Maxine Waters
Representative for California · Democratic · United States
“After all, my friend knows that today is Dodd-Frank's birthday, and he is the skunk at the party. There is so much that we could point out that the average citizen knows in dealing with their banks. The average citizen is tired of being treated in the way that they are treated by their banks.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, proponents say this bill is just for community banks, but here we have another example of the Big Banks sneaking in their rollbacks. I have four postings from the Bank Policy Institute, which represents all of the largest banks, like Wells Fargo.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I have another letter that says: ``This dangerous bank deregulation package would undermine core safeguards and supervision, push risk into the shadows, and make the next publicly financed bailout more likely.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Moreover, it is deceptive to suggest that banks need merchant banks to make affordable housing and small business investments, because most banks can and do extend commercial credit for these purposes already.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Even Chairwoman Foxx admitted that this bill is all about deregulation and rolling back Dodd-Frank, a law she said she strongly dislikes. Chairman Hill said they received drafting assistance from Trump's regulators and banks, but not from organizations that represent workers or consumers. Mr. Speaker, we are not stupid.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“6955 The bill's supporters argue that H.R. 6955 will help local banks. What the bill actually does is weaken fair lending transparency, reduce CRA and HMDA accountability, make bank mergers easier, limit meaningful community input, and make supervision more difficult.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
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“Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Now is not the time to juice the mega banks' profit margins. Now is not the time to legitimize Trump's efforts to gut the CFPB, fair lending, and other consumer protections. Again, I am so proud and pleased with the work we did in a bipartisan manner. I am so proud and pleased that we were able to negotiate through some very tough times. I am so proud to announce that we had to give some, and we took some. They gave some, and we worked it out. I don't know exactly what they are being told by Trump, but I know Trump is in charge, and he is charging a lot of what is going on. I urge my colleagues to please vote ``no'' on this bill, and support the citizens, support their constituents, not Wall Street. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Even Chairwoman Foxx admitted that this bill is all about deregulation and rolling back Dodd-Frank, a law she said she strongly dislikes. Chairman Hill said they received drafting assistance from Trump's regulators and banks, but not from organizations that represent workers or consumers. Mr. Speaker, we are not stupid. We understand that Trump controls all of his so-called organizations that are independent. He tells them what to do. We get that. He is in control. He is running this country. Those people who are selected to run these so-called independent agencies are those who will do nothing but what they are told to do. That is probably because the groups who represent actual people oppose this bill. That is what they are told to do. That is the leadership they have. Now is not the time to plant new seeds for the next crisis.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“There is a provision in this bill on de novo banks that goes beyond our bipartisan deal, allowing regulators to decide whether to make permanent reforms that really should be for Congress to decide. We struck a compromise in passing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and I think everyone who voted for that should honor that compromise. Ultimately, Mr. Speaker, this bill is a distraction from what Congress should be focusing on: ending the affordability crisis caused by Trump's failed policies. Nothing in this bill will help consumers afford groceries or pay for gas. Do you know who is not suffering during the affordability crisis? Wall Street. This bill would loosen the guardrails on Wall Street mega banks even as they report record profits.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, we know how to support community banks and credit unions. We just did that with our landmark housing bill, and I was pleased to work with the chairman of that committee, Mr. Hill. It became law just a few days ago and included five Republican bills and four Democratic ones that were focused on supporting community banks. Now, here come Republicans to push for what they and their allies want: financial deregulation. This bill has 24 Republican provisions compared to just 2 from Democrats. In fact, I am disappointed that my friends on the other side of the aisle are advancing provisions that even contradict our carefully crafted bipartisan agreement in the housing bill.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Moreover, it is deceptive to suggest that banks need merchant banks to make affordable housing and small business investments, because most banks can and do extend commercial credit for these purposes already. For the reasons above, we urge you to oppose this dangerous deregulatory package and protect borrowers, small investors, retirees, and the integrity and stability of our financial system. Sincerely, African Community Housing & Development (ACHD), AFL-CIO, Americans for Financial Reform, ASIAN. Inc., Communications Workers of America (CWA), Community Housing Development Corporation, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council Inc., Fair Finance Watch, Freedom Equity Inc., Georgia Advancing Communities Together, Inc., Indivisible, National Association of Consumer Advocates.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I have another letter that says: ``This dangerous bank deregulation package would undermine core safeguards and supervision, push risk into the shadows, and make the next publicly financed bailout more likely. Further deregulation is especially alarming at a time when financial regulatory agencies are under political attack, pursuing industry-friendly agendas, and starved of resources, and when there is effectively no oversight of financial markets.'' It was signed by the AFL-CIO, Americans for Financial Reform, and dozens of others. Mr. Speaker, I include this letter in the Record. July 21, 2026. Re Oppose bank deregulation package H.R. 6955, the Main Street Capital Access Act or the Main Street Act. Hon. Member of Congress, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“They don't have time to listen to you talking about how you only have $200,000 and you want to buy this House around the corner. They are not interested in that. They are interested in the big money. They are interested in not only providing the loans for those who are spending a half million or so on a bank that they are trying to use to get a house. It is clear: The Big Banks are sick and tired of the way that they are being treated. They know they have a lot of power and a lot of friends in the Congress of the United States of America. They don't know a new day is coming and a new way is coming. People are learning more and more why they have a right to be disturbed about the way that they are being treated. I tell people: Don't be afraid to confront those Big Banks. Call us. Get your legislator to help you out.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Members have a choice today. Whose side are you on? Do you want to advance Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda to help out his wealthy friends on Wall Street, or are you on the side of working families, labor unions, consumers, and civil rights groups like those all over the country who just want equal and fair access to affordable financial products and services? For many of you who have been in this struggle with banks, where you have tried to get help with all kinds of issues, I want you to, again, go to your bank where you have a problem--don't go because they are only available on the phone--and state your problem. See who you can get to talk to. See if you can get an appointment. See if you can get some answers to the questions that you have. You can't do this with these big mega banks. They don't have time for you.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“6955 The bill's supporters argue that H.R. 6955 will help local banks. What the bill actually does is weaken fair lending transparency, reduce CRA and HMDA accountability, make bank mergers easier, limit meaningful community input, and make supervision more difficult. NCRC is especially concerned that fair lending, CRA, HMDA and consumer protection requirements are recast as regulatory burdens rather than public accountability tools. These laws exist because markets have not reliably served all communities fairly. They help identify discrimination, credit gaps, support enforcement, and ensure that banks receiving public benefits meet public obligations. For these reasons, we urge Members to oppose H.R. 6955 and vote ``no'' on final passage. Sincerely, Jesse Van Tol, President and CEO, National Community Reinvestment Coalition.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Local economic needs would be much better served by directing the agencies to study the actual impacts of mergers and bank consolidation, instead of counting days to pressure regulators to make decisions faster. Furthermore, concerns about the timeliness of merger reviews appear to be unfounded. NCRC analyzed the approval times of 18 merger applications submitted to the OCC in 2024. As shown in the table below, we found that the median days for approval after receipt of an application was 60 days, and that the average was 84 days. In other words, about half of these applications were approved 30 days after the end of a 30-day public comment period. 5. H.R. 6955 would pressure regulators to ignore reputational risk Section 304 would pressure federal banking agencies to remove reputational risk from supervision.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Adjusting thresholds for CPI may sound technical or even routine, but in this context, this approach would still cause fair-lending transparency to shrink automatically over time without any finding that communities are being served fairly. For NCRC and our members, the HMDA and CRA implications are especially serious. HMDA data is one of the primary tools used to detect redlining, evaluate whether lenders are serving borrowers and neighborhoods fairly, and identify gaps in mortgage access. CRA examinations are one of the few mechanisms that require banks to demonstrate that they are meeting the credit needs of their entire communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. 3. H.R.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“In many communities, the loss of one local institution can mean fewer branches, reduced small-business lending, less agricultural credit, weaker customer service, and fewer banking choices. NCRC conducted an analysis of every US county to assess the impact of potential mergers between the two largest banks in each county, with their combined assets being under $10 billion. NCRC found that 641 counties, predominantly rural, would shift from competitive markets to highly concentrated markets. In ten counties, one bank would control 100 percent of all local deposits. According to the FDIC's Merger Decisions Annual Report to Congress (2024), regulators approved 61 regular bank-merger applications in 2023. Of those, 57 out of the 61 would have resulted in institutions less than $10 billion. Under H.R.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“The bill would reduce the tools regulators and communities rely on to detect redlining, monitor access to credit, evaluate bank mergers, prevent harmful consolidation and hold financial institutions accountable to the people they serve. NCRC appreciates the inclusion of CDFI-related provisions, including CDFI Fund transparency and CDFI Bond Guarantee Program improvements. However, those revisions do not fix the bill's core problem: H.R. 6955 moves federal banking policy in the wrong direction by weakening community accountability, fair-lending transparency, merger review and supervisory safeguards. Earlier this year, NCRC urged a no vote when H.R. 6955 was considered in committee. All Democratic members who were present voted no in Committee: We urge you to continue that opposition and vote no on the House floor. 1. H.R.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“National Community Reinvestment Coalition July 21, 2026. Re Oppose H.R. 6955, the Main Street Capital Access Act. Hon. Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Katherine Clark, Democratic Whip, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Pete Aguilar, Chair, House Democratic Caucus, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Leader Jeffries, Whip Clark, Chair Aguilar, and Members of Democratic Leadership: The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and our network of 700+ community organizations urge Members to oppose H.R. 6955, the Main Street Capital Access Act and vote no on the House floor. H.R. 6955 is a broad bank deregulation package that would weaken fair lending transparency, community accountability, bank supervision and merger review.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“The bill would reduce the tools regulators and communities rely on to detect redlining, monitor access to credit, evaluate bank mergers, prevent harmful consolidation, and hold financial institutions accountable to the people they serve.'' The signers of the letters don't just come from blue States but from all over the United States of America. This includes Build WyCo from the great State of Kansas. We also have Building Neighborhoods Together in Pennsylvania, Fair Housing Center of Northern Alabama, and Freedom Equity in Ohio. More signers include Georgia Advancing Communities Together, the Neighborhood Recovery Community Development Corporation in Texas, and the United States Broadway Corporation in New Mexico. I could go on and on, but there is no time for that. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the letter from NCRC.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, a wide variety of labor, consumer, and civil rights groups are strongly opposed to this bill. Let me read from one of the letters we received: ``The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and our network of 700+ community organizations urge Members to oppose H.R. 6955, the Main Street Capital Access Act and vote no on the House floor.'' That is what we are being urged to do by our supporters. ``H.R. 6955 is a broad bank deregulation package that would weaken fair lending transparency, community accountability, bank supervision, and merger review.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Again, I will repeat: They know and understand when you have a problem, you can call a big bank and you will find nobody. You will go through different menus that they have, but you will not be able to walk into the bank and talk to somebody sitting at a desk who will help you with your problem. Do I have to say more? Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, proponents say this bill is just for community banks, but here we have another example of the Big Banks sneaking in their rollbacks. I have four postings from the Bank Policy Institute, which represents all of the largest banks, like Wells Fargo. These postings advocate for indexing regulatory thresholds to nominal GDP instead of inflation. Why? It allows more and more banks to escape regulatory scrutiny. This bill will give Trump's regulators--and only Trump's regulators-- the opportunity to index 40 different thresholds to let large banks off the hook. Wall Street is making record profits while they are helping them. Mr. Speaker, for those of us who really care about community banks, we want to keep them because they service their communities in a more profound way.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“My friend tells me that we should not be concerned about deregulation that puts these banks in a position where they are not only moving toward consolidation, but they are taking over banking in ways that will help them to get richer and richer. Guess what, Mr. Speaker. They will keep paying the fines, the big banks will, because that is the cost of doing business, and they still make money. This is outrageous. This is ridiculous. No more deregulation. No more looking at how you can frame it in such a way, Mr. Speaker, that you are saving the community banks. Mr. Speaker, you are not saving the community banks. As a matter of fact, you are putting them out of business. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“The bank wants the million-dollar loans. They want the half-billion-dollar mortgages. They don't want the small mortgages. Guess what, Mr. Speaker. They don't do them. As a matter of fact, many communities where there are residents who could afford the houses in their community are sold out to private equity firms and others who come and buy these houses for pennies on the dollar, but they won't sell them to you, Mr. Speaker, because you don't look like a big profitmaker for them. I am so pleased I worked with Mr. Hill, and we have done something to change that to encourage the banks to pay attention to those who can afford that $90,000 house, that $100,000 house, that $150,000 house, that $200,000 house. They are working every day. They can afford it, but the banks are not interested.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“After all, my friend knows that today is Dodd-Frank's birthday, and he is the skunk at the party. There is so much that we could point out that the average citizen knows in dealing with their banks. The average citizen is tired of being treated in the way that they are treated by their banks. I tell my friend that he is correct in the support that he did for the big bill that Mr. Hill and I worked so hard on. We have a lot in that bill. But let me point out one of the things in that bill that gives us cause to be concerned. Right now, Mr. Speaker, if you find a residence that you would like to buy, particularly if you are in a rural community, or you may be a low-income community, but you work every day and you can afford a house for maybe $90,000 to $100,000, the bank doesn't want to be bothered with you. The bank wants the big loans.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I will mention again one of the atrocities that I have been able to experience working on these issues. Again, Wells Fargo was fined $3.7 billion just a few years ago for widespread mismanagement of automobile loans and mortgages. Their actions included unlawful fees and even repossession of cars. Now, someone would say, $3.7 billion, well, I want you to know they make so much money that is just a cost of doing business. They will keep doing it if we keep allowing them to get away with what they are trying to get away with today. If my friend wants a guarantee that this bill helps Wells Fargo, then he should support Ms. Garcia's amendment that says that megabanks can't benefit from this bill, but I guess he won't.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time for each side is remaining.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“They have you serving from outside the bank. When you can get in touch with them, I want you to know, you have got to go through a hell of a menu to try to talk with someone that maybe in a community bank you can talk to. Do you know why we love community banks? It is because they understand the community. They know the people in the community. They work with you when you have a problem. The megabanks don't know you, don't care about you, don't do anything to assist you, and hope you can't get through their menus in order to speak with anybody. I say, it is not a lot of talk about loving community banks. It is action and what you do. Now, then you come in here talking about how much you love the community banks, yet you know that you can't get the deregulation that you are doing unless you hid behind the community banks.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“What we have to do at this point in time is understand a provision of the housing bill that was carefully negotiated. Mr. Speaker, I thought we all were supposed to be in support of the housing bill. Everybody raved about the greatness of it. Now, 10 days after it became law, now some on the opposite side of the aisle are already trying to undo the bill. Now, this bill will actually make it easier for more, not less consolidation. The bill is bad for new banks but great for megabanks. Let me just say this: We all talk about loving community banks. I want you to know it is not the talk about loving community banks, it is action and what we do for or against them. I want you to know the big megabanks don't even want them in their doors. They don't even want to have those working behind the counter serving us.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me be clear: Dodd-Frank has not led to bank consolidation. That trend began when Congress repealed Glass-Steagall almost 30 years ago. What Dodd-Frank has done is ensure the longest stretch of economic growth in a generation. The threat to community banks is not Dodd- Frank, but it is to repeal it and return to their needless days, reckless days that led to the 2008 financial crisis. Just last week, we passed my bill as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. My bill eased the requirements on new banks. H.R. 6955, however, would set new banks up for failure. In fact, the bill undermines much of what we were trying to accomplish when we worked together in a bipartisan way.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Now, Republicans made some technical changes at the request of Trump regulators, but let me give you another example of what they didn't fix. Wells Fargo, which many of you may remember created millions of fake consumer accounts and has been the subject of countless enforcement actions for consumer harm, like discrimination and anti-money- laundering deficiency, would have a new tool to delay future enforcement actions when consumers have been harmed. Mr. Speaker, instead of letting Wall Street put Americans and our economy at risk again, we should be addressing the affordability crisis caused by Trump's failed economic policies and endless war with Iran. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to oppose this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1500”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“6955 is Wall Street deregulation--that is what it is--hiding as a community bank bill. This package is made up of 24 Republican bills with just two Democratic bills. Today, we mark the 16th anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act being signed into law. That is the law that bears the name of the late great and former Chairman Barney Frank. Unlike President Trump, President Obama knew when to sign a good bill when he saw it. That law was passed in response to the 2008 financial crisis when, in case my Republican colleagues have forgotten, millions of Americans lost their jobs, their homes, and their life savings. Yet, H.R. 6955 ignores these lessons and rolls back a long list of safeguards and oversight of the largest banks.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered.”
House of Representatives14 July 2026Source ↗
“Speaker, the audacity of the opposite side of the aisle to tell States they cannot use these merchant codes, any State in the United States of America, even those who started in some way using these codes, they are now saying they want a law that would preempt your State from being able to use the merchant codes. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives14 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. As I conclude, I will point out that when our committee held a hearing last year, none of the majority's witnesses said a single positive thing about this bill in their testimony. That is probably because there is nothing positive to say about this harmful bill. Now, using merchant category codes for firearm retailers won't solve this problem, not even close. The codes themselves don't identify what is purchased, but it might have triggered a flag for unusual and suspicious purchases that get reported to law enforcement. Mr. Speaker, that might save 1 life or 10 lives or 100 lives or 1,000 lives or 10,000 lives. Even if it is a fraction of the 416,000 who have died from gun violence over the past decade, wouldn't it be worth it? Mr.”
House of Representatives14 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I now yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), the ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, who has always been an advocate against gun violence.”
House of Representatives14 July 2026Source ↗
“None of the credit card operators, payment processors, or banks were alerted to the types of transactions being undertaken, and they did not notify law enforcement officials about these purchases. We don't know for sure, but had these MCC codes been in place for gun shops back then, a financial institution would have been empowered to report these suspicious credit card purchases to law enforcement. {time} 1530 Americans are tired of the senseless gun violence and want Congress to do something to curb it. Unfortunately, this bill goes in the opposite direction and would implement a ban on such merchant reporting on the Federal level and would literally preempt existing State laws like those in California, New York, and Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives14 July 2026Source ↗
“This bill would make it easier for mass shooters, gun traffickers, and even terrorists to abuse our financial systems to stockpile firearms and ammunition undetected.'' They go on to note that between 2007 and 2018, credit cards were used to finance at least eight major mass shootings.”
House of Representatives14 July 2026Source ↗
“For many who survive a gunshot, they may still suffer a lifetime of devastating consequences. Most of these data points come from GIFFORDS, a gun violence prevention group set up by our former colleague in the House, Gabby Giffords. Of course, she herself was shot when she served as a Congresswoman, and she later set up the group following the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting when 20 children and 6 educators lost their lives. Now, a few States, including California, New York, and Colorado, have taken action to require payment card networks to use a merchant category code, or an MCC, to distinguish firearms retailers from other types of retailers. Many different types of retailers have unique MCC codes, including florists, barbershops, art dealers, automotive tire shops, and even candy stores.”
House of Representatives14 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose this bill because it limits efforts to detect and investigate gun violence and acts of terrorism. Before I discuss the bill, let's start with a few sobering statistics: 46,000 Americans die from gun violence every year. That comes out to an average of more than 125 Americans losing their life each day due to gun violence. Of course, America is unusual in this regard. Americans are 26 times more likely to be shot and killed than if you lived in any other high- income country. Nearly one in five Americans say they have personally witnessed someone shot. In the past decade, more than 1.2 million Americans have been shot, with more than 400,000 who died from gun violence.”
House of Representatives14 July 2026Source ↗
“They received more than 48,000 complaints, most of which strongly supported the rule which is more than 100 times the number of comments on the capital rule. Consumers are just fed up with these types of junk fees, and the last thing they want is for Congress to raise them. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join Senate bipartisan opposition to this resolution and vote ``no.'' Stand up for our constituents. Stand up for the people who depend on us every day to make sure they too can have a decent quality of life. We are watching what Trump and Musk are doing, aligned with the billionaires who want more and more money and don't want to pay their taxes, and we are here fighting about $5. Give me a break. I guess enough has been said. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing. Mr. Speaker, when did it become unpopular to put more hands in the pockets of working families? This resolution will cost American families $5 billion a year or about $250 per household in higher overdraft fees. No one in America wants to send a $250 check to the biggest banks every year. To put this debate into perspective, Republicans spent a lot of time last Congress attacking a big bank capital rule called Basel III endgame. Republicans convened one dozen hearings on the topic and repeatedly referred to the 426 comments the public made on the proposal. Mr. Speaker, do you know how many comments the CFPB received on the overdraft rule?”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“They can just tell the people that this is what they are doing, they want to increase for whatever reason, or they can calculate what they say their costs are for being able to provide overdraft fees and that they have to have a little more than $5. I don't know where we are going with all of this. I am totally disgusted, $5. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“They were fired when we were facing another pandemic. Mr. Speaker, they have forced seniors to go in person to apply for Social Security. I am so worried about our seniors and Social Security. He promised us that he would not cut Social Security, but what he did was he destroyed the infrastructure of Social Security. He fired people and shut off the telephones making them go in person to find their Social Security office, which they are closing all of them down. Now all of our Social Security and our seniors are at stake not knowing what is going to happen and not knowing how to get in touch with the Social Security personnel who work there to get these questions answered. I could go on and on about this Cabinet sharing war plans on Signal chats. Do I have to tell you more about the chaos, Mr. Speaker, the disruption?”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“When we think about the chaotic situation that we are in while we are here talking about $5, Mr. Speaker, you know that this President fired our nuclear experts from the National Nuclear Security Administration. So here we are without the protection of the experts to let us know what should be done to make sure that we don't have nuclear power destroying us all. After firing them, they discovered they had made a big mistake. So guess what, Mr. Speaker? They called them back. However, they couldn't find them because they had erased their addresses. So they looked and looked and looked until they could beg them to come back. Then there were thousands of employees at the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the bird flu outbreak that were fired.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“I don't know what is going on with them, and I don't know what is going on with the President of the United States of America. He has put us in a chaotic situation. For example, I just got word that he has changed his mind about tariffs. We were all trying to convince this administration that they should not be raising the tariffs on all of these countries and the fact that they were even harming our relationship with our allies, but no. He placed tariffs on every country in the world, even for an island that had nothing but penguins on it. So today what he said was: Oh, I changed my mind. I am going to raise the tariffs on China, but I think I will put a 90-day pause on all of the stuff that I did raising these tariffs for all these other countries just a few days ago.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am having a hard time here trying to figure out what is going on in this country. We are here taking up all of this time talking about $5 and talking about trying to limit the fees that people are being charged. We are saying: Let's help our consumers. Let's help our constituents and stop having them become victims of these huge fees that have been charged by the banks. They say that a lot of banks are not charging them, but still, they are fighting $5 that we are trying to limit these fees for. We said that all we are asking you to do is to let the people know exactly what you are doing about fees. How much are you charging them? I don't know what is going on.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans keep complaining about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Let's review the terrible things they have done. Since 2011, they secured more than $21 billion for 205 million consumers who were harmed by bad actors including the biggest banks. The agency has received more than 10 million complaints from harmed consumers, and insured financial firms responded. That is, on average, 25,000 complaints each week. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau helps servicemembers, veterans, students, and older Americans. Mr. Speaker, they don't care who you are. They help Republicans, Independents, and Democratic consumers. The CFPB will not be able to help anyone if Trump and Musk are successful in shutting them down. Mr.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, Mr. Rose, I believe, said that there are constituents who say: Don't stop my overdraft. However, did they say: Charge me exorbitant amounts for overdraft? I don't think so. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker and Members, I think Mr. Hill said many banks do not charge overdraft fees. Then why are they opposed to $5? Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“Democrats on the Financial Services Committee voted unanimously to oppose this resolution at a markup in February, and I urge all of my colleagues to unanimously reject it on the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“Nearly 300 consumer, civil rights, labor, religious, and community groups all across the country strongly oppose this resolution. Mr. Speaker, these fee increases that Republicans are trying to jam down Americans' throats couldn't come at a worse time. The Federal Reserve reported that a key metric of inflation is going up, and that was before President Trump sent the stock market further into the tank with the global trade war he launched last week. Republicans promised that inflation would go down and the stock market would thrive under his leadership, but 4 months into the new administration, that has proven to be false. Whether you like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or not, it just doesn't make good sense to hike bank fees on 23 million hardworking families.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“In fact, 97 percent of all banks and virtually all credit unions are completely exempt from the rule. Let me say that again. Community banks and nearly all credit unions are exempt from the rule. We are only debating whether the biggest banks in America should be able to raise these fees. Republicans will try reverse psychology to convince Americans that it is in their best interests to fork over even more money to the big banks. Mr. Speaker, let me help Republicans out. Making Americans pay high overdraft fees only benefits the big banks, no one else. Let me be even clearer. A vote for this resolution is a vote for big banks. A vote for this resolution is a vote for big fees. A vote for this resolution is a vote against your constituents. Don't just take my word for it.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗