Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, made the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s and Small Business Administration’s (SBA) announcement that it is setting aside $10 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to be distributed by Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).

“I am very pleased that Treasury and SBA have taken this step, which I, Speaker Pelosi, Chairwoman Velázquez, and other Democratic leaders have called for, of setting aside $10 billion in Paycheck Protection Act funds for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to lend.

“I urge the Treasury Department and SBA to now take the same step of setting aside $10 billion PPP funds for Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) to lend. MDIs play a key role in providing access to credit in minority communities, and it is critical that additional PPP funds be dedicated for lending by these institutions.”

In April, Chairwoman Waters joined with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer, House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez, Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Ranking Member Benjamin Cardin, and Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown, in sending a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza regarding the implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.

In the letter, the lawmakers laid out their expectations for the Administration’s implementation of key COVID-19 response programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), SBA’s Emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, and SBA’s Emergency EIDL grant program, and called for a special set-aside of PPP funds solely dedicated for MDIs and CDFIs.

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