Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4227) to require the Securities and Exchange Commission to revise the definition of a qualifying investment, for purposes of the exemption from registration for venture capital fund advisers under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, to include an equity security issued by a qualifying portfolio company and to include an investment in another venture capital fund, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

I support H.R. 4227, the Developing and Empowering Our Aspiring Leaders Act of 2021, introduced by Mr. Hollingsworth. This bill would authorize the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, to revise its rules on venture capital investment regulations to allow investments acquired through secondary transactions or investments in other venture capital funds to be considered as qualifying investments for venture capital funds.

Importantly, the SEC would only be required to revise its rules if it finds that the revision would facilitate capital formation without reducing investor protections.

I want to ensure startups and small businesses have access to capital, but as this bill stipulates, access to capital should not come at the expense of investor protections. This bill strikes the right balance, and I so urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I support H.R. 4227 and urge its passage as it correctly balances the need to provide access to capital for startups and other businesses with the need to protect investors. I note that a similar version of this bill previously passed this Chamber by a wide bipartisan vote.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1057) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material thereon.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1057, which would require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The National World War II Memorial is located on the east end of the reflecting pool on The National Mall. The process for the dedication of the National World War II Memorial started in 1987, and it was a 17- year effort until the memorial was finally opened to the public in 2004.

It is the first national memorial dedicated to all who served in World War II and acknowledges the commitment and achievement of the entire Nation. The memorial today is a top destination for millions of annual visits from all over the country and the world.

The more than 16 million people who served in the Armed Forces, the more than 400,000 who died, and the millions who supported the war effort from home are all honored with this memorial. It commemorates the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the American people to the common defense of the Nation and to the broader causes of peace and freedom from tyranny throughout the world.

It acts as a symbol of national unity, and it is a timeless reminder of the moral strength and power that flows when free people are at once united and bonded together in a common and just cause for liberty.

This bill, sponsored by Representative Kaptur, would provide tangible support to the World War II Memorial by directing the Secretary of the Treasury to produce commemorative coins in recognition of everything that the memorial represents.

Madam Speaker, I urge Members to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).

Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 2 minutes to the gentlewoman.

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

I thank Congresswoman Kaptur for her work to guarantee that the stories and values the World War II Memorial represents continue to circulate throughout the Nation. Madam Speaker and Members, each evening that I am in Washington, D.C. when I leave the Capitol to go home, I pass this memorial, and I think about Marcy Kaptur.

I think about the first time that I learned and understood she created this. This was her legislation, and so it absolutely continues her vision, her foresight, and her love for the sacrifices that have been made by so many by establishing this World War II Memorial and everything that it represents.

I am so grateful that I am able here this evening to show my support and to thank her for what she has done in creating that memorial.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mayor Patrick Furey for his outstanding service over the past 40 years to the citizens of Torrance, which is partially in the 43rd Congressional District of California. Last night, the City Council of Torrance honored Patrick Furey upon his retirement after 8 years as Mayor.

Mr. Furey moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in 1973 after serving as a policeman in his hometown and as an infantry soldier in the United States Army. Always active in his community, while raising his family, Pat volunteered as a Boy Scout leader for more than 10 years and served as a Little League umpire for more than 1,000 games. He was the President of the Northwest Torrance Homeowners Association and often served as a spokesperson for the coalition of Torrance homeowners associations concerning issues impacting the entire city. Prior to his election to the City Council in 2008, Patrick Furey served Torrance as a civil service commissioner and a member of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee on Ethics and Integrity.

When California was reapportioned after the 2010 Census and much of Torrance was added to my District, then Councilman Furey and his wife Terry were the first Torrance residents to invite me to their home. We developed a strong friendship and have partnered on many projects together. Trained as a lawyer, Pat retired after a full career as a Principal Deputy County Counsel assigned to the Children's Services Division before being seated as Mayor in 2014. He had also served as a Training and Advice Counsel to the Department of Children & Family Services in Torrance for more than 3 years.

Pat Furey has always been concerned about young people. In addition to raising their own two children and nine grandchildren, Pat and Terry were founding members of the Torrance Education Foundation, and he served as its President for 4 terms. He was a member of every PTA in Torrance and a major supporter of public schools. He chaired the Torrance Unified School District's Personnel Commission and chaired the Community Planning and Design Committee.

Mayor Furey was also a huge advocate for Torrance businesses, from grocery stores to high tech industries. Always responding to community requests, he was a major booster of the Torrance Armed Forces Day activities and spent much time assisting the city's non-profit organizations. He was a hard-working, dedicated and popular mayor, constantly focused on every aspect of his city's operations. The region's residents know they were fortunate to have Mr. and Mrs. Furey serving in City Hall. Now that Mayor Furey has been termed out of office, he will be continuing his public service by returning to the Torrance Education Foundation.

I am proud to congratulate Pat Furey upon his retirement as Mayor and look forward to working with him on whatever his next endeavors may be.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter I've sent to Chairman DeFazio of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee regarding H.R. 2020, the ``Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act,'' sponsored by Representative Gonzalez-Colon.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Financial Services,

Washington, DC, June 21, 2022.

Hon. Peter A. DeFazio,

Chairman, House Committee on Transportation and

Infrastructure, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman DeFazio: I write concerning H.R. 2020, the

``Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act,''

sponsored by Representative Gonzalez-Colon. The Financial

Services Committee received an additional referral on this

bill but has not formally foregone any further consideration

of the bill because we were unfortunately not given

sufficient time to review it prior to it being brought to the

floor on suspension. While I support the apparent purpose of

this legislation, I am concerned that the Department of

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA) have not been consulted for their

opinion or technical drafting assistance on this legislation

when they will play key roles in implementing this bill.

I have shared the text of this legislation with both HUD

and FEMA and requested their input. I would appreciate your

cooperation in addressing any concerns from these agencies

and integrating any technical drafting changes they suggest

as you work to move this bill in the Senate. My staff will be

in touch as they receive feedback from these agencies.

I will be submitting a copy of this letter in the

Congressional Record and I look forward to working with you

on this and other issues where our Committees cross paths.

Sincerely,

Maxine Waters,

Chairwoman.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Mike Murase for his outstanding service on behalf of people of color, women, young people, seniors, and other disadvantaged members of society. Later today, the Little Tokyo Service Center in downtown Los Angeles will honor Mike Murase upon his retirement.

Mike Murase has been an activist leader in the Japanese American national civil rights movement for more than 50 years.

Mr. Murase moved from Japan to Los Angeles when he was just 9 years old after multiple visits to Hiroshima with his parents to witness the destruction of the world's first atomic bomb; visits which had a profound effect upon his social activism for the rest of his life. Mr. Murase was an early opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam conflict and was a leader in Asian American opposition to the war.

He co-founded Gidra, a landmark Japanese American Movement publication, when he was an undergraduate at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he also helped create the Asian American Studies Center.

Mr. Murase graduated from the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California (USC) and taught some of the early ethnic studies classes at UCLA, USC, and California State University Long Beach.

Mr. Murase was a member and leader of such seminal organizations as Asian Americans for Nuclear Disarmament, the Little Tokyo Peoples Rights Organization, the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations, Unity Los Angeles, and the California Rainbow Coalition. He was Rev. Jesse Jackson's deputy field coordinator and the California Asian American Coordinator in Rev. Jackson's 1984 presidential run; and the California Campaign director for Rev. Jackson's 1988 effort.

Mike Murase was the District Director of my Congressional office for 13 years where he worked tirelessly with countless community service organizations, improving their interaction with the Federal government. He was a highly skilled manager who was also an extremely talented graphics designer, writer, public speaker, and organizer, who, utilizing all of his skill set, led and trained my staff magnificently. He knew my district well and was able to meet challenges of every type, creating positive outcomes on many levels.

Mr. Murase was instrumental in organizing the California Rainbow Coalition after serving on the Rainbow Coalition's national board. He was chair of the Los Angeles Free South Africa Movement from 1986 to 1988, helped Quincy Jones and myself produce the city-wide welcoming reception for Nelson Mandela attended by 79,000 people at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1990, and was an observer to the African National Congress conference in South Africa in 1991.

Mike Murase is retiring after 16 years on the Executive Staff of the Little Tokyo Service Center, a vital social service and community economic development agency serving the Japanese American community throughout Los Angeles. It is a highly respected organization, which he helped found in 1979. He also served as Board President for its first five years.

Amongst his other duties as the Director of Service Programs for the Center, Mr. Murase was the Terasaki Budokan Campaign Director and successfully opened a significant community athletic center in Little Tokyo.

Mike Murase is a published author and an accomplished photographer, speaks fluent Japanese, and is a favorite interview subject of young Asian American activists. His importance to numerous cultural and political movements in our country cannot be overstated. I congratulate Mike upon his retirement from the Little Tokyo Service Center and look forward to his next endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, on roll call No. 77, in the Second Session of the 117th Congress, on H.R. 6434, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the America COMPETES Act. This crucial piece of legislation will strengthen our Nation's financial system and allow us to maintain and strengthen our ability to compete with the rest of the world, especially with the People's Republic of China; that is, PRC.

After arriving in Congress, I have made it a priority to advance legislation to empower American workers and make sure America's economy remains competitive for generations to come.

Under my leadership, the Committee on Financial Services has:

Reauthorized the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act and the Export-Import Bank to benefit American workers, small businesses, and communities throughout our country;

Set aside $60 billion of Paycheck Protection Program, that is PPP, funds for community lenders to lend to some of the smallest businesses, including minority, and women-owned businesses;

Protected small investors and businesses from bad practices on Wall Street to give everyone a fair shot in our capital markets.

Today, I continue that leadership with the America COMPETES Act, including several provisions from our committee that, among other things, will combat ransomware attacks, strengthen Defense Production Act authorities to protect the supply chains of medical materials, and more.

I am also pleased to have included my bill to end World Bank and Asian Development Bank funding for China, unless such assistance contributes a global public good that serves the U.S. national interest, such as stopping climate change.

Moreover, I urge the House to pass the Sherman amendment, which strengthens the integrity and, thus, increases the competitiveness of our economy and capital markets by adding long overdue transparency to the shadow or exempt securities markets.

Mr. Speaker, this bill will set up our Nation, its businesses and workers, to better compete in the world, especially

against the PRC. Let's invest in our Nation's future and get this historic bill to the President's desk.

I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Build Back Better Act, which will make historic investments across the country.

We are in the middle of a housing crisis, and I have worked hard for funding to assist this crisis that we have in housing. As chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee, I have considered this my responsibility.

It is not lost on me that more than 580,000 people experience homelessness on any given night, and millions of families are at this very moment sacrificing their next meal to pay the rent. Many more have been kept out of their dream of homeownership.

With more than $151 billion for housing in this bill, Democrats are helping families achieve housing stability and housing affordability.

Housing is infrastructure. The Build Back Better Act provides the largest investment in America's housing infrastructure in history. This investment is critical to creating a fair and equitable Nation where everyone can thrive.

As this bill goes to the Senate, in it we have $10 billion for first- generation home buyers; we have $25 billion in Section 8 rental assistance; we have $25 billion in the HOME program, CDBG, and the housing trust fund to build more affordable units.

So I would ask for support of this very significant legislation. It is indeed a game-changer. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the Build Back Better Act.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman McGovern for creating this opportunity for me to share a few remarks with you this evening.

For decades, we have failed to make the kinds of investments that allow families to access equal opportunities and communities to thrive, so I rise today in strong support of the Build Back Better Act to deliver the urgent investments our country needs to thrive.

I have spent my career fighting for the dignity of safe and decent homes for all. In 2019, I coined the phrase ``housing is infrastructure.'' It hasn't been easy getting to this point, but I am incredibly proud to discuss the more than $150 billion for housing investments included in today's bill that will create or preserve over 1 million homes.

These investments include $65 billion to repair and rebuild our Nation's public housing; $25 billion for new rental assistance to support hundreds of thousands of people struggling to afford rent and help people escape homelessness and domestic violence; $26 billion to create and preserve hundreds of thousands of affordable and accessible housing units; and $10 billion in downpayment assistance to make the dream of homeownership possible for the millions of first-generation home buyers.

Housing is at the heart of building back better.

Madam Speaker, I urge Members to vote ``yes'' and help make safe, decent, and affordable housing a reality for every family.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4111) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to direct the United States Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund to advocate that the Fund provide technical assistance to Fund members seeking to enhance their capacity to evaluate the legal and financial terms of sovereign debt contracts, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, the Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy held a hearing on China's lending practices and their impact on the international sovereign debt architecture. The hearing examined China's dominant position as the largest official creditor in the world, with China's outstanding claims larger than those of all other bilateral creditors combined. We also examined how China lends with respect to the terms and conditions China imposes on borrowing countries through its sovereign debt contracts.

Among the witnesses who testified were authors of a recent study that examined 100 China sovereign debt contracts, which found that since 2014, every sovereign debt contract examined contained strict nondisclosure requirements that prohibited the borrower from disclosing the terms of, and even the existence of, the debt itself.

Many of the contracts examined sought to elevate Chinese Government loans over other creditors by requiring the creation of China- controlled offshore collateral accounts and by explicitly prohibiting the debt from being included in any multilateral debt restructuring initiative.

The study also found a number of contracts with cross-default and accelerated payment provisions that give China substantial leverage over an array of domestic and foreign policy decisions that a borrowing country might undertake.

The absence of transparency not only prevents citizens from holding their governments accountable for their borrowing decisions, but it also obscures a country's true financial picture from other creditors, which can undermine sovereign debt rescheduling operations that are based on systems of trust and equitable burden sharing among all of a country's creditors.

For example, in Zambia, one of three countries that has applied for debt relief under the new G20 Common Framework initiative, new revelations about undisclosed Chinese debt nearly doubled its total official amount owed from $3.4 billion to $6.6 billion.

Opacity also creates greater opportunity for political capture and corruption and undermines debt risk management and surveillance work.

It was this context in which I introduced, with Ranking Member Patrick McHenry, H.R. 4111, the Sovereign Debt Contract Capacity Act, which directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States executive director at the International Monetary Fund to use the influence of the United States at the IMF to advocate that the Fund provide technical assistance to bolster the capacity of developing country debt managers to evaluate and negotiate both the financial and the legal terms in sovereign debt contracts.

It is important that this kind of capacity building also be available through multilateral channels like the IMF, which have a wider global reach. Multilateral approaches can also be more effective since national programs risk being perceived as an instrument of power politics and beholden to certain interest groups within a country.

To be sure, some countries sign bad contracts for the wrong reasons, including corruption and governance problems. In a country that is running up oppressive, hidden debt because its leaders are corrupt, training is not going to help a lot. But ensuring that technical assistance is available to any developing country that requests help in assessing the technical, legal complexities of sovereign debt contracts would be an important step in reform of the sovereign debt crisis management system.

Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

In closing, I want to note that H.R. 4111 also directs the U.S. to advocate for the IMF to develop and promote a shared understanding of standard terms and sound practices with respect to sovereign debt contracts.

Officials for countries that sign oppressive debt contracts are often told that the proposed terms are market standard where either there is no standard or where the standard is quite different from what is being proposed. This would be another positive reform of the sovereign debt architecture.

I would like to thank Ranking Member McHenry for working with me on this important bill. H.R. 4111 has been endorsed by Oxfam, Bread for the World, ONE, and the AFL-CIO.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2989) to amend securities and banking laws to make the information reported to financial regulatory agencies electronically searchable, to further enable the development of RegTech and Artificial Intelligence applications, to put the United States on a path towards building a comprehensive Standard Business Reporting program to ultimately harmonize and reduce the private sector's regulatory compliance burden, while enhancing transparency and accountability, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2989, the Financial Transparency Act of 2021.

As chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, I would like to thank Representative Maloney for her leadership on this bill, as well as Representative McHenry, the ranking member of the committee, for working on this bill in a bipartisan manner.

The Financial Transparency Act takes a proactive approach to modernizing our data standards and publication protocols within the financial services industry. This bill requires that the SEC, FDIC, OCC, CFPB, Federal Reserve, NCUA, and FHFA work with the Treasury Department to adopt data standards for the information it collects and to upgrade their reporting requirements so that reported data is stored in an open, searchable, and accessible manner.

The bill also ensures that these standards are created in a coordinated manner to enable searchability across these agencies, helping to catch bad actors more easily while promoting greater transparency and trust from the public in our financial system.

In this digital age, it is imperative that our regulators keep up with our rapidly changing financial markets and utilize technology in a way that safeguards our data while promoting the safety and soundness of our financial system. This bill puts the United States on equal footing with many other countries that already have begun using searchable data formats in submissions to regulators.

This commonsense bill would also benefit retail investors, as they will be able to search through publicly available documents, rather than having to manually save each document in order to extract the information they want.

In addition, companies that analyze this data will be able to more quickly report their findings to the public, helping better inform the investing public about the state of our capital markets.

H.R. 2989 will also benefit regulated entities, like banks, credit unions, asset managers, and public companies, as they will now have clearly delineated criteria and frameworks to upload their data, ensuring consistent data standards and the ability for financial institutions to do more efficient compliance tasks that must be performed manually today.

For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Agriculture,

Washington, DC, October 25, 2021.

Hon. Maxine Waters,

Chairwoman, Committee on Financial Services,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Madam Chairwoman: This letter confirms our mutual

understanding regarding H.R. 2989, the Financial Transparency

Act of 2021. Thank you for collaborating with the Committee

on Agriculture on the matters within our jurisdiction.

The Committee on Agriculture will forego any further

consideration of this bill so that it may proceed

expeditiously to the House floor for consideration. However,

by foregoing consideration at this time, we do not waive any

jurisdiction over any subject matter contained in this or

similar legislation. We request that our Committee be

consulted and involved as this bill moves forward so that we

may address any remaining issues in our jurisdiction. The

Committee on Agriculture also reserves the right to seek

appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any

House-Senate conference involving this or similar legislation

and ask that you support any such request.

We would appreciate a response to this letter confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 2989, and request

that a copy of our letters on this matter be published in the

Congressional Record during Floor consideration.

Sincerely,

David Scott,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time until Mrs. Wagner yields.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would again like to state that I support this bipartisan bill. The Financial Transparency Act of 2021 helps modernize our regulatory framework so that government, private industry, and the public all benefit.

Now more than ever, it makes sense for Congress to harness technology in a manner that provides greater transparency, accountability, and efficiency, and this bill does exactly that.

I want to thank Representative Maloney and Ranking Member McHenry for working with my staff in a bipartisan manner to get this bill across the finish line.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2265) to amend the Investment Company Act of 1940 to postpone the date of payment or satisfaction upon redemption of certain securities in the case of the financial exploitation of specified adults, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and insert extraneous material thereon.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2265, the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act of 2021, sponsored by the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner).

It is not a surprise that adults over the age of 65 are sometimes the targets for financial exploitation and have become victims of financial crimes more than any other demographic. Just last week, in its annual report on elder fraud and abuse, the Department of Justice reported that in 2020 alone, seniors suffered over $1 billion in financial losses due to fraud.

Unlike other adults, seniors are often dependent on their savings to support them in retirement, making any fraud that much harder to recover from. Brokers and investment managers, who often stand in as the stewards of the savings of seniors, are in a unique position to protect elders from financial crimes.

In 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission released a policy letter, called a no-action letter, stating that the Commission would not take an enforcement action against the agents of an investment company, including mutual funds, if the person paused a payment or redemption based on the suspicion of financial exploitation. This pause on cashing out the savings of a senior can provide invaluable time to ensure that the redemption is consistent with the will of the senior.

H.R. 2265 would codify this SEC letter. It would also make two further changes to describe how a mutual fund adviser can establish the process at each fund to protect seniors.

I thank Mrs. Wagner for working with my staff to craft the language in this bill. This is a helpful piece of legislation that will provide one more tool to market participants to protect investors and, in particular, our Nation's retirees.

I urge Members to support H.R. 2265, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further Democratic speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5142) to award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal, in commemoration to the servicemembers who perished in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021, during the evacuation of citizens of the United States and Afghan allies at Hamid Karzai International Airport, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Member may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I simply ask all of my colleagues, all the Members of this House, to support this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on my Special Order, and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Mr. Speaker, last month, the House Financial Services Committee Democrats unanimously passed the housing title of the Build Back Better Act to provide $327 billion in critical investments needed to affordably house America and invest in neighborhoods across the country.

With the inclusion of my committee's housing title, the Build Back Better Act will create over 3 million affordable and accessible homes. It will fully address the needed repairs in public housing so residents can safely live in their homes with dignity.

It will help an estimated 750,000 households afford their rent or exit homelessness through expanded housing choice vouchers. It will address the racial wealth gap by helping first-generation home buyers access homeownership. These investments will help the schoolteacher experiencing homelessness; the children exposed to lead and other harmful toxins in their homes; the elderly neighbor who can't afford their prescription medications on a fixed income because the rent and mortgage is too high; the millennial who cannot rely on the bank of mom and dad for a downpayment to purchase their first home; and the millions of families that hang in the balance of imminent eviction or foreclosure due to the pandemic.

Just today, my committee heard from several witnesses on the importance of the housing choice voucher program and how transformational it can be for a family to receive this assistance. Harvard Professor Raj Chetty testified about his research showing that children whose families received a housing choice voucher to move to low-poverty neighborhoods later in life earned 30 percent more than children who remained in high-poverty neighborhoods. Another witness testified about how the voucher program helps his clients escape homelessness and achieve housing stability.

Housing is at the center of every household's economic stability and our Nation's prosperity. Without these investments in resilient, healthy, accessible, and fair housing, the Build Back Better Act will not improve the lives of families across the country, as we have promised it will.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to try, in the best way that I possibly can, to describe what is happening in the Congress of the United States of America. This build back mission, this act, is the vision of the President of the United States of America. President Biden has taken the leadership for job creation. He has taken the leadership to deal with some of the equity issues in this country. He has taken the leadership to do everything that can be done to ensure that we invest in the human potential of the citizens of this country.

He is doing everything that he can to deal with the pandemic, and he is unearthing and revealing the softness in our economy, in our society, prior to that pandemic, and this is difficult work. This is not easy.

Of course, eventually, we had to deal with the fact that we have some who were resisting the mission of the President to build back better.

At one point in time, I know there was some talk about a $600 trillion bill. And, of course, we have heard most about a $327 trillion bill. So at this point in time, we don't have the cooperation in order to realize the President's mission and vision about what it takes in order to support the citizens of this country in a way that will help to change their lives.

However, this is transformative. This is the kind of legislation that the President of the United States has developed and worked with because he

understands what it takes to strengthen the economy, to create jobs, to open up opportunities, to deal with rental assistance, and all of these issues.

Unfortunately, there are two members of the Democratic Party on the Senate side who do not agree. It has taken us a long time to understand what it is they want, what it is they don't want. But in the final analysis, they do not, at this point in time, support the President's vision.

However, those of us who chair committees worked very hard on our portion of the Build Back Better Act. I, as the chair of the Financial Services Committee, worked very hard with our staff in order to identify what is absolutely needed in order to support housing in a real way in this country. Housing issues that have been disregarded, that have not been paid attention to, housing issues that have gone unattended to for so many years, in that, of course, we dealt with public housing and the fact that they were in great disrepair, and they needed the resources necessary to fix those elevators; in order to get the lead out of the paint; in order to make sure that the stairways are safe.

I am reminded of the fact that Ms. Velazquez from New York called me from one of the public housing developments last winter when there was no heat in the entire development.

So this money is desperately needed for the capital investments that we need to do in public housing. But not only do we deal with public housing, we deal with the fact that there are people who work every day but cannot afford the rents. We deal with people who are paying 50 percent of their income for rent. We deal with people who are on the ground in makeshift tents every day, homeless all over America.

One of the issues that has become very important to me is the choice voucher issue. So in addition to the $80 billion that we advocated for public housing, there is another $90 billion that we advocated for the vouchers. This includes not only choice vouchers. It includes project- based vouchers so that we can develop more affordable units.

Of course, we recognized what the cities wanted, what they have been dealing with, and what they believe will improve their ability to assist those who are trying to get safely housed. That is the HOME program that the cities love. That is the CDBG program and those programs we funded. In addition to that, I want you to know that Barney Frank and I worked for years in order to come up with the National Housing Trust Fund. So we had $36 billion that we put into that.

Now, given that we don't know what the top line is in the Build Back Better Act, and we don't know exactly whether or not our Senators on the opposite side--on the Democratic side or the opposite side--will honor this vision and this leadership of the President. So without knowing what the top line is, we know that probably we are all going to have to take cuts in all the areas that we have worked so hard for.

I am certainly prepared to accept our share of that responsibility. I know that cuts have to be made, but they have to be made fairly. And so there was a rumor that there was going to be zero dollars advocated to these choice vouchers and project-based vouchers, and, of course, that made me very unhappy. That caused me to have great concern. I have been working, organizing press conferences, working with the advocates, working with academicians and everybody to help the administration and everybody else understand that we cannot do without adequate vouchers for the people who are in such desperate need of rental assistance.

Everywhere all over the United States, particularly in Black and Brown communities, people have been waiting for years to be able to get these vouchers. And so we have a time now by which we are going to be funding some of what is needed in housing, and at the top of my list are the vouchers.

I want everybody to know that I have been talking with members of our Caucus and I have been talking with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. We are not backing away from getting a substantial number of vouchers funded. I am not going to back away. I am not going to be shy about it.

As a matter of fact, I will let the world know that I and others that I have organized will not vote for any bill that does not have a substantial number of vouchers in it so that we can deal with the longstanding issues of a lack of decent and safe and secure housing in our communities.

I don't need to say any more. All I need to let people know is, I am fair. I accept cuts across many of these areas that I have worked so hard for, but I do not want my number one issue in all of this housing to be undermined, neglected. And I do not want the people of our districts who expect their government to come to their aid when they are coming to the aid of others in so many ways--and I respect the fact that in our Caucus and in the Progressive Caucus, we have about five different kinds of interests that we want to see supported. I, tonight, am talking about housing. But I respect the agenda of the Progressive Caucus and the five areas that they have identified. But for me, housing is number one.

I will now call on those who are participating this evening.

I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver), who is also my friend and chair of the Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres), my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), who is also the Chair of the Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke).

Mr. Speaker, I believe our time has been exhausted. I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the rule, which would

pass the House's budget resolution. The budget resolution will make historic investments in housing in this country.

We are in the middle of a housing crisis. As chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee, it is not lost on me that more than 580,000 people experience homelessness on any given night, while millions of families are, at this moment, paying the bulk of their income toward rent.

The bottom line is that housing is infrastructure. This is why I introduced groundbreaking legislation, the Housing Is Infrastructure Act of 2021, to provide more than $600 billion to address our country's affordable housing crisis, increase first-generation homeownership, and end homelessness.

While the budget resolution only allocates $339 billion to the Financial Services Committee, this funding is still historic and will transform the lives of millions of families. However, we must first pass the budget resolution so that we can then pass the President's Build Back Better agenda, including this historic funding for housing programs.

This rule also brings us one step closer to the critical House passage of H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

This President is going to bring all of the Americans who want to come home, home.