This week, the House Committee on Financial Services held a mark-up of five pieces of legislation:
- H.R. 389, the "Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act"
- H.R. 1856, the "Ending Homelessness Act of 2019"
- H.R. 1815, the "SEC Disclosure Effectiveness Testing Act"
- H.R. 1595, the "Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019"
- H.R. 1500, the "Consumers First Act"
Ranking Member, Patrick McHenry (NC-10), delivered opening remarks applauding the committee’s work on the “Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act” to combat illicit finance, which did receive bipartisan input and support. However, he went on to express his concern with the partisan nature of the remaining bills.
Watch Ranking Member McHenry’s opening remarks here or by clicking on the image below.
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Republican members of the committee went on to offer amendments to improve upon and provide clarity to Democrat proposed legislation:
Ending Homelessness Act of 2019
Ranking Member McHenry: “There’s not one person on this committee that doesn’t want to end homelessness, but authorizing $13 billion in mandatory spending over five years actually won’t end homelessness. It feeds a broken system that will not yield results.”
- Mooney #3 - Ensures that funding provided under the “Ending Homelessness Act of 2019” provides a fair and balanced allocation to rural communities. (Failed 26-29)
- Loudermilk #4 - Ensures accountability of Federal assistance programs by requiring funding to be subject to appropriations to guarantee systemic review of how effective taxpayer investments are utilized to address homelessness. (Failed 26-31)
- Duffy #5 - Ensures that all housing provided under bill meets zero emissions standards set out in Green New Deal. (Failed 0-57)
- Huizenga #8 - Limits funding to not more than 40 percent going to top 25 metropolitan areas. (Failed 26-33)
Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019
Ranking Member McHenry: “Most importantly for this committee, we need to ensure we’re doing our due diligence before proceeding. One committee hearing is not enough to fully understand the consequences of this bill.”
- Barr #2 – Requires certification by the Treasury Secretary that the safe harbor does not inhibit an institution’s ability to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering rules, Know Your Customer rules, Suspicious activity Reports, and Currency Transaction Reports. (Failed 27-33)
- Rose #3 - Requires financial institution CEOs to attest that no banked funds are affiliated with illicit actors. (Failed 27-33)
- Duffy #6 - Prohibits safe harbor to cannabis businesses within 1,000 ft of a school, youth center, or civic center. (Failed 26-34)
- Barr #7 – Makes the underlying bill applicable only to federally legal, industrial hemp. (Failed 18-42)
- Huizenga #9 – Makes bill effective when federal regulators agree on implementation of the underlying bill. (Failed 25-35)
Consumers First Act
Ranking Member McHenry: “If you really want to make the agency accountable to the American people, let’s start with the fundamentals: change the CFPB’s organizational structure, its fundamental mechanisms, create an office of inspector general… all of which would bring greater transparency and accountability.”
- Stivers #2 – Establishes an Office of the Inspector General at CFPB. (Failed 26-34)
- Steil #2 – Replaces claims with an independent audit conducted by the GAO. (Failed 26-34)
- Barr #4 – Places CFPB on regular Appropriations. (Failed 26-34)