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 WEEKLY ROUNDUP
October 10, 2021

        

Waters and All Financial Services Committee Democrats Call on President Biden, House Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Leader Schumer to Fund Housing in Reconciliation

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter calling on President Joseph R. Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer to include the Committee-passed housing provisions in the Build Back Better Act. 

The letter was signed by every Democratic Member of the House Financial Services Committee. 

“As we continue to work together to pass a broad-ranging and comprehensive infrastructure plan, we cannot ignore the immediate housing infrastructure needs facing individuals, families, and communities throughout the United States,” wrote the lawmakers. “This is especially true for low-income people and families of color who disproportionately lack equitable access to housing opportunities due to an ongoing history of discriminatory policies and federal underinvestment in their communities’ needs. Just as we need to invest in our nation’s roads and bridges, it is also absolutely essential that we invest in our nation’s affordable housing…As members of the House Financial Services Committee, we can affirm that a comprehensive approach to infrastructure includes a robust investment in our nation’s affordable housing stock and that a comprehensive approach to our social safety net includes investment in affordable housing. Housing is health care, it is stability for children, it is climate justice, and it is racial justice. This is an investment that simply cannot wait and must be included at robust levels in the budget reconciliation package. This is what families across the country—from California and Arizona, to Iowa and West Virginia—voted Democrats into office to address. This is our opportunity to meet our constituents where they are in this moment.”

On September 13, 2021, Committee Democrats passed the Financial Services Committee Title of the Build Back Better Act to provide long-overdue investments in housing resources, such as affordable housing, downpayment assistance, and efforts to end homelessness.

Read the full text of the letter HERE.


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Committee Hearings

SEC Chair Gary Gensler delivers his opening statement at this week’s full Committee hearing entitled, “Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission: Wall Street’s Cop Is Finally Back on the Beat.”

 

Read Chairwoman Waters’ opening statement at the full Committee hearing HERE. 


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Tweets of the Week:
Keep Housing in the Build Back Better Act Edition





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Member Spotlight

Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY)

Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) serves on the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions and the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets. Representative Meeks also chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.


Representative Meeks asks questions to Chair Gensler at this week’s full Committee hearing on oversight of the SEC.




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Weekend Reads


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Upcoming Hearing Dates

  • October 13 at 12:00 PM ET: The Task Force on Artificial Intelligence will convene for a virtual hearing entitled, “Beyond I, Robot: Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, and the Digital Age.”

  • October 14 at 12:00 PM ET: The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will convene for a virtual hearing entitled, “Cashed Out: How a Cashless Economy Impacts Disadvantaged Communities and Peoples.”

  • New Date! October 15 at 12:00 PM ET: The Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance will convene for a virtual hearing entitled, “Zoned Out: Examining the Impact of Exclusionary Zoning on People, Resources, and Opportunity.”

All hearings are livestreamed on https://democrats-financialservices.house.gov/live/.

For virtual hearings, all Members and witnesses participate remotely with no in-person participation in the hearing room. Hybrid hearings will take place in 2128 Rayburn House Office Building with a virtual option for all Members and witnesses to participate remotely.

Committee activities are finalized once an official notice is issued by the House Financial Services Committee. Visit https://democrats-financialservices.house.gov/calendar/ for the most up-to-date Committee schedule.

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Chairwoman’s Corner

POLITICO: Maxine Waters ready to battle over potential cuts to housing aid

Waters, who proposed the funding as chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said in an interview that "I'm going to fight as hard as I can to keep as much housing as I can in the reconciliation bill."

Some of the article’s highlights:

Waters, who proposed the funding as chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said in an interview that "I’m going to fight as hard as I can to keep as much housing as I can in the reconciliation bill." The cuts represented a major threat to a signature proposal from the California Democrat, who has prioritized affordable housing and homelessness throughout her time in office. Housing lobbyists were also mobilizing to shield their priorities in the sweeping plan.

“It’s going to be rough," Waters said.
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Waters is urging negotiators to trim funding across the board rather than eliminate whole parts of the bill. She and every other Financial Services Committee Democrat signed a letter sent Wednesday to President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arguing that housing must be funded at "robust levels" in the legislation.

“My wish, if we have to cut, is that we’re all going to take about the same percentage cut across the board, and then [committee chairs] can figure out where we want to make those reductions” within each section, Waters said.

Read the full POLITICO article HERE.

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Sent from the Committee on Financial Services

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