Housing Trust Fund Allocation for Affordable Housing, Calls for More Funding for Low-Income Households

| Posted in Press Releases
Tags: HUD

WASHINGTON -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement today regarding an announcement from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that it will allocate $174 million to states from the National Housing Trust Fund: “There is a serious lack of affordable housing units in this country,…

Waters Denounces Republican Efforts to Dismantle DOL ‘Fiduciary Duty’ Rule

| Posted in Press Releases

In remarks on the House floor today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, took a strong stand against H.J. Res. 88, a Republican measure that seeks to dismantle the Labor Department’s recently finalized rule governing investment advice for retirement accounts. In her remarks, Ranking Member Waters noted that resolution would…

Waters Urges Bipartisan Compromise on H.R. 4498 During Floor Debate

| Posted in Press Releases

During floor consideration of H.R. 4498, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, said the measure could lead to unnecessary and harmful loopholes in our securities laws.‎ The measure would roll back a requirement enacted under the JOBS Act for companies selling private offerings to first verify that a purchaser is an accredited…

Waters Unveils Legislation to Remove Unfair Barriers to Housing Assistance

| Posted in Press Releases
Tags: HUD

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, today introduced legislation that would remove unfair barriers to obtaining federal housing assistance, such as Public Housing and the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. The proposal – unveiled during National Fair Housing Month and National Reentry Week – would reform eviction and screening…

Waters Applauds HUD & DOJ Award to Los Angeles for Housing Reentry Assistance

| Posted in Press Releases

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, applauded an announcement today from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) that it will award $100,000 to the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) through DOJ’s Juvenile Reentry Assistance Program (JRAP). HACLA has partnered with…

Waters Announces Additional Funding to Prevent Foreclosures in California

| Posted in Press Releases

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today announced that the State of California has been awarded $169.8 million through a competitive grant under the Hardest Hit Fund, a federal program that provides targeted aid to mortgage borrowers to prevent avoidable foreclosures. In February, the Treasury Department allocated $213.5…

Waters Responds to Flood Insurance Rate-Setting Report

| Posted in Press Releases

Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) responded to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) rate-setting methods under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Agency’s progress in ensuring that full-risk rates accurately reflect flood risk. Waters requested the report in 2014 when Congress was working…

In Floor Remarks, Waters Leads Efforts to Oppose H.R. 3340

| Posted in Press Releases

During floor consideration of H.R. 3340, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, urged rejection of the bill, which would undermine the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and the Office of Financial Research (OFR) by subjecting their funding to Congressional appropriations and interfering with their research.‎ The OFR and the…

In Floor Remarks, Waters Denounces Partisan Change to Small Bank Policy Statement

| Posted in Press Releases

In remarks on the House floor today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, led Democrats in opposition to H.R. 3791, which would increase by fivefold the asset threshold under the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement, encouraging more consolidation of small community banks and endangering their safety and soundness. In her…

Time to curb high fees on retirement accounts

| Posted in In Case You Missed It

In 1975, Gerald Ford was president, a first-class stamp cost 10 cents, and 401(k) plans did not exist. Back then, millions of Americans earned a traditional pension after working for decades for one company or industry. This pension provided workers with a guaranteed income stream for the rest of their lives and helped ensure they could enjoy a secure and dignified retirement. For the…

Committee Democrats Stand Together Against Harmful Republican Attacks on Consumer Protection, Financial Reform

| Posted in Press Releases

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…

Waters Opposes Legislation to Weaken Wall Street Reforms

| Posted in Press Releases

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…

House Democrats call for investigation into anti-CFPB group

| Posted in In Case You Missed It
Tags: CFPB

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…

Waters Applauds DOL Effort to Protect Americans’ Retirement Savings

| Posted in Press Releases

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement on the Labor Department’s final rule on investment advice for retirement assets that was released today: “I am pleased that after five years of thoughtful consideration, thousands of letters, and over one hundred meetings the Labor Department has released a final…

CFPB Commission Hawks Just Want to Neuter Agency

| Posted in In Case You Missed It
Tags: CFPB

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…

Waters Calls for Flood Insurance Debt Relief in Fiscal Year 2017 Appropriations

| Posted in Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee led 32 colleagues in a letter calling on Congress to forgive $23 billion in debt at the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) during the fiscal year 2017 appropriations process. “The NFIP’s current debt is the direct result of Congressional design and it is time that Congress takes…

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