Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, gave the following floor statement in support of the Heroes Act (H.R. 6800).

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6800, the Heroes Act. This legislation includes a number of important proposals from the Members of the Financial Services Committee, and builds upon my proposal for more direct payments to families by providing a second round of stimulus payments of up to $6,000 per household.

I am pleased that this bill includes legislation championed by myself and Representatives Heck and Scott to create a $100 billion emergency rental assistance fund and a $75 billion homeowner assistance fund. The bill also provides $11.5 billion for homeless assistance grants and $1 billion for new Section 8 vouchers to support persons experiencing homelessness.

The Heroes Act also suspends negative credit reporting for all consumers, and to ensure that consumers, small businesses and nonprofits can weather the pandemic, the bill suspends debt collection and requires forbearance and loan modifications for consumer and commercial loans.

The Heroes Act strengthens the Defense Production Act to supercharge the production of diagnostic tests and personal protective equipment to protect our brave essential workers and help save American lives.

Importantly, the legislation also provides new funding and expands technical assistance, government deposits and partnerships to support our nation’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs), who serve our low income communities particularly hit hard by the pandemic.

Mr. Speaker, we are obligated to protect our nation. The Heroes Act represents the response America needs to meet this crisis. So I urge all Members to support this critical legislation. We hear Members on both sides of the aisle talking about how much they love America, how much they love their constituents. Put up or shut up. Now is the time to do it.

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