Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. House Of Representatives U.S. Hou

The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h. R. 5322, the ensuring diversity in Community Banking act, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 5322, a bill to establish or modify requirements relating to Minority Depository Institutions, Community Development Financial Institutions, and impact banks and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Sherman, and the gentleman from sk, mr. Timmons, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. Sherman. Mr. Sherman mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation, and to insert extraneous material thereon. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Sherman i yield myself so much time as i may consume. I rise in strong support of h. R. 5322, the ensuring diversity in Community Banking act of 2019. I would like to thank mr. Meeks, the chairman of the Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions subcommittee, for his leadership on this important issue. For over 22 years, i have worked and watched mr. Meeks as hes devoted prodigious quantities of his time and his considerable talents to the matters of the Financial Services committee and. R. 5322 reflects that kind of skill and effort. The Financial Services committee , under the chairmanship of ms. Waters, and chairman meeks of the subcommittee, have prioritized examining the Important Role of Minority Depository Institutions, m. D. I. s, and the role they play in our Financial System and we have worked on developing policies to support their efforts. Over the course of a series of hearings in this congress, the committee has engaged with bank and credit union c. E. O. s, with consumer groups, with experts and regulators, all about how congress can help reverse the decline in our nations Minority Depository Institutions, m. D. I. s, particularly blackowned banks. This is important because the data shows that m. D. I. s serve the credit needs of lowincome areas and serve them well. And that these areas have a High Percentage of the unbanked and underbanked. Unfortunately these institutions have shrunk in numbers in recent years. The number peaked in 2018 at 2 2008 at 250 m. D. I. Banks. Now that number is at just 143 m. D. I. Banks, as of the Second Quarter of 2020. Representing less than 3 of all fdic insured institutions. In 2008 we had 41 blackowned banks and today we have 18. This calls for congressional action. Furthermore, during this pandemic, lowincome and minority communities have been hit the hardest. M. D. I. s, along with Community Development Financial Institutions, cdfis, have delivered relief to these lowincome communities during this pandemic. After chairwoman waters and the other members of this committee fought hard to ensure that m. D. I. s and cdfis could participate in the paycheck protection program, m. D. I. s and cdfis were able to provide some 16 billion of loans to over 220,000 Small Businesses and minorityowned businesses across the country. But Congress Must do more to support these institutions. Toward that end, h. R. 5322 provides a series of reforms that will preserve, grow and encourage the chartering of new m. D. I. s, as well as promote the effective engagement between m. D. I. s and prudential regulators. This bill will encourage investments in m. D. I. s, in part by strengthening a Minority Bank deposit program, so that treasury deposits, federal funds, federal funds which it manages in m. D. I. s, us this providing more m. D. I. s with more funds that they can then lend. Furthermore, it encourages more partnerships between m. D. I. s and large banks through the department of treasurys mentorProtege Program, which should promote information sharing and more investments in m. D. I. s. The bill also creates a new category of small banks called impact banks that provide most of their lending to lowincome borrowers and would also benefit some of the bills bills provisions, to ensure that we can do all we can to support lowincome and minority communities. We also appreciate the collaboration demonstrated by Ranking Member of the full committee, mr. Mchenry, and other Committee Republicans, as this bill was voted out of the committee in december by a unanimous vote of 520. This bill has broad support, including from the National Bankers association, the independent Community Bankers of america, the american bankers association, the Credit Union National association, and the National Association of federally insured credit unions. I urge members to support 5322 and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from South Carolina, mr. Timmons. Mr. Timmons mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. Mr. Speaker, i would like to thank the gentleman from new york for introducing this bill. Hes worked in good faith with republican members over the past year to reach a bipartisan solution on this important issue. The Financial Services committee has held several hearings over the past year on the state of Minority Depository Institution or m. D. I. s and Community Development Financial Institutions, or cdfis. Both m. D. I. s and cdfis provide Critical Services and support to their communities. Unfortunately the number of these institutions have been declining at an alarming rate. Burdensome regulations and a lack of access to capital have caused many of these m. D. I. s to either consolidate or be forced to shut their doors for good. It is simply too hard for these smaller institutions to remain viable in the current environment. The bill we are considering today promotes policies and establishes programs to support m. D. I. s and cdfis and the customers and communities they serve. Importantly, the bill seeks to promote engagement in the department of treasurys mentor prote visa Protege Program to encourage collaboration between m. D. I. s and institutions. The bill also directs each of the federal banking regulators to establish m. D. I. Advisory councils to ensure m. D. I. Voices are heard without weakening or duplicating current efforts. The bill also allows banks to be designated an impact bank. This allows any bank that serves a majority of lowincome borrowers to be considered as an option to hold government deposits. This program will bolster the ability of banks to serve their communities. Finally, the bill streamlines the application reporting requirements to become and remain a cdfi. I appreciate the gentleman from new york for his willingness to work with Committee Republicans so we can bring a strong bipartisan bill to the floor that supports communities in need. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Sherman i yield three minutes to the gentleman from new york, the author of this legislation, mr. Meeks. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york is recognized. Mr. Meeks thank you, mr. Sherman. Thank you, mr. Chair. Let me just say how proud i am that the house is taking up my bill today. The ensuring diversity in Community Banking act. I am especially grateful for the support throughout from Financial Services chairwoman maxine waters, for her guidance and working with me and to make sure that we progress andronov bill. I am likewise internally eternally grateful to Ranking Member mchenry, who worked with us very closely to make sure that this bill had true, strong, bipartisan support and as a result it passed the house Financial Services committee unanimously and without that partnership this would not have happened. So i thank both the chair and the Ranking Member and all of the members of this committee for doing this. This bill passed in committee unanimously and has gained the support of consumer advocacy groups, civil rights organizations, and the Financial Services industry. We tried to bring everybody together on this and we did come up with a consensus bill. Communities of color have borne a disproportionate burden of covid pandemic, as measured by the infection and mortality rates, as well as jobs lost and wealth destroyed. This pandemic and the economic crisis it triggered devastated communities that had yet to fully recover from the financial crisis of 2008. Institutions have remained the bright spot during this pandemic, given their focus of providing Financial Services to communities of color and low and moderate income communities. However, despite their success, serving these communities, Minority Depository Institutions have been disappearing at an alarming rate. Leading to expanding banking deserts and growing share of the population vulnerable to payday lenders and other predatory Financial Institutions. To address this, this bill does the following. Number one, Minority Depository Institutions are smaller than their peers, pose no credible Systemic Risk and focus overwhelmingly on underbanked communities of color, investing in Home Ownership and Small Business lending, helping to close the wealth gap. My bill makes it easier for m. D. I. s that are also Community Development organizations to raise capital from private investors and directs the federal government to deposit funds that are fully ensured with these institutions, which can lend on the money in communities that need it. Number two, the bill calls on regulators to take greater ownership of their own failings in the area of diversity by auditing the diversity of the Bank Examiner corps, publishing the data, and considering how their own lack of diversity and lack of special training harms their effectiveness. Number three, the bill establishes a new impact bank designation for those institutions that lend primarily to lowincome communities. And provides these banks access to the deposits programs established by this bill. Number four, the bill also calls on the congress to continue supporting the cdif fund of the treasury department. The cdif fund leverages can i get one more minute . Mr. Sherman i yield an additional minute to the gentleman from new york. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for an additional minute. Mr. Meeks the cdfi cdfi fund leverages funding to private sector capital and force the innovation, investments and market Oriented Solutions to tackle some of our nations most persistent challenges and in poverty alleviation. This program has earned strong bipartisan support historically immenselyroven itself valuable during this pandemic. Let me also say that what this does, it also helps our Small Businesses in the communities and helps create wealth in communities where its not. With the Home Ownership aspect, it encourages individuals to buy, to own the home and to rent the car because the home becomes an appreciating asset and the car the depreciating asset. It brings us all so we can have and enjoy what has become known as american dream. So let me close by once again, thanking my colleagues for their bipartisan support for this important legislation. Let me thank all of my colleagues on working together to try to make this a better place and i urge all of my colleagues to vote in support of this bill. And i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from South Carolina is recognized. Mr. Timmons id like to inquire with my colleague whether he has any additional speakers . Im prepared to close. Mr. Sherman i will reserve the right to close and indicate we have no additional speakers on our side. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from South Carolina is recognized. Mr. Timmons ill simply urge my colleagues to support h. R. 5322. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from South Carolina yields. The gentleman from new york is recognized. Mr. Sherman the speaker pro tempore california, rather. Mr. Sherman mr. Speaker, i yield myself the balance of my time. M. D. I. s face several challenges, including the bility to raise capital. Overall, in spite of their overall Strong Financial performance. And they face challenges, experiences as a result of servicing communities that are often first and hardest hit by economic down cycles. This decline is contributing to a growing incidence of banking deserts in minority communities. This bill will help turn this dangerous tide so that individuals in more zip codes will have access to safe banking. I again want to thank mr. Meeks for authoring this legislation, and all of his dedication to the Financial Services committee. As well as id like to thank chairman chairwoman waters and Ranking Member mchenry and the other members of the committee. I urge members to support h. R. 5322, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h. R. 5322, as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Sherman mr. Speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and bill h. R. 6934, the treatment of nrsros act amended. S the speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 6934, a bill to the uniform require treatment of nationally ecognized statistical rating organizations under certain programs carried out in response to the covid19 emergency, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the entleman from california, mr. Sherman, and the gentleman from South Carolina, mr. Timmons, minutes. Control 20 the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. Sherman. Mr. Sherman mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and on this eir remarks legislation and insert extraneous materials thereon. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Sherman i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Sherman mr. Speaker, i rise n support of h. R. 6934, the uniform treatment of nrsros, sponsored by ongresswoman dean from pennsylvania. This important legislation from will ensure dean that qualified issuers have fair facilities andng will ensure that these on clear are granted terms. This is not a time where as the Federal Reserve, should just make it up as they go along, especially these policies isproportionately harm small and midsized companies. Hus, my colleague, ms. Dean, introduced clarity in the lending process by ensuring that ationally recognized statistical rating organizations, also referred to nrsros, are treated uniformly. Specifically, the federal reser reserve has a Credit Rating to require for participation in a lending facility. There is such a requirement, the Federal Reserve rating imes require the be issued a specific Credit Rating agency or required the be from a specific rating nrsros such as the major nrsros. Selfcreated by the Federal Reserve and undefined and uncleared issuers. As an equirements act obstacle between issuers and these lending facilities. Clearly was not Congress Intent as it goes against which mandates we nrsroscompetition among sure than trying to make ompanies rely only on an oligarchy of three nrsros. Of the subcommittee on investor protection, Capital Markets, im quite f