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Committee Dems Call on Regulators to Suspend CRA and Other Rulemakings Unrelated to COVID-19
On Wednesday, every Democratic Member of the House Financial Services Committee signed a letter to Joseph Otting, Comptroller of the Currency, and Jelena McWilliams, Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, urging them to prioritize a strong response to the COVID-19 pandemic and suspend efforts to revise the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and any unrelated rulemakings.
See the full text of the letter here.
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Waters and Velázquez Write to Megabank CEOs On Small Business Access to Paycheck Protection Program
On Friday, Chairwoman Waters and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, wrote to the Chief Executive Officers of Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo to express strong concerns with a lack of access to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses that need immediate help, and to request periodic updates on their participation in the program and related pandemic recovery efforts.
"...[W]e are troubled by concerns expressed by small business owners that megabanks are favoring certain customers and shutting out others," wrote the Chairwomen in the letter.
See the full text of the letter here.
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Waters and Brown Call on Administration to Step Up Efforts to Implement Defense Production Act
On Thursday, Chairwoman Waters and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, wrote to the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Health and Human Services, urging them to focus the use of resources provided by Congress in the CARES Act to bolster the production of urgently needed medical supplies and equipment using the powerful authorities of the Defense Production Act (DPA).
The CARES Act appropriates $1 billion to the DPA Fund for the production, purchase and priority distribution of medical supplies needed to address the Coronavirus outbreak. See the full text of the letter here.
Weekend Reads
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Chairwoman’s Corner
Waters Talks COVID-19 Response with Bloomberg TV:
On Thursday, Chairwoman Waters spoke to Bloomberg TV on Congressional efforts to respond to COVID-19.
During the interview, she continued her call for $100 billion in emergency rental assistance funding to be included in the next Congressional stimulus package.
Click here for the full interview.
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Member Spotlight
| Congressman Denny Heck (D-WA) |
“Housing is the single largest expense for most American families. By a longshot. Right now, those same families are facing job loss, struggling with child care, and dealing with other unprecedented financial burdens stemming from the global COVID-19 crisis – and many are unable to make next month’s rent. We have to get meaningful help to them as soon as we possibly can. Using the ESG program to provide more rental assistance is something we can do right now.”
- Congressman Heck on his bill to provide $100 billion in rental and utility payment assistance to renters in non-assisted housing.
Congressman Heck introduced two bills that were included in the Financial Protections and Assistance for America’s Consumers, States, Businesses, and Vulnerable Populations Act (H.R. 6321), a package of legislation introduced by Committee Democrats to provide a comprehensive stimulus and public policy response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Waters Applauds World Bank Capital Increase Included In COVID-19 Stimulus Package
After an agreement on a major World Bank Group reform package advocated for by Chairwoman Waters, and memorialized in a letter from World Bank President David Malpass to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Chairwoman Waters signaled her support to authorize the Secretary of Treasury to vote in favor of a $5.5 billion capital increase for the Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The authorization was included in the massive $2 trillion coronavirus emergency spending bill that Congress passed in March and President Trump signed into law.
Click here for more on the commitments Chairwoman Waters secured from the World Bank regarding key transparency, oversight, human rights, private education, and labor reforms.
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