Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, released the following statement regarding the omnibus appropriations legislation.

“While this agreement is an improvement from the harmful funding levels called for by the sequester, I’m disappointed that the omnibus appropriations legislation fails to adequately fund our financial regulators, shortchanges many of our housing programs and declines to promote a strong global economy.

The financial reforms passed as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act are only as good as the cops enforcing them.  For this reason, Wall Street’s cops, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), both need funding to ensure that the financial services industry adheres to the rules of the road.

However, this agreement fails in that regard. It provides the already underfunded SEC with level funding, but attaches onerous strings to those resources.  The CFTC was provided a nominal increase, which does not take into account the regulation of derivatives – an entire new industry it is now charged with examining.

Funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development provided minimal increases for Section 8 tenant-based vouchers and the Community Development Block Grant program. But again, these increases barely keep the program on the footing needed to achieve critical objectives and meet the increasing needs of the American people.

I am very disappointed that the isolationist wing of the Republican Party excluded the IMF quota reform package from the budget agreement. U.S. approval of the IMF quota deal would leverage billions of dollars of new financial commitments from other countries and enhance the Fund’s ability to promote a strong global economy and stable international financial markets. I very much agree with the business community on this issue because they understand -- along with the vast majority of Democrats -- that a well-equipped IMF is very much in our national interest.

Although I do have significant concerns with this deal, they are balanced by the importance of ending the sequester, keeping the doors of the government open and ensuring that our economy and housing market remain strong.”

###