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House Financial Services Committee Passes Waters Bill on Racial and Economic Equity, Warren and Gillibrand Introduce Senate Companion
The Financial Services Committee passed legislation introduced by Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) 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. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced companion legislation in the Senate to address the inequities that exist within the Federal Reserve.
“The job of the Federal Reserve is to oversee our nation’s economy,” said Chairwoman Waters. “In that role, the Fed has a responsibility to ensure the voices of communities are heard and to play a role in addressing racial and economic inequality. Over the past year, Fed officials themselves have recognized they have a role in addressing the racial inequality that has plagued our economy for far too long. This extends beyond the Fed’s monetary policy to things like their oversight of the payments system and their review of bank mergers. This bill requires that the Fed provide labor force trends and plans to ensure racial and economic justice is included in decision making. Long before the pandemic hit people of color the hardest, my colleagues and I had called on the Federal Reserve to fix systemic barriers for candidates of color within its labor force. The current crisis has only further highlighted the fact that we need all hands on deck, including the Federal Reserve, to take action to address racial equity.”
Click here for the full press release.
Tweets of the Week
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Member Spotlight
| Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) |
Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), serves on the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the 117th Congress.
Weekend Reads
Committee Passes Legislation to Advance Racial Equity, Protect Consumers, and Improve Disclosures by Public Companies
The House Financial Services Committee passed eight bills, including legislation to advance racial and economic justice, promote equity in the financial system, ensure consumers are not exposed to abusive debt collection practices, and provide key material information to investors.
The bills passed by the Committee include.
- The Shareholder Political Transparency Act (H.R. 1087), a bill by Representative Bill Foster (D-IL).
- The ESG Disclosure Simplification Act (H.R. 1187), a bill by Representative Juan Vargas (D-CA).
- The Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act (H.R. 1277), a bill by Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY).
- The Diversity and Inclusion Data Accountability and Transparency Act (H.R. 2123), a bill by Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH).
- The Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Banking Act (H.R. 2516), a bill by Representative Al Green (D-TX).
- The Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act (H.R. 2543), a bill by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA).
- The Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act (H.R. 2547), a bill by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA).
- The Real Estate Valuation Fairness and Improvement Act (H.R. 2553), a bill by Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO).
The Committee also passed two resolutions by unanimous consent. These include:
- A resolution establishing the House Committee on Financial Services Task Force on Financial Technology.
- A resolution establishing the House Committee on Financial Services Task Force on Artificial Intelligence.
The Committee also adopted Budget Views and Estimates for Fiscal Year 2022.
Click here to see the full press release.
House Passes Seven Bipartisan Financial Services Bills
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed seven bipartisan bills introduced by House Financial Services Committee Members.
- The House passed the SAFE Banking Act (H.R. 1996), a bipartisan bill by Representative Ed Perlmutter (D-CO).
The House passed the following measures en bloc by a vote of 355-69:
- The Promoting Transparent Standards for Corporate Insiders Act (H.R. 1528), a bill by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA).
- The Housing Financial Literacy Act of 2021 (H.R. 1395), a bill by Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH).
- The Fair Debt Collection for Servicemembers Act (H.R.1491), a bill by Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA).
- The Fair Debt Collection for Servicemembers Act (H.R.1491), a bill by Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA).
- The Improving FHA Support for Small Dollar Mortgages Act (H.R. 1532), a bill by Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
- The Senior Security Act (H.R.1565), a bill by Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).
- The Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act of 2021 (H.R. 1602), a bipartisan bill by Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC).
See the full press release here.
Waters Announces Committee Reauthorization of Task Forces on Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence for 117th Congress
Lynch and Foster to Return as Chairs for Task Forces
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, announced the reauthorization of the Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence Task Forces.
“I am very pleased to announce that our Task Forces on Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence will continue their work examining emerging technologies in the financial services and housing industry,” said Chairwoman Waters. “These Task Forces will investigate whether these technologies are serving the needs of consumers, investors, small businesses, and the American public, which is needed especially as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. I will reiterate that Congress must promote responsible innovation, as well as ensure that regulators are able to properly oversee this rapidly changing environment. The continuation of the Task Force on Financial Technology, led by Congressman Lynch, and the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, led by Congressman Foster, will allow Congress to be aware of all cutting-edge developments in our space.
Click here for the full press release.
Chairwoman’s Corner
Waters Delivers Opening Statement at Full Committee Markup
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, gave the following statement at a full Committee hybrid markup.
Good morning. Today, we are here to mark up a series of important measures.
I am very pleased that, following the Committee’s hearing in March on racial justice and racial equity, today the Committee will be considering several bills by Committee Democrats to improve diversity and inclusion and create fairness in our housing system.
These bills include:
- Representative Meeks’ bill, H.R. 1277, the Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act, which would require public companies to report on their board and executive leadership diversity,
- Representative Beatty’s bill, H.R. 2123, the Diversity and Inclusion Data Accountability and Transparency Act, which would make reporting of diversity data and policies to the Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion by regulated entities mandatory,
- Representative Green’s bill, H.R. 2516, the Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Banking Act, which would require federal banking regulators to evaluate bank diversity and inclusion policies and procedures as part of determining their CAMELS rating,
- Representative Cleaver’s bill, H.R. 2553, the Real Estate Valuation Fairness and Improvement Act, which is aimed at addressing disparate impact in the home appraisal process,
- And, my bill, H.R. 2543, the Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act, which would direct the Federal Reserve to address the racial employment and wage gaps as part of its mission.
Click here to read her full opening statement.
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