Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, I regret not being present for two vote sessions. Had I been present, I would have voted in support of the Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Extension Act of 2017, H.R. 4465, Roll Call No. 103, and against the Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act of 2018, H.R. 5247, Roll Call No. 102.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to thank the gentlewoman, Maxine Waters, for her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1116, the TAILOR Act. This bill requires regulators on the FFIEC to reduce the scale and scope of their regulations based on the size and profile of a financial institution or class of institutions.

Let me be clear: Like many of the bill's supporters, I strongly believe that we should not take a one-size-fits-all approach to financial regulation. Financial regulation must be appropriately adjusted according to the size and complexity of an institution or class of institutions. That is why Democrats worked so hard to create these flexibilities in Dodd-Frank and regulators are already required to adjust their rules accordingly. For example, the CFPB has exempted community banks from many of the requirements under the qualified mortgage rule, and the Federal Reserve has developed different capital standards for banks based on size.

Moreover, we already have laws like the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act that instructs Federal financial regulators to go through extensive look-back reviews to update and improve their regulations. So while I agree that it is necessary to review and update our regulatory framework from time to time, particularly for our smaller institutions, I oppose H.R. 1116 because the reviews required under the bill tilt too far in the industry's favor and fail to provide sufficient protection to the public's or the consumer's interest.

If enacted, this bill will provide our Nation's largest financial institutions with the opportunity to challenge any revised rulemaking in court if they felt a regulation was not uniquely tailored to meet their business needs. The bill also requires regulators to ignore the requirements of Dodd-Frank and other laws and subjects any future financial regulation to vague and impossible standards like appropriateness and necessity. These standards are undefined in the bill, making it very easy for a financial institution to challenge them in court.

Perhaps most importantly, the bill makes no mention of regulators also considering the protection a current or future regulation has for consumers or the benefit it provides to our Nation's financial stability.

Instead of developing sweeping rollbacks of financial regulation, we should instead spend our time working to improve our regulatory framework

in order to ensure it maintains appropriate protections and safeguards for consumers, investors, and taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this ill-advised bill.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, February 27, 2018, I regret not being present for two vote sessions. During both instances, I was with my constituents and the meeting extended longer than expected. It prevented me from making it to the House floor on time to submit the first vote in each series.

Had I been present, I would have voted in support of the Democratic Motion to Recommit H.R. 4296, Roll Call No. 88, and against the Motion to Table the Appeal of the Ruling of the Chair, Roll Call No. 83.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Girl Scout Troop 2672 and especially Samantha Roberts, Elena Marquez, Dahlia Sussman, and Zola Coppa for raising money to help children in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Their event was a big success, and I applaud them for their creativity and dedication. Puerto Rico needs all the help it can get--and these young leaders are to be commended for helping the Island's residents during these difficult times.

By engaging fellow students to raise money at a bowling event, Troop 2672 was able to rally a community around an important cause. It is inspiring to see young people identifying a purpose and then taking meaningful steps to help.

Puerto Rico and New York City have long shared a powerful bond, and it is too often forgotten that the people of Puerto Rico are American citizens. The efforts of these dedicated Girl Scouts are an important reminder that we cannot turn our backs on the Island.

It is great to see young women taking leadership roles and making a difference in both their local communities and for Puerto Rico. My best wishes to Troop 2672 as they continue the school year and Girl Scout activities and projects. I am heartened by their resolve and inspired by their desire to lend a helping hand. These young leaders make all New Yorkers proud.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1457, the Making Online Banking Initiation Legal and Easy, or MOBILE, Act, permits financial institutions to copy or scan a consumer's driver's license or personal ID card when a consumer decides to obtain a financial product or service.

At a time when more Americans are conducting their business online and through their phones, the MOBILE Act will help expand access to banking products and financial services for those consumers who do not have access to a traditional brick-and-mortar financial institution by allowing consumers to utilize their smartphones to open a checking or savings account.

While financial inclusion has increased significantly over the past 20 years, still, too many Americans do not get their basic financial needs met by traditional financial service providers. For example, in June 2016, the Obama administration released a report indicating that about 7 percent of American households still lack access to a bank account, and another 20 percent supplement their bank account with nontraditional financial services like check cashing or payday loans.

Technological innovations in the financial industry and commonsense proposals like the MOBILE Act here in Congress will continue to help us close this gap. The bill will expand credit opportunities for consumers who cannot easily get to a bank in person and provides them access to innovative new products that can improve their overall financial health.

An amendment in the nature of a substitute was adopted in committee that makes the MOBILE Act even stronger, and I want to thank Mr. Tipton for putting these improvements forward.

These improvements require financial institutions to permanently delete copies of consumers' ID cards within a reasonable amount of time after they have opened the account, made clarifying changes to better harmonize the bill's requirements with Federal bank secrecy laws, and recognized identification cards issued by federally recognized Indian Tribes as an acceptable identification card.

Perhaps most importantly, the bill also prohibits financial institutions from selling or otherwise sharing the personally identifiable information they collect from consumers with unaffiliated third parties.

The bill is supported by several financial technology and industry groups, including the Innovative Lending Platform Association and the Financial Services Roundtable.

Again, in a day and age when more and more Americans are conducting their business online and through their smartphones but still continue to lack access to traditional banking services and financial products, we need to be doing all we can to simplify the process and encourage account openings through these platforms.

The MOBILE Act is a strong step in that direction, and I have been proud to join the bill as a cosponsor. I encourage Members to vote ``yes.''

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

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

Mr. Speaker, currently, the Home Owners' Loan Act imposes limitations on the portfolio mix of loans and investments that a thrift institution can make. Such limitations include the amount of commercial and consumer loans that a thrift can hold and a requirement that they hold a certain percentage of qualified thrift investments. These restrictions are not currently faced by national banks and other financial institutions.

If a thrift decides that it wants to engage in more commercial lending or otherwise seeks to expand its product offerings beyond what is allowed under current law, they have to undergo a time-consuming process of converting the stock form of their organization in order to apply for a national bank charter. For smaller thrifts in particular, the charter conversion process can be costly.

H.R. 1426 solves this problem by amending the Home Owners' Loan Act and creating an election process for thrifts to operate as a national bank without having to convert their charter to a national bank.

This proposal originated from former Comptroller Curry in 2014 to give thrifts flexibility with respect to the current limitations on the amount of commercial and consumer loans that a thrift can hold.

While the terms and conditions of a charter are important, we should be careful about blurring lines. Therefore, I am pleased that the OCC can reject providing the flexibility to a particular thrift under this bill and can take other supervisory actions to promote safety and soundness.

According to the FDIC, there were 768 thrifts as of last September, compared to nearly 5,000 State and national banks, and all but 15 of these thrifts have less than $10 billion in assets, which underscores that this bill will mostly help small institutions better serve their communities.

Former Comptroller Curry described the proposal as a tool for enabling ``Federal thrifts to diversify their loan portfolios, maintain their Federal charter, and retain the OCC as their regulator.''

I thank Mr. Rothfus and Mr. Himes for introducing this bipartisan bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Kihuen).

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2255, the HOME Act introduced by Mr. Trott and Mr. Himes amends the Truth in Lending Act to allow fee appraisers to voluntarily donate their appraisals to non-profit groups without violating the requirement that lenders and their agents compensate fee appraisers at a rate that is customary and reasonable.

Historically, appraisal services relating to no- or low-interest mortgage loans that were provided by non-profit organizations or to families often had to be donated by professional appraisers in the community and considered permissible charitable donations for tax purposes.

However, such non-profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity, have raised concerns this provision reduced the number of families it could serve because the voluntary donation of appraisal services could now be interpreted as a violation of the TILA's ``customary and reasonable'' fee requirement.

While the CFPB--under the direction of former-Director Richard Cordray--has already provided non-profit organizations like Habitat with informal guidance suggesting that the ``customary and reasonable'' provision does not apply to donated appraisals because the appraiser is no longer a ``fee appraiser'' in this circumstance, these organizations have continued to raise concerns and are seeking further clarity.

Specifically, non-profit organizations continue to raise concerns that they remain vulnerable to enforcement actions because this guidance appears to be inconsistent with the common industry usage of the term ``fee appraiser''; they also contend that it remains unclear whether or not other agencies would align with the CFPB's interpretation.

Thus, this bill provides the non-profits with the certainty they are seeking, and builds upon the great work already done by former Director Cordray by clarifying appraisers can voluntarily donate their appraisal services without violating TILA's ``customary and reasonable'' fee provision.

The HOME Act passed our Committee earlier this month with broad bipartisan support, and I was proud to support it.

Also included in H.R. 2255, are two other pieces of legislation that passed our Committee with strong bipartisan support.

First, the Senior Safe Act, introduced by Ms. Sinema, which provides employees at financial institutions with immunity when voluntarily disclosing the possible financial abuse of elders to state and federal regulators, law enforcement, and adult protective services agencies.

And second is H.R. 4281, introduced by Mr. Kihuen which would enhance capital opportunities for our nation's rural small businesses by requiring the SEC's Office of the Small Businesses Advocate to develop policies and recommend steps Congress can take to drive private investment to our nation's rural small businesses.

As Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, I have a strong understanding of the capital challenges our nation's rural small businesses face and I am proud to cosponsor Mr. Kihuen's legislation.

Mr. Speaker, the inclusion of both Ms. Sinema's and Mr. Kihuen's legislation only enhances what was already a strong bipartisan measure.

Therefore, I recommend a ``Yes'' vote.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is straightforward, commonsense legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Zeldin for working with Democrats to make improvements to the bill.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by thanking both Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters for working with me on this legislation and moving it onto the floor. This has truly been a bipartisan effort.

My bill, H.R. 4792, the Small Business Access to Capital After a Natural Disaster Act, is simple and straightforward.

One of the most important functions of the SEC's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation is to develop proposals and recommend changes to Congress that will promote the interests of small businesses and their investors, mitigate their problems, and help them secure access to credit.

When we created the Advocate's Office in 2016, we specifically charged it with looking into the unique challenges facing minority- and women-owned small businesses. My bill requires the advocate to now also consider the unique challenges that small businesses affected by hurricanes or other natural disasters have with securing access to credit and work to promote their interests.

I developed this legislation because, as ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, I understand that small businesses are the lifeblood of many communities around the country, and I have witnessed firsthand the terrible impact hurricanes and other natural disasters can have on the economic outlook for small businesses.

For example, in 2012, Superstorm Sandy ripped through the tristate area and decimated many communities along the New Jersey and New York coasts. Toms River, New Jersey, was considered ground zero for the storm.

Half a decade later, the Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce reports that the small businesses in that community are still trying to recover at a cost of $600 million in lost ratables, even at this point.

For small businesses in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands trying to recover from the effects of Hurricane Maria, the situation is much worse.

2017 was the costliest year on record for weather and climate disasters in the United States, and the effects of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico's small businesses are unprecedented.

Nelson Ramirez, the president of the Centro Unido de Detallistas, a small business advocacy group in San Juan, estimates two-thirds of the island's roughly 45,000 small and midsize businesses have closed at least temporarily, and as many as 10,000 will never reopen.

Small and midsized businesses represent 90 percent of the private companies on the island and about one-third of the workforce. In October, the Puerto Rican Retail Trade Association revealed that a study conducted by economists estimated that the island's small business sector will lose $8.9 billion in a period of 6 months due to a lack of electricity on the island.

But while the situation in Puerto Rico is unprecedented, this legislation is about more than just Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. This legislation will serve to drive capital to other areas of our Nation impacted by hurricanes and other natural disasters this past season including Texas; Florida; the U.S. Virgin Islands; and California, which is facing the effects of devastating wildfires and mudslides.

Ninety-nine percent of the companies in Houston are considered small businesses, and most of them do not have the same economic resources as the State's massive oil and medical industries. As a result, these businesses face

a long and expensive road to recovery. This legislation seeks to shorten that distance for those businesses as well.

FEMA estimates that nearly 40 percent of small businesses never reopen after a disaster. Therefore, developing strategies to drive private capital to a community's small business is one of the most efficient uses of private sector capital and one of the most effective ways we in the Federal Government can help an area recover.

Nearly 4 months after Hurricane Maria, the Puerto Rican economy is at a near standstill and thousands of the island's small businesses are teetering towards insolvency. The businesses in southeast Texas, Florida, the Virgin Islands, and California face tough situations as well, and we must do all that we can to help them recover.

Mr. Speaker, I again want to thank Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters for working with me on this important legislation, which passed our committee earlier this month on a wide bipartisan basis, 57- 0. I also want to thank Representatives Green, Sinema, and Plaskett for cosponsoring this legislation with me.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to vote ``yes'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, as Republicans demonstrate their inability to fund the Federal Government, 700,000 young people are left with an uncertain future. These DREAMers exemplify what is best about America. They have served in our military. They have built businesses and contributed to our communities.

This administration has waged an all-out assault on these young people, placing them in jeopardy and sowing fear that they will be sent back to countries that they do not even know. And now Republicans in Congress are turning their back on these young people as well.

We could have passed a fix to this problem as part of a government funding bill. That would have been a bipartisan solution, and it would have been supported by the vast majority of the American people.

Eighty-seven percent of Americans say DREAMers should be allowed to stay in the United States, yet President Trump is holding these young people hostage for a useless and offensive border wall. This is unconscionable.

We have a moral obligation to act. Congress needs to stay here and have an open vote on a clean DREAM Act. That is our moral obligation.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3326, the World Bank Accountability Act of 2017.

Let me be clear, from the outset, that I support the World Bank and its mission. The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries. It works to reduce poverty and support development around the globe.

Let me also be clear that I support this bill's authorization of $3.29 billion to the World Bank's International Development Association, which provides grants and very low-interest loans to the poorest 77 countries on the planet. These countries use this funding for a wide array of investments in areas like education, health, public administration, infrastructure, and resource development, but when I voted for this bill in committee, I joined the ranking member and the rest of my Democratic colleagues in making clear that my support was dependent on working together on making changes to the bill as we moved to the floor.

This is about the right of the minority to provide meaningful input into legislation, and that was an agreement that we struck before we voted on the bill.

Despite Democrats' best efforts, that did not happen, and there continue to be provisions in this bill that need to be addressed.

For example, the bill calls for withholding 30 percent of the U.S. contribution to IDA in any year over a 6-year period in which the Treasury Secretary cannot certify to Congress that the World Bank has adopted or is taking steps to implement two sets of reforms mandated in the bill.

In addition, if the Treasury Department cannot report that the World Bank has met either or both of these reforms in any given year, the bill forces U.S. funding to the World Bank to be withheld and makes it more difficult for the World Bank to implement these reforms going forward.

As currently drafted, this bill reflects a total misunderstanding of how the international system works. Multilateral institutions, like the World Bank, which we set up, require sustained U.S. involvement and leadership.

It is unrealistic to think that the U.S. can impose its will on the World Bank. Withholding funds is not an effective approach to reform. The only way to achieve the reforms we are seeking at the World Bank is through our participation and commitment.

At times like this, we must not retreat from our involvement or responsibility on the world stage.

Placing restrictions on our involvement or undermining international efforts that promote growth and reduce poverty is not something that we should support.

Mr. Chairman, I encourage every Member in the House to vote ``no'' on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this tax scam bill. Not only will it harm working families across the Nation, but it will visit another hurricane on Puerto Rico: an economic hurricane.

Today, Puerto Rico is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis. More than 235,000 of its people have already fled the island for the mainland.

After Maria, many of my colleagues--from Speaker Ryan to Leader McCarthy--went to Puerto Rico and promised they would assist the island and help them recover. Instead, what they are doing is finding a way to further drive Puerto Rico's economy into the ground.

Even though it is part of the United States--remember, since 1898, when military forces invaded Puerto Rico--this bill treats Puerto Rico as a foreign jurisdiction, levying new taxes on corporations operating there, creating incentives for them to leave the island and take jobs with them.

Let's be clear. Puerto Ricans are American citizens. They fight in our wars, many of them laying down their lives for our freedoms, yet this bill continues treating Puerto Rico differently than the rest of the United States.

For decades, decisions made right here in this body hollowed out, weakened, and undermined Puerto Rico's economy. This tax bill continues that awful tradition, undercutting Puerto Rico's economy once more.

All told, these tax provisions will cost Puerto Rico more than 200,000 jobs, at exactly the time when the island needs all the help it can get.

While this tax scam would hurt Puerto Rico, it also does nothing to help. While they had talked of it, there is nothing to expand the child tax credit for Puerto Rico. They eliminated the meager extensions of section 199 and rum cover-over provisions contained in the House version.

The Speaker of the House and the Republican leader went to Puerto Rico. They looked the people of Puerto Rico in the eye and made promises to help them.

That is how you help Puerto Rico?

What we are seeing is that their tax bill would serve simply to crush Puerto Rico's economy.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is morally bankrupt. It harms American citizens everywhere. It kicks Puerto Rico when it is down. It must be rejected. Vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, after Hurricane Maria, Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, including the Republican leadership, went to Puerto Rico. They looked the Puerto Rican people in the eye and promised to help.

This bill betrays that promise. It treats Puerto Rico as a foreign jurisdiction, levying new taxes on companies operating there, creating incentives for them to leave the island. All told, these provisions will cost Puerto Rico more than 200,000 jobs.

That is how they help Puerto Rico?

This bill is morally bankrupt. It harms American citizens everywhere, especially the 3.5 American citizens in Puerto Rico. Vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to thank Ranking Member Waters for her extraordinary leadership on these issues.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2396, the Privacy Notification Technical Clarification Act.

This bill claims to amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt vehicle finance companies from providing customers with annual privacy statements if the company hasn't released recently changed its policies and practices and the company makes its policy available online.

But this bill goes far beyond providing a small exemption and tailored flexibility to captives and vehicle finance companies, as the proponents of this bill will have you believe, and something I am really ready to support. This bill will exempt all financial institutions from providing customers with annual privacy notices.

As currently drafted, under the bill, financial institutions such as payday lenders, check cash servicers, and large institutions like Wells Fargo are exempted from providing annual privacy notices and are unconstrained on who they can share their customers' personal information with. This goes far beyond the original intent of the bill.

As we have seen in the growing number of data breaches at companies like Equifax, the protection of consumers' personal information is something Congress must consider carefully.

While I continue to think that it makes sense for captive auto finance companies to have some degree of flexibility, to the extent they only share customers' personal information with the dealership, this legislation is far too broad.

Mr. Speaker, to that end, I ask my colleagues to oppose this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of a man whose heroic legacy must never be forgotten.

At a time when the stakes could not have been higher, Rabbi Weissmandl risked everything to save the Jewish people of Slovakia from the horrors of the Nazi regime. Forming an underground organization called the Working Group, Weissmandl led an effort to bribe German officials, ultimately succeeding to delay mass deportations.

We cannot emphasize enough the great personal risk Rabbi Weissmandl took on. Had he bribed the wrong official or approached a Hitler supporter, he would have been killed. Yet, despite that real danger, he persevered and demonstrated an unyielding determination to stop the slaughter of the innocent.

In 1945, Weissmandl reached the shores of America, ultimately settling in New York. Even after the war, he worked to improve Holocaust survivors' lives by establishing the first Yeshiva campus in America.

Mr. Speaker, Rabbi Weissmandl is truly a hero. At great personal risk during the darkest of times, he helped those who were desperate. It is only appropriate we honor him with the highest civilian honor, a Congressional Gold Medal.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Weissmandl's legacy by cosponsoring H.R. 2740.