HUD Transparency Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 225, the HUD Transparency Act of 2025, sponsored by Representative De La Cruz.

Oversight is a core function of the Financial Services Committee. Inspectors general also play a critical role in providing transparency about the functions of government, as well as holding government officials accountable.

They are able to do this because they are independent of the officials they oversee, and until recently, were only removed for cause.

However, since taking office, President Trump has fired over 20 IGs across the government. The majority of these IG firings took place in the first week President Trump took office and violated lawful removal procedures as they came with no warning or rationale.

In fact, the Trump administration has kept more than three in four presidentially appointed inspector general positions vacant and without Senate-confirmed leadership.

These actions not only silence future IGs but leave the public less informed about critical activities happening across agencies.

Dangerously, Trump's actions, combined with Republican House leadership who are unwilling to investigate anything Trump's team does, enable the Trump administration to be entirely unaccountable.

Notably, the HUD Inspector General this bill would require to testify before our committee was one of the people Trump arbitrarily fired earlier this year.

Since that firing, the acting HUD IG has been replaced again, and there is no one being considered by the Senate for confirmation. As a result, no one in this Chamber knows when our committee will be able to receive this testimony.

That said, and while I support this bill, this debate ignores the real and urgent challenges facing HUD and our housing market, and how the President and his administration are actively taking steps to undermine efforts to address the affordable housing crisis.

For example, where is the legislation from our Republican colleagues to stop Trump's plan to gut existing permanent supportive housing that could force more than 170,000 people back on the streets? Twenty States and D.C. have already sued HUD citing the plan as chaotic and unlawful.

Mr. Speaker, where are their investigations into the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, who is weaponizing the housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for politically motivated witch hunts and trying to lock new home buyers into 50-year mortgages?

If Republicans wanted to lower housing costs, why aren't they calling to exempt materials like lumber from Trump's tariffs or why aren't we negotiating the ROAD to Housing Act so that it can be included in NDAA and quickly passed into law?

Mr. Speaker, the invitation to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is open. Join us in finally taking steps to address the rising costs of housing. The American public wants us to lower their bills, and Democrats have numerous ideas about how to do that. Join us in ensuring that the HUD inspector general has the independence to do their job without fear of retaliation when they uncover corruption or abuse of power.

We will join Republicans in passing this bill today, but we need to finally get to work to deliver real change for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, HUD plays a vital role in providing safe and affordable housing to families all across the United States. Families depend on HUD's programs to keep a roof over their heads.

H.R. 225 would allow Congress and the public to hear directly from an independent oversight authority, provided one is ever confirmed, and offer more transparency into the functions and operations of HUD, especially at a time when Trump's appointees are abusing their power.

I again urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 225) to require the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to testify before the Congress annually, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 225, the HUD Transparency Act.

I thank the gentlewoman from Texas, Congresswoman De La Cruz, for sponsoring this legislation.

The HUD Transparency Act of 2025 is a piece of commonsense legislation that strengthens accountability, enhances oversight, and ensures the American people have a clear view into how Federal housing dollars are spent.

For years, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, has administered programs that touch millions of families, seniors, and veterans in communities across our Nation. These programs are critical. They support affordable housing development, combat homelessness, and help communities recover after disasters.

Unfortunately, over the years, in my view, the agency has shown time and time again they are unable to perform some basic functions. The agency continually fails to hold local public housing authorities responsible for providing safe housing.

Reports from the inspector general, the Government Accountability Office, and our own committee have repeatedly identified some of the same issues: outdated and incomplete reporting, inconsistent and unverifiable data, missed deadlines, and major programs operating without clear evidence of effectiveness.

As the branch with the power of the purse, it is Congress' responsibility to ensure tax dollars that go toward HUD's programs are managed effectively, efficiently, and transparently. H.R. 225 delivers on that responsibility.

This bill requires the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to annually testify before Congress so we can ensure the Department is meeting its performance reporting and management standards. By requiring the HUD Inspector General to appear in front of Congress, Ms. De La Cruz's bill makes HUD take the necessary steps to publish key performance information, report program outcomes in a timely manner, and makes the data available so Congress and the public can better ensure Federal housing programs are meeting their goals.

The HUD Transparency Act is a straightforward, bipartisan solution to a longstanding problem. HUD needs to use consistent reporting formats so Congress can compare outcomes across programs and track progress over time. It ensures that the American people can see how their tax dollars are being used.

These are basic principles of good governance. Transparency strengthens public trust and improves program performance. It allows Congress to address problems early instead of after tax dollars have been wasted or ones in need have been left behind.

Importantly, this bill does so without imposing new burdens on State or local governments and without slowing down the delivery of critical housing assistance. H.R. 225 simply ensures that HUD operates with the openness and accountability the American people expect and deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. De La Cruz for this important measure, and I urge our colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the Congressional Budget Office estimate for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. De La Cruz).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

For the reasons I explained earlier, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I also rise in support of H.R. 4429, the Developing and Empowering our Aspiring Leaders Act, or DEAL Act, which is a critical bill to support innovation, entrepreneurship, and capital formation.

The venture capital industry provides vital funding for early-stage startups at points in their life cycle when they are generally deemed to be too risky for traditional bank financing or for raising money on the public market. This basically means that if we are going to have a growing and innovative economy, then we have to have a healthy venture capital sector.

Historically, venture capital earns investor returns and frees up more capital to recycle in other companies by selling their mature portfolio companies to strategic investors or taking them public on public markets.

For a variety of reasons, including public company reporting obligations, economic uncertainty, and the rise of private equity, U.S. companies today are staying private much longer, which has reduced the opportunities for venture capital firms to recycle their investment dollars.

Some venture capital firms have sought to create new liquidity options through secondary acquisitions and investments in other VC funds. This is what Congresswoman Wagner was referring to, but that option right now is constrained by provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 that limit venture capital funds' ability to invest in these so- called fund of funds to only 20 percent of their commitments.

That rule was very well-intentioned when passed, and the intent was to ensure that VC firms remained focused on direct investments in early-stage startups. However, it was crafted for a very different financial market than we have today.

I would also note that that constraint is irrelevant to the larger, more well-known VC funds who have the resources to shoulder the compliance burdens associated with registering with the SEC as registered investment advisers. They can already do this, but they are the big ones. They are the ones based in San Francisco and New York. That option isn't available for these emerging regional fund managers located in the middle of the country. Many of those funds increasingly depend on that fund-of-funds model.

What the DEAL Act does is just provides greater flexibility to those smaller VC funds while still ensuring that investors are protected and that fund managers continue to prioritize direct funding in small businesses. It does this by revising the existing rules to raise the cap from 20 percent in fund of funds up to 49 percent but still requiring that the majority of their investments are directly in portfolio companies.

In other words, the DEAL Act supports growth in the startup economy and ensures that capital reaches the communities and innovators who need it most.

I thank my fellow Midwesterner and friend, Congresswoman Wagner, for her leadership on this. I am proud to lead this important legislation, and I urge all my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Ohio for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to sponsor H.R. 4429, the Developing and Empowering our Aspiring Leaders, or DEAL, Act.

This bill, which passed with almost unanimous support out of the Financial Services Committee, seeks to ensure the United States remains the most entrepreneurial country in the world, where the next great companies are founded and funded.

It is often said that small businesses are the engine of the American economy, and that is an absolute truth. Small businesses make up 99 percent of U.S. employers, and they are the driving force behind the creation of a majority of new jobs.

The entrepreneurs leading these companies are building something new, taking real risks, and driving growth in communities across the Nation, but too often, they can't get a fair shot at investment.

Right now, our capital markets suffer from an extreme geographic imbalance. The data is stark. Nearly 70 percent of venture capital flows to three States, Mr. Speaker: California, New York, and Massachusetts.

This leaves entire regions of the country struggling to access funding. It leaves communities in the Midwest and the South without the capital they need to build and scale businesses. Access to capital is not just a coastal issue. It is a national economic necessity.

This capital divide is why the DEAL Act is so critically important. This bill is a targeted, forward-looking effort to modernize outdated rules and channel investment to where it is needed most.

The DEAL Act fundamentally strengthens the ability of capital to reach more founders and more communities. It achieves this by allowing larger venture funds to invest directly in smaller, regional funds, a fund-of-funds investment.

This mechanism is a game changer, Mr. Speaker. It means more funding for startups, more opportunities for businesses that might otherwise be overlooked, and more innovation happening everywhere, not just in a handful of elite ZIP Codes.

Newer, regional venture funds are often best positioned to back the entrepreneurs who are building businesses on Main Street. The DEAL Act ensures that these funds can expand that important work, giving them the flexibility to partner with larger institutions to reach a wider base of early-stage companies.

H.R. 4429 ensures our policies are helping capital move efficiently and effectively, empowering those taking risks to build something new, and helping good ideas grow into great companies.

I thank Chairman Hill for his support, and also I thank Congressman Casten for joining me and co-leading this commonsense and bipartisan piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague Mr. Davidson for his broad work in the capital market space and for leading us here on the floor today.

I rise to urge my colleagues to support the Expanding WKSI Eligibility Act. I thank my co-leads, Mr. Fields, as well as Chairman Hill and Ranking Member Waters, for their support.

We have far too many regulations in the United States, and this bill is about rightsizing our regulations in support of investments and jobs.

This commonsense bill will help more well-run companies responsibly raise money in the public markets. It rightsizes regulatory burdens and frees up more resources for companies to invest in American jobs and American innovation.

The well-known seasoned issuer--also known as WKSI--status was first implemented around 20 years ago. It allows qualified public companies in good standing to use automatic shelf registration. This reduces the cost and complexity of a public offering and allows companies to be more responsive to market conditions.

The WKSI construct has a track record of success in expanding access to public markets while protecting investors.

According to Joel Trotter, one of the authors of the JOBS Act, ``Decades of successful experience show that the well-known seasoned issuer category is long overdue for expansion.''

I couldn't agree more, and this bill does exactly that. It lowers the size threshold for WKSI qualification while maintaining all the existing good governance requirements.

In other words, more small and midsized American public companies will be able to benefit from the privileges that already exist for larger businesses with similar compliance records.

The Expanding WKSI Eligibility Act also includes a helpful reporting requirement for the Securities and Exchange Commission. This report will provide Congress and the public with a better understanding of how many previously ineligible companies are trying to regain their WKSI status. Doing so will gain the insight needed to make future legislative adjustments.

The Expanding WKSI Eligibility Act is a tailored, regulatory improvement

that will support small and midsized businesses, job creators, and investments.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation.