Secretary Mnuchin Cuts Short Testimony Before FSC...But Agrees to Come Back

On Tuesday, the House Financial Services Committee, convened a hearing with U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin entitled, “The Annual Testimony of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the International Financial System.” See Chairwoman Waters opening statement here.

…and here is the Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s take on a brief exchange during the hearing.

Combating Discrimination and Redlining

On Tuesday, the House Financial Services Committee, convened a hearing entitled, ““The Community Reinvestment Act: Assessing the Law’s Impact on Discrimination and Redlining.” Click here to view the hearing and memorandum for an update on the Committee’s efforts to prevent discrimination in this country..

Member Spotlight 

Housing, Community Development & Insurance Subcommittee Chairwoman William Lacy Clay (D-MO) Pens Op-Ed in the St. Louis Dispatch

“At a time of increasing racial division, a rise in hate crimes and persistent disparities in the housing market, we must recommit to the promise of the Fair Housing Act to prevent discrimination and open housing opportunities for all.”

Tweet of the Week

Committee Dems Ask Megabank CEOs Hard-Hitting Questions

On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee, convened a hearing entitled, “Holding Megabanks Accountable: A Review of Global Systemically Important Banks 10 years after the Financial Crisis,” with CEOs of seven of the nation’s largest financial institutions where Democrats asked the tough questions.

Click on a few of the headlines below for a recap of the hearing.

• Washington Post | CEOs of 7 mega banks challenged by House committee
  
• GQ | Bank CEOs Seem to Have a Hard Time Justifying Their Existence in Front of Congress
  
• NPR | How'd You Feel If Your Boss Made $486 For Every Dollar You Make?
  
• American Banker | Guns, CECL and 'too big to manage': Big-bank CEOs on Hill
  
• The Hill | Dems challenge bank CEOs on post-crisis reforms
  

To kick off National Fair Housing Month, the House Financial Services Committee, convened a hearing entitled, “The Fair Housing Act: Reviewing Efforts to Eliminate Discrimination and Promote Opportunity in Housing” to discuss Democratic measures to advance fair housing, and draw attention to the Trump Administration’s actions to diminish fair housing enforcement.

Legislative Proposals Included:

• The Restoring Fair Housing Protections Eliminated by HUD Act, a discussion draft from Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA)
  
  
• H.R. 5, Equality Act of 2019, introduced by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)
  NOTE: The portion of the bill that implicates this Committee’s jurisdiction is Section 10, which amends the Fair Housing Act to explicitly clarify that sexual orientation and gender identity are covered under the Fair Housing Act.
  
  
• H.R. 149, Housing Fairness Act of 2019, introduced by Rep. Al Green (D-TX)
  
  
• The Sexual Harassment Awareness and Prevention Act, a discussion draft from Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
  

Click here for the hearing memo with a description of each proposal and here for the Chairwoman’s opening statement.