Waters: H.R. 4061 Hamstrings Efforts to Rein in the Next AIG Before a Financial Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, gave the following floor statement on H.R. 4061, the so-called “Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act. This bill would undermine efforts mandated in the Dodd-Frank Act to mitigate the risks posed to the economy by large nonbank firms, like AIG, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns.

As Prepared for Delivery

Mr. Speaker, week after week the Majority is continuing to push through bills to roll back critical reforms that Democrats put in place to protect consumers, investors, and our economy. Let’s recount some of the bills that the Majority has recently pushed through the House.

In recent months, they have passed legislation to: allow payday lenders to evade state interest rate caps, decrease operational risk capital requirements and roll back enhanced prudential standards for the nation’s largest banks, weaken consumer protections for mortgages, undermine efforts to combat discriminatory and predatory lending, reduce consumer privacy protections, weaken rules that the financial services industry finds inconvenient, undermine protections for mom and pop investors, and allow financial institutions to challenge rules financial regulations in court if they believe them not to be “uniquely tailored” to their business needs.

Every week the list of harmful legislation put forth by the Majority for House passage grows. H.R. 4061, the so-called Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act, is the latest example of the Majority’s misguided and reckless agenda. H.R. 4061 helps financial institutions to delay or block heightened oversight and weakens FSOC’s ability to protect our economy.

Mr. Speaker, this bill ignores the lessons of the past and invites a return to the risky financial system that led to the financial crisis.

I urge Members to oppose the bill, and I yield back my time.

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