Today, the House Financial Services Committee, led by Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), passed eight bills to keep up with an ever-changing marketplace by modernizing our regulatory framework, closing loopholes and ensuring robust oversight, along with bills to promote financial inclusion, expand access to affordable financial services, promote impactful community development and care for those experiencing homelessness.
H.R. 7734, the Timely Delivery of Bank Secrecy Act Reports Act is a bill offered by Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) that establishes a time frame for the production of Bank Secrecy Act reports to Congress by requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to, upon the request of the congressional committees or subcommittees of appropriate jurisdiction, deliver BSA reports to Congress not later than the end of a 30-day period beginning on the date such information is requested. Similarly, it requires a financial institution to, upon a subpoena by the congressional committees or subcommittees of appropriate jurisdiction, deliver BSA reports not later than the return date specified for such reports in the subpoena.
Passed the Committee by a voice vote.
H.R. 7733, the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act of 2022 is a bill offered by Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) that would reduce the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program (BGP) minimum issuance threshold from $100 million to $25 million and make the program permanent four years after the bill’s enactment. It would also require two reports to Congress on the impact of the changes to the BGP, and activate a re-lending account, which allows any amounts remaining after bonds are repaid for use to fund additional loans.
Passed the Committee by a voice vote.
H.R. 7732, the Strengthening the Office of Investor Act is a bill offered by Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA) that would strengthen the independence of, and increase reliability of the funding for, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Investor Advocate. It would also strengthen the ability of the office to conduct investor testing and other research and publicize its findings.
Passed the Committee by 25-22.
H.R. 7022, the Strengthening Cybersecurity for the Financial Sector Act of 2022 is a bill offered by Representative Bill Foster (D-IL) that would reauthorize and make permanent the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) authority over the third-party vendors of credit unions. It would also provide the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) with similar authority over the third-party vendors of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.
Passed the Committee by 24-22.
H.R. 7716, the Coordinating Substance Use and Homelessness Care Act of 2022 is a bill offered by Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA) that would authorize a grant program that would be administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help state and local governments better coordinate health care and homeless services for people with substance abuse disorders who are also experiencing homelessness.
Passed the Committee by 27-22.
H.R. 7196, the Flexibility in Addressing Rural Homelessness Act is a bill offered by Representative Cindy Axne (D-IA) that would allow homeless service providers in rural communities to use funds from HUD’s Continuum of Care program for additional activities to increase their capacity and address the unique challenges they face when serving people experiencing homelessness.
Passed the Committee by a voice vote.
H.R. 4395, the Payment Choice Act of 2022 is a bill by Representative Donald Payne (D-NJ) (introduced in Committee by Representative Sylvia Garcia (D-TX)) that would require applicable retail businesses to accept cash for transactions of less than $2,000 and prohibit them from charging cash-paying customers a higher price relative to customers not paying with cash. Retail businesses would retain flexibility to accept payments through any other means.
Passed the Committee by 32-17.
H.R. 7003, the Expanding Financial Access for Undeserved Communities Act is a bill offered by Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) that would allow all federal credit unions to apply to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) to expand their field of membership to include underserved communities, including communities that lack a depository institution branch within 10 miles. It would also exempt loans made by credit unions to businesses in underserved areas from the credit union member business lending cap.
