Ranking Member McHenry Delivers Remarks at Committee Markup

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Cmte Financial Services (R)
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Ranking Member McHenry Delivers Remarks at Committee Markup
The Committee will mark up eight bills, including two National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) reauthorization & reform bills

Washington, Jun 11 -

WASHINGTON – Republican leader of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (NC-10), delivered the following opening remarks today at a committee markup of: H.R. 2162, H.R. 2513, H.R. 2763, H.R. 3018, H.R. 3111, H.R. 3141, H.R. 3154, and the “National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019.”

Ranking Member Patrick McHenry’s opening remarks as delivered:

“I would like to thank the Chairwoman for holding this markup.

“I would like to start by commending the Chairwoman and her team for working with Committee Republicans to finally move a bipartisan, long-term reauthorization of the important National Flood Insurance Program.

“I also want to thank Congresswoman Velazquez for her work in reforming the administrative process associated with the NFIP. I look forward to considering these bills later in the markup.

“With respect to the gentlewoman from Ohio’s bill, H.R. 2162, the Housing Financial Literacy Act, I support the bill’s goals. Financial counseling is a simple tool that can have broad impact beyond the home buyer.

“Turning to H.R. 2513, the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019.

“First, I would like to thank Mrs. Maloney for her efforts and for her willingness to work with Committee Republicans.

“It’s clear banks want relief from the CDD rule, and it is clear that law enforcement wants more tools to prosecute bad actors.

“What is not clear is how this new burden on millions of law-abiding small business owners will affect these efforts.

“We also do not know the bill’s implications on privacy, which is particularly concerning as we create another new government database that will be collecting and housing personal information.

“We need to deploy every tool in our arsenal to stop the financing of terrorists and criminal activity, but I’m very concerned we do not have the basic data we need to understand the impact of this bill – or at a minimum whether this bill is even needed.

“I commend Mrs. Maloney for her work on this bill, but unfortunately, I cannot support the bill at this time.

“With respect to Mr. Phillips’ bill, H.R. 3141, I appreciate the gentleman from Minnesota’s intent, but this bill is a solution in search of a problem.

“Eliminating FHA premiums won’t reduce costs to borrowers because the FHA’s mortgage insurance remains in place for the life of the loan. Moreover, what this bill attempts to do has been tried before to the detriment of FHA’s insurance fund, which is why the Obama Administration put a halt to it.

“Finally, just a few comments on the remaining bills. With respect to H.R. 3018, I believe it may be premature. We should allow HUD to continue receiving comments – particularly from the local shelter providers – to determine the best next step.

“With respect to H.R. 2763, I appreciate the concern and intent of the bill. But, the reality is HUD is enforcing current law, which has been followed for decades. 32,000 Americans are on a waiting list for housing -- we should prioritize them.

“Finally, with respect to the gentleman from California’s bill preventing FHA, RHS, Fannie and Freddie from taking certain actions. I would just say the policies set out by FHA and its lending handbook are the same policies reaffirmed by the Obama Administration. Nothing has changed. To that end, this bill seems unnecessary.

“The institutions will continue to follow the handbook, which is based on current law.

“There are many good bipartisan bills. This markup is the culmination of great bipartisan work, it was really hard-fought over months of conversations and negotiations between the majority and the minority.

“I think the best marker of that is the Flood Insurance Program. Chairwoman Waters, thank you for your efforts to achieve a bipartisan outcome there. I know it’s not without compromise on your side and not without compromise on our side, but we’ve got a better result.

“I thank you and your legislative team for the work that they put into bringing this about, as well as the Republican staff team, to hammer out a really good, bipartisan compromise and with that, I yield back.”