ICYMI: Financial Services Committee Republicans Oppose Amendments to Help Main Street

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the House Financial Services Committee markup to consider its Budget Views and Estimates for Fiscal Year 2018, Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Committee Democrats urged Committee Republicans to join them in holding the Trump Administration accountable and supporting amendments that would help middle class families and the most vulnerable populations. Throughout the markup, Democrats offered amendments to protect consumers and investors.

Not surprisingly, every single amendment was opposed by Committee Republicans.

Additionally, Committee Republicans voted to release only portions of a deposition transcript of the former Executive Director of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to unfairly criticize FSOC's designation process, disregarding the full set of facts. The Republicans’ cherry-picked excerpts represent approximately 20 pages of a 425-page transcript of a two-day, ten-hour deposition. The views expressed by the former FSOC Executive Director during the lengthy deposition are not accurately reflected in the transcript excerpts, which have been selectively chosen by Committee Republicans and taken out of context to withhold the full testimony from the public since it contradicts the Republicans’ flawed assertions about the FSOC’s designation process.

Committee Republicans voted against the following amendments:

• An amendment by Ranking Member Waters to provide funding to end homelessness.
  
• An amendment by Ranking Member Waters to direct the Office of Foreign Assets Control to retain sanctions against Russia.
  
• An amendment by Rep. Maloney to support the Orderly Liquidation Authority as a back-up mechanism for safely winding down large financial institutions without requiring a taxpayer assistance.
  
• An amendment by Rep. Meeks and Rep. Green to appropriately fund the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) programs.
  
• An amendment by Rep. Green to support fair housing initiatives and encourage full enforcement of the Fair Housing Act.
  
• An amendment by Rep. Cleaver highlighting the importance of consumer protections and maintaining the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) independent funding structure.
  
• An amendment by Rep. Moore urging strong U.S. leadership in the global economy and cooperation with international financial institutions.
  
• An amendment by Rep. Moore to restore the full functionality of Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank).
  
• An amendment by Rep. Lynch to require the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to devote sufficient resources to take action against insider trading and bribery of foreign governments under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
  
• An amendment by Rep. Velazquez urging Congress to provide sufficient resources required to adequately renovate and support public housing.
  
  

During the markup, Financial Services Committee Democrats spoke forcefully about Democratic priorities and their concerns about the Trump Wall Street First agenda.

On the Waters amendment to provide sufficient funding to end homelessness:

“Homelessness is homelessness. You don’t have a place to live – whether you’re in the rural area of this country, or the urban area… I have asked Republicans repeatedly to pay attention to the economic needs of the rural communities.”

- Rep. Waters to Rep. Duffy

On the Waters amendment to direct the Office of Foreign Asset Control to retain sanctions against Russia:

“I don’t believe that you will allow yourselves to continue to defend certain actions of this Administration and all of its allies who are tied to the oil industry and fighting to lift the sanctions on Russia so that they can benefit from the lifting of those sanctions. I would ask that you show your patriotism by supporting this amendment.”

- Rep. Waters to Committee Republicans

On the Maloney amendment to support the Orderly Liquidation Authority:

“Taxpayers are fully protected under the Orderly Liquidation Authority…What greater way to assert market discipline than to hold the company that’s mismanaged responsible? That the company bears the brunt, not the taxpayer? That’s what the Orderly Liquidation does.”

- Rep. Maloney

On the Meeks and Green amendment to examine and appropriate funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) programs:

“Community development should be an area that we can focus on and work on in a collective manner.”

- Rep. Meeks

“[The amendment says] ‘With an eye towards establishing appropriate funding levels.’ That’s the language that I believe the Chairman of the Housing Subcommittee can embrace.”

- Rep. Green

On the Cleaver amendment to maintain the CFPB’s independent funding structure:
“One of our primary responsibilities as Members of this committee should be to stand up for consumers and to protect our constituents. It’s troubling that our new Administration doesn’t share this sentiment.”

- Rep. Cleaver

On the Moore amendment urging strong U.S. leadership in international financial institutions:

“We have Moscow and Beijing looking to drive the train of global economic leadership. We’re all Americans here, Mr. Chairman. Surely it’s not just the Democrats who find it unacceptable for us to not have our financial hegemony in the world.”

- Rep. Moore

On the Moore amendment to restore the full functionality of Ex-Im Bank:

“Not only has the Ex-Im Bank financed more than $240 billion in U.S. exports, it supported more than 1.4 million American jobs and remitted more than $3.8 billion in deficit reduction receipts to the Treasury.”

- Rep. Moore

On the Lynch amendment to urge the SEC to devote sufficient resources to monitor markets:

“Given that my Republican colleagues repealed Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which was a critical transparency law designed to stop oil companies from making corrupt deals with foreign governments, it is now even more important that the SEC utilize its authority under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to bring actions against all companies engaged in bribery of foreign officials.”

- Rep. Lynch

On the Velazquez amendment urging Congress to provide sufficient resources to renovate and support public housing:

“Our nation’s public housing stock continues deteriorating as agencies struggle with chronic underfunding. Failing to invest in public housing has consequences, Mr. Chairman.”

- Rep. Velazquez

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