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HFSC Markup

House Financial Services Committee

Markup

Wednesday, June 22 – Thursday, June 23, 2022

Topline

  • All ten Markup bills were passed by the Committee. These included the Close the ILC Loophole Act, the Promoting Opportunities for Non-Traditional Capital Formation Act, and the Risk-Based Credit Examination Act.

Legislation Considered

  • R. 68, the “Housing Fairness Act of 2021”
  • H. 3111, the “Grandfamily Housing Act of 2021”
  • R. 4495, the “Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2021”
  • R. 4586, the “Risk-Based Credit Examination Act”
  • R. 5912, the “Close the ILC Loophole Act”
  • R. 6528, the “Housing Temperature Safety Act of 2022”
  • R. 6814, the “Small Business Fair Debt Collection Protection Act”
  • R. 7195, to provide for certain whistleblower incentives and protections
  • R. 7977, the “Promoting Opportunities for Non-Traditional Capital Formation Act”
  • R. 7981, the “Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act of 2022”

Opening Statements

Chairman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)

In her opening statement, Waters said a number of the bills being discussed would reduce housing costs, save lives, put consumers first, and support entrepreneurs and whistleblowers. She also said the bills will address rising inflation by reducing the cost of housing, preventing corporate price gouging, and holding bad actors accountable.

Ranking Member Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.)

In his opening statement, McHenry said the U.S. is in a crisis regarding inflation, supply chain, labor shortage, and housing but that none of the Markup bills would address these key issues because they would not bring down the cost of food, gas, or housing.

H.R. 68, the “Housing Fairness Act of 2021”

Rep. Al Green (D-Tex.) introduced the bill and his Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS), which would establish a grant program to assist nonprofit organizations in studying issues concerning housing discrimination, residential segregation of lower income populations, and community displacement and the Fair Housing Act.

Reps. Roger Williams (R-Texas), Bryan Steil (Wis.), French Hill (R-Ark.), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Miss.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), and McHenry expressed their opposition to the bill. Reps. Al Green (D-Texas), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Ill.), Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), and Waters expressed their support for the legislation.

The Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to and reported favorably to the House by a recorded vote of 29-24.

H.R. 3111, the “Grandfamily Housing Act of 2021”

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) introduced the bill and Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS), which would establish a program to provide grants to owners of intergenerational dwelling units by submitting an application to the Secretary containing specific information and require an owner of an intergenerational dwelling that receives a grant to engage with intergenerational families in the community that surround the grant recipient’s property.

Luetkemeyer opposed the bill and introduced an Amendment to the ANS that he believed would address the issue of rising inflation and decreasing wages. Luetkemeyer’s Amendment was not agreed to with a recorded vote of 27-24.

Pressley’s Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to by voice vote and reported favorably to the House by a recorded vote of 29-24.

H.R. 4495, the “Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2021”

Rep. Waters introduced the bill and Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS), which would require states that receive grants, subject to limitations, under the program to financially assist qualified first generation homebuyers with acquiring owner-occupied primary residences through the state’s housing finance agency or other appropriate housing agency and also provide $100 billion in financial assistance to first generation homebuyers who are first in their families to buy a home and who had parents that lost their homes due to foreclosure or were foster children. Pressley supported the bill and its aim to address discrimination and close racial equity gaps.

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) introduced an Amendment to the ANS to address commodities, such as baby formula shortages, inflation, and supply chain issues. Waters rejected the Amendment for not being relevant to the underlying bill. However, Wagner appealed Waters ruling, and Waters tabled the appeal with a voice vote. The motion was adopted and the appeal was tabled with a 24-23 recorded vote.

Waters’ Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to and the amended bill was reported favorably to the House by a recorded vote of 28-23.

H.R. 4586, the “Risk-Based Credit Examination Act”

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) introduced the bill and Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS), which would empower the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to effectively oversee credit rating agencies. Wagner stated this bill makes the required criteria for annual reporting risk-based, which would alleviate the burden on small credit agencies. Steil and Maloney expressed their support for the bill.

The Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to and reported favorably to the House by a voice vote.

H.R. 5912, the “Close the ILC Loophole Act”

Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.) introduced the bill and Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS), which would restrict the exemption from certain banking regulations applicable to industrial loan companies (ILC) approved to receive deposit insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on or before September 23, 2021, or companies with a pending application on or before September 23, 2021, allow commercial companies to operate ILCs, close the ILC loophole, grandfather existing ILCs with enhanced supervision, and provide a fair process for considering pending ILC applications.

The Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to and reported favorably to the House by a recorded vote of 28-25.

H.R. 6528, the “Housing Temperature Safety Act of 2022”

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) introduced the bill and Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS), which would require each public housing agency and owner of a covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit that receives one or more temperature sensors to collect and retain information about temperature related complaints and violations. Waters expressed her support for the bill.

The Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to and reported favorably to the House by a voice vote.

H.R. 6814, the “Small Business Fair Debt Collection Protection Act”

Rep. Al Lawson (D-Fla.) introduced the bill and Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS), which would extend protections under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to small businesses with loans or obligations that are less than $2.5 million so that debt collectors have guardrails on what they can do to collect these debts. Lawson stated this bill would protect small business from the harassment of third party debt collectors, essentially providing small businesses the same protections as consumers under federal law.

Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) opposed the bill in favor of an Amendment to the ANS, which would delay the legislation’s effective date until the Fed achieves an inflation target of 2%. Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) opposed Barr’s amendment and supported the bill.

Barr’s Amendment to the ANS was not agreed to with a recorded vote of 28-25.

Lawson’s Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to by voice vote and the amended bill was reported favorably to the House by a recorded vote of 29-24.

H.R. 7195, to provide for certain whistleblower incentives and protections

Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) introduced the bill and Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS), which would require one or more whistleblowers to receive limited monetary awards for voluntarily providing original information leading to the successful enforcement of the covered judicial or administrative action.

Reps. Anthony Gonzales (R-Ohio) and Waters expressed their support for the bill.

The Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to and reported favorably to the House by a voice vote.

H.R. 7977, the “Promoting Opportunities for Non-Traditional Capital Formation Act”

Rep. Waters introduced the bill and Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS), which would require the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation at the SEC to assist traditionally undeserved small business and those led by entrepreneurs of color in raising funding from securities markets.

Waters said small businesses owned by people of color in rural areas encounter challenges to securing funding from traditional sources like banks and friends and family and have less access to venture capital. She discussed the need to leverage nontraditional capital formation avenues to continue to expand and grow small businesses.

Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) offered an Amendment to the ANS providing that until the SEC determines that inflation has returned to 2% per year, provisions of bill should not take effect. Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.V.) agreed with Huizenga and spoke about high gas prices. Waters opposed and Barr supported Huizenga’s Amendment.

Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.) introduced an Amendment to address small business affected by hurricanes and natural disasters. Waters supported the Amendment, which was agreed to by voice vote.

Huizenga’s Amendment to the ANS was not agreed to by a recorded vote of 28-24.

Waters’ Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to by voice vote and the amended bill was reported favorably to the House with a recorded vote of 29-24.

H.R. 7981, the “Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act of 2022”

Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) introduced the bill and Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS), which would require public housing agencies to install a smoke alarm in accordance with codes and standards published by the International Code Council or the National Fire Protection Association, and requirements of the National Fire Protection Association Standard 72 or other successor standards. Waters expressed her support for the bill, stating that it would help families better understand fire safety features through a national campaign.

The Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to and reported favorably to the House by a voice vote.

For more information on this hearing, please click here.

For an archive of past SIFMA hearing coverage, please click here.