Committee Continues Efforts to Advance Legislation Benefiting Consumers and Investors

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following opening statement at a full Committee markup to make housing more affordable and available, fight housing discrimination, and increase transparency and disclosures in the nation’s capital markets.

As Prepared for Delivery

In 2019, the Committee had a very productive year, and advanced legislation on a wide range of issues to benefit consumers, investors and the economy. The Committee marked up 69 bills, and convened 74 hearings to inform the American public on important issues within our jurisdiction. Fifty-five Financial Services Committee bills passed the House, and I am proud to say that 50 of those bills had broad bipartisan support.

In 2020, this Committee will continue to address the challenges that face Americans and ensure that the economy is fair for everyone. Today we will mark up a number of housing bills that continue the Committee’s efforts to make housing more affordable and fair. Last year, the Committee held a hearing on the importance of federal investment in housing infrastructure, which is just as critical as the funding needed for our nation’s roads and bridges. Today we will mark up my bill, H.R. 5187, the Housing Is Infrastructure Act, which would authorize more than $100 billion dollars in federal spending for the nation’s affordable housing infrastructure, including public housing, supportive housing for seniors and people with disabilities, and rural and Native American housing. 

We will also consider:

• H.R. 149, the Housing Fairness Act, a bill by Congressman Green which would authorize increased funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program and make a number of reforms to the program;
  
  
• H.R. 4351, the Yes in My Backyard Act, a bill by Congressman Heck which would require localities that receive Community Development Block Grant funding to submit a plan to track and report on the implementation of certain land use policies that promote housing production; and
  
  
• H.R. 5931, the Improving FHA Support for Small Dollar Mortgages Act, a bill by Congressmen Clay and Stivers to require the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to conduct a review of its policies to identify any barriers to supporting mortgages under $70,000 and report to Congress within a year with a plan for removing such barriers.
  

We will also consider a pair of capital markets bills:

• H.R. 5930, the Workforce Investment Disclosure Act, a bill by Congresswoman Axne to require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require public companies to disclose how they train, compensate, and otherwise manage their employees; and
  
  
• H.R. 5929, the Shareholder Political Transparency Act, a bill by Congressman Foster to require public companies to disclose to both the SEC and investors the amount, date, and nature of the company’s expenditures for political activities.
  

Additionally, we will mark up H.R. 5932, the Ensuring Chinese Debt Transparency Act, a bill by Congressman Hill, which seeks to address concerns that China is trapping developing countries in a cycle of predatory debt.

And finally, we will also mark up the Committee’s views and estimates on the budget for fiscal year 2021, including our strong concerns with Trump’s proposed cuts to vital programs for America’s most vulnerable communities.

I thank the Members for their outstanding work on these bills and measures.

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