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Waters Delivers Statement at Full Committee Hearing: “Congress Must Pass This Committee’s Housing Title of the Build Back Better Act”
This week, Chairwoman Waters gave the following statement at a full Committee hearing entitled, “Boom and Bust: Inequality, Homeownership, and the Long-Term Impacts of the Hot Housing Market.”
“As we celebrate National Homeownership Month, we must recognize that homeownership is the primary driver of wealth for most families in the United States. It’s a source of stability and opportunity for families, who can leverage their home equity to put their kids through college, start a business, and support them in retirement.
“However, not everyone has been able to realize the dream of homeownership, and the pandemic housing boom has made these disparities worse. In fact, while millions of people were able to take advantage of historically low interest rates to purchase homes or refinance their mortgages, skyrocketing home prices and other ongoing challenges made it harder for millennials and Gen Z, people of color, and individuals without intergenerational wealth to compete and access homeownership. So, while the Federal Reserve estimates that home equity reached a record $27.8 trillion by early 2022, many qualified would-be homebuyers could not partake in this wealth building event. …“
- Read Chairwoman Waters’ full opening statement HERE.
- Watch the full Committee hearing HERE.
Chairwoman Waters Requests Timeline for Implementation of PAVE Task Force Administrative Appraisal Reforms
Chairwoman Waters sent a letter to the Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) Task Force asking that the Task Force move quickly to implement its planned administrative actions and provide the Committee with a clear timeline for implementation of each action.
“The Task Force’s Action Plan is a critical step forward in our nation’s duty to root out bias and discrimination in the appraisal industry, which has gone under the radar for too long. During the pandemic alone, we have seen countless reports of appraisal bias and alleged discrimination, which are exacerbated by gaps in federal home valuation policies and regulations. The systemic undervaluation of homes owned by people of color and located in communities of color has blocked many homeowners of color, especially Black homeowners, from fully benefiting from the equity in their homes, from refinancing their mortgages into historically low interest rates, and devaluing the communities they live in.”
- Read the full press release HERE.
- Read the letter HERE.
Chairwoman Waters Calls on Regulators to Hold Wells Fargo Accountable for Continued Troubling Patterns and Practices of Anti-Consumer Behavior
Chairwoman Waters sent a letter to regulators last week, urging them to investigate recent allegations that Wells Fargo denied Black refinancing applicants when interest rates were at their lowest and hosted “mock” interviews with diverse candidates to pad diversity numbers.
“I write today to share my profound disappointment and significant concerns regarding the ongoing actions by one of America’s largest megabanks, Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo has been under scrutiny by the Financial Services Committee and by your agencies in recent years for a myriad of reasons, including creating almost 3.5 million unauthorized consumer accounts, charging customers for auto insurance policies they did not need, ripping off veterans by overcharging them for refinance loans, and multiple class action suits regarding discrimination against people of color, people with disabilities, and other protected individuals,” Chairwoman Waters wrote. “The need for warnings and “cost of doing business fines” have long passed. The asset cap imposed by now-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has failed to force the bank to change its behavior. Despite Mr. Scharf’s leadership, Wells Fargo continues to display a troubling pattern of bad behavior with an inability to competently redress such patterns.”
- Read the full press release HERE.
- Read the letter HERE.
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Member Spotlight
| Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA) |
Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA) chairs the Task Force on Financial Technology. He also serves on the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy and the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion. This week, Rep. Lynch chaired the Task Force on Financial Technology’s hearing entitled, “Combatting Tech Bro Culture: Understanding Obstacles to Investments in Diverse-Owned Fintechs.”
Weekend Reads
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Committee Hearings
Boom and Bust: Inequality, Homeownership, and the Long-Term Impacts of the Hot Housing Market
The full Committee convened for a virtual hearing entitled, “Boom and Bust: Inequality, Homeownership, and the Long-Term Impacts of the Hot Housing Market.” This hearing focused on the millions of families who did not equally benefit from the housing market boom during the pandemic and have been shut out from the dream of homeownership.
- Read Chairwoman Waters’ opening statement HERE.
- Watch the full Committee hearing HERE.
Where Have All the Houses Gone? Private Equity, Single Family Rentals, and America’s Neighborhoods
The Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigation convened for a virtual hearing entitled, “Where Have All the Houses Gone? Private Equity, Single Family Rentals, and America’s Neighborhoods.” This hearing focused on a longitudinal survey, conducted by the Committee and sent to five of the nation’s largest single family rental companies, that confirmed that the nation’s largest private equity firms are engaging in business practices that limit homeownership opportunities and aggressively increase rental costs for working families and would-be homebuyers.
- Watch the Subcommittee hearing HERE.
- Read Chairwoman Waters’ press release on the hearing HERE.
Combatting Tech Bro Culture: Understanding Obstacles to Investments in Diverse-Owned Fintechs
The Task Force on Financial Technology convened for a virtual hearing entitled, “Combatting Tech Bro Culture: Understanding Obstacles to Investments in Diverse-Owned Fintechs.” The hearing focused on the absence of diverse-owned fintechs due to the lack of funding from venture capital firms—which are largely owned by white men—and potential solutions to solve this issue.
- Read Chairwoman Waters’ opening statement HERE.
- Watch the Task Force on Financial Technology hearing HERE.
Chairwoman’s Corner
Waters Denounces Supreme Court Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade and Deprive Women of Economic Security
Chairwoman Waters, a long champion of women’s rights and equality, released a statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Today is a sad and enraging day in our country. The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for decades and provided women, non-binary, and transgender individuals the basic human right to choose what happens to their bodies. Last year, I joined 187 of my House colleagues in signing on to an amicus brief in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case. Our brief urged the Supreme Court to uphold nearly 50 years of precedent in Roe v. Wade and protect the constitutional right to abortion care by overturning Mississippi’s clearly unconstitutional abortion ban. Moreover, I am an original cosponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which passed the House last year. The bill safeguards abortion access from dozens of state-level bans and restrictions and creates a national legal right for health care providers to provide abortions. It also creates a corresponding right for their patients to receive reproductive health care that is free from restrictions.
“So, I am appalled that the Supreme Court has reached this conclusion. Bodily autonomy is a human right, first and foremost, and one that is deeply connected to economic progress and financial autonomy. This decision is an attack on women, trans men, and non-binary persons everywhere and will harm their economic stability and undermine their ability to provide for their families. Deciding to carry a pregnancy to full term is a deeply personal decision and should be a choice that every individual has.”
Read Chairwoman Waters’ statement HERE.
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