Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services Committee, blasted the Trump Administration for the announcement that it is attempting to shut down key emergency lending programs created by the CARES Act to support the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic:

“It is clear that Trump and Mnuchin are willing to spitefully destroy the economy and make it as difficult as possible for the incoming Biden Administration to turn this crisis around and lead the nation to a recovery. Congress approved $500 billion in funding to support a series of emergency lending facilities run by the Federal Reserve and Treasury to stabilize the economy during the pandemic, which continues to surge across the nation. As COVID-19 cases spike, these facilities need to be extended. There is no justifiable reason to shut these facilities down.

“Without support from the Main Street Lending Program, millions of small businesses are at risk of permanent closure. Without the Fed’s corporate credit facilities, financial markets will suffer as corporations start to fail at higher rates. And without the Municipal Liquidity Facility, states, local communities, transit agencies, and hospitals on the front lines of fighting the virus will face higher borrowing costs. We are nowhere near out of the woods, and it is deeply irresponsible for Secretary Mnuchin to assert otherwise.

“Secretary Mnuchin testifies at a Financial Services Committee oversight hearing in two weeks, and before his tenure expires in January, he will be held to account for this legally dubious and flagrantly destructive recommendation. I urge the Federal Reserve to follow the law, support the economy, and reject this misguided request from the Secretary.”

On December 2, the full Committee will convene for a hybrid hearing entitled, “Oversight of the Treasury Department’s and Federal Reserve’s Pandemic Response,” with testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin.

###