Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following opening statement during a full Committee organizational meeting. During the organizational meeting, the Committee will approve the rules and oversight plan for the 119th Congress and consider resolutions to establish a Committee Task Force and appoint members to their Subcommittees.

Today, we are here to adopt the rules and oversight plan for the Financial Services Committee in the 119th Congress. Unfortunately, the oversight plan and rules put forward by my colleagues on the opposite side of the aisle notably has several critical gaps or changes from prior Congresses that exclude urgent and critical matters for the American public.

Chairman Hill, as you know the American people have told us time and time again that the cost of living is too high. The oversight plan before us, however, does nothing to respond to the needs of American families. In fact, nowhere in this plan is there any consideration for the costly junk fees that saddle the American public every day. For example, many Americans have to pay nonrefundable application fees to a prospective landlord that may not even look at their application. The oversight plan also does not describe how the Committee will consider Federal programs with billions of dollars to help struggling small businesses grow and thrive. The plan is silent about the pain millions of families experience trying to pay their rent or mortgage, keep food on the table or save for retirement because of the increasingly unaffordable cost of living. Mr. Chairman, this plan also misses the mark and fails to lay out how this Committee plans to work on behalf of the American people.

It is also troubling that the plan appears silent on several critical issues regarding our national security. For example, there was a significant amount of effort on both sides of the aisle to work with the Biden Administration on a rulemaking over setting guardrails around U.S. firms that invest in our adversaries, like China and Russia. And yet, the plan does not mention outbound investment restrictions.

Not only that, but the plan omits references to persistent dangers to our financial system, including discrimination and climate change. We need look no further than current events like the wildfires in Los Angeles County or the snowstorm currently gripping the Deep South to see the impacts of climate disasters on our fellow Americans. This Committee should consider how the insurance markets are responding to these disasters.

It is also alarming that the plan leaves out any oversight of big banks, Wall Street firms, crypto companies and countless other financial institutions. It was not lost on the American public that when Trump moved his inauguration inside there were only a few seats available to attend, but the Billionaire Boys Club all got one. Mr. Chairman, the mega billionaires like co-President Elon Musk who rode Trump’s coattails are salivating at the thought of looting our country. They would love nothing more than for this Committee and Congress to turn a blind eye to what they are doing.

And finally, while there are several mentions in the plan about how this Committee will review the previous Administration’s safeguards and protections in place for the American public, the plan is notably silent about reviewing the actions taken by the current President, including potential conflicts of interest that may put our national security at risk. Hours before Trump took office, he and his family launched meme coins that have shot up in value, reportedly increasing his personal wealth and possibly providing a backdoor for sanctioned persons, hostile governments, and other bad actors to give money to Trump directly.

Today, Committee Democrats will offer amendments that focus on solutions to the challenges facing America’s families and small businesses, and that hold corporate America, the billionaire class, and the Federal government accountable. Everyone deserves a safe, affordable, and decent place to live, an economy that works for all, and a financial system that no longer benefits Wall Street at the expense of Main Street.

Other than that, I look forward to working with you. Thank you very much.

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