Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following opening statement during a full Committee markup.
“Good morning and thank you Mr. Chairman.
Today, we are marking up a series of bills. While I’m encouraged that many are bipartisan, I’m deeply concerned that a few proposals from my Republican colleagues will worsen economic conditions and further erode consumer confidence.
As we saw last week, inflation is ticking back up. Americans are feeling the effects of Trump’s tariffs as corporations pass costs onto consumers. Meanwhile, the unpopular ‘Big Billionaire Bailout’ that Republicans passed is spreading fear among families at risk of losing healthcare and food assistance.
During times of economic stress like this, we need our financial agencies, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, now more than ever. Yet, while Trump continues his illegal attacks on these agencies—undermining their ability to respond to the needs of consumers—Republicans are introducing bills that double down on those attacks.
One such bill would require the heads of federal financial departments and regulators to add unnecessary disclosures to numerous written comments, statements, and other materials on a wide variety of platforms, stipulating they don’t have a legal effect.
Make no mistake, this is a veiled attempt to further undermine the CFPB. This bill responds to Republicans’ unfounded claim that the Bureau doesn’t provide enough clarity. In reality, the bill bolsters the efforts by Trump to rescind nearly 70 guidance documents and stifle how the CFPB and other agencies communicate with the public. This is guidance that industry participants often rely on to better understand their legal obligations.
The irony is striking. Republicans complain about unclear guidance from the CFPB while President Trump routinely issues chaotic, confusing policy statements and directives via social media that send markets crashing – yet he'd be exempt from their bill. Does anyone in this room actually know what US tariff policy is? It’s both hypocritical and laughable.
Republicans are also pushing a partisan bill to eliminate the CFPB Director’s voting role from the Board of the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation – undermining the FDIC’s mandate to ensure consumer compliance for most of the banks they regulate. Trump’s rollback of the CFPB’s authority has already cost Americans $18 billion. These bills will cost hard-working families even more.
That said, there are promising, bipartisan bills before us today. This includes a bill that responds to calls from Committee Democrats to address the Silicon Valley Bank failure by improving the discount window so banks, including Minority Depository Institutions and rural banks, can access emergency loans to continue serving consumers during times of stress. I and my Democratic colleagues have numerous other bipartisan bills that address the problems this Committee identified after the SVB failure, like my bill to increase deposit insurance for business payment accounts. If we are serious about supporting community banking, we should consider those bills as well.
We also have legislation addressing the human rights crisis in Burma.
And after months of Trump posturing and cowering to Russia, I’m pleased Republicans are finally joining Democrats by holding Putin accountable for his war in Ukraine.
Additionally, I'm pleased my bill, the ‘American Access to Banking Act’ is being considered. It will promote the creation of new community banks and credit unions, including Minority Depository Institutions and Community Development Financial Institutions, to serve communities left behind by the traditional banking system. And Congressman Gonzalez’ bill will help small businesses by promoting capital formation.
Committee Democrats will continue fighting for a strong economy, thriving small businesses, and a healthy capital markets system. I look forward to getting these bipartisan bills across the finish line.
With that, I yield back.”
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