Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, released a statement applauding the Boston Federal Reserve board for its selection of the first Black woman to serve as the president of a regional Federal Reserve Bank.

“I applaud the Boston Federal Reserve board of directors for announcing Dr. Susan Collins as the next president of the Boston Fed. Dr. Collins is set to become the first Black woman to lead any of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks since they were established more than a century ago.

“For years, I have urged the Federal Reserve to make its leadership more diverse and inclusive of women, people of color, and experts from labor, academia, and other backgrounds. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) makes some of the most important decisions affecting our economy, and I strongly believe that it functions best when it deliberates at full strength, informed by a diverse set of perspectives around the table. President Biden took a crucial step toward making that a reality when he nominated a diverse and supremely qualified slate of candidates to the Board of Governors earlier this year, including the first Black woman to ever be nominated to the Board. I am looking forward to the prompt Senate confirmation of Lisa Cook, Sarah Bloom Raskin, and Philip Jefferson. With this week’s announcement, I am eager to see them joined in July by Dr. Collins for what will be the most diverse FOMC meeting in history.

“There is still much more work to be done to make the Federal Reserve System more representative of the public. As the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank continues its search for a new president, I urge Dallas Fed board directors to carry out a transparent and inclusive process.”

On May 12, 2016, Chairwoman Waters and 116 congressional Democrats urged Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, to improve the diversity of leaders throughout the Federal Reserve System and to strengthen the degree of public transparency and consultation in the Reserve Bank re-appointment process that had just concluded.

On January 31, 2017, Chairwoman Waters sent a letter to Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Margaret Lewis, Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Board of Directors, calling for intentional efforts to identify and select diverse candidates to replace retiring Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey M. Lacker.

On March 13, 2017, Chairwoman Waters applauded the selection of Raphael Bostic as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which occurred after Chairwoman Waters urged the Atlanta Fed’s leadership to consider diverse candidates.

On February 26, 2018, Chairwoman Waters sent a letter to the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Co-Chairs of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s search committee, calling for their commitment to identify diverse candidates to replace Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley.

On June 8, 2018, Chairwoman Waters and 42 Democrats sent a letter to Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Alex Mehran, Chair of the Federal Reserve of San Francisco search committee, calling for an inclusive search process to identify diverse candidates to replace Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams.

On September 10, 2019, the House of Representatives approved a Financial Services Committee-passed bill entitle the "Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act" by Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion Chair Joyce Beatty (D-OH), which would require each Federal Reserve Bank to interview at least one individual reflective of gender diversity and one reflective of racial or ethnic diversity in making the appointment of a Reserve Bank president.

On April 21, 2021, under Chairwoman Waters’ leadership, the Committee on Financial Services passed Chairwoman Waters' bill to require the Federal Reserve to use its existing authorities to close racial employment and wage gaps and report on how the gaps change over time.

On November 14, 2021, Chairwoman Waters issued a statement, calling on the Federal Reserve Bank directors in Boston and Dallas, as well as President Biden, to consider diverse, transformative leaders for Federal Reserve vacancies.

On January 14, 2022, Chairwoman Waters issued a statement applauding President Biden’s nominations of Sarah Bloom Raskin, Lisa Cook, and Philip Jefferson to leadership roles in the Federal Reserve.

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