Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement in response to testimony by Daniel Stipano, deputy chief counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), in his appearance before the Senate Banking Committee.  In his testimony, Stipano stated that the OCC “would welcome a legislative change” regarding the use of independent contractors.

“I’m pleased to hear the OCC say that it would welcome legislation to give it greater power to take action against “independent” contractors.  The bill I introduced this morning would do just that.  Although I disagree with the implication that the OCC was powerless to oversee independent contractors, I think the fact that it admits that there is a problem is a step in the right direction.”