FED Oversight Reform and Modernization Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill which would not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill would immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the motion to recommit to H.R. 3189, which will ensure that seniors will be protected from losing their hard-earned benefits to deceitful financial companies found to engage in harmful activity. Financial companies that put earnings ahead of the needs of our seniors should not be allowed to participate in any emergency lending program or facility established by the Federal Reserve.

While Republicans try to put their special interest friends first, the Democratic motion to recommit would ensure that financial companies found to engage in activity that harms seniors' financial health and stability are prevented from participating in any emergency lending program or facility established by the Federal Reserve.

Our motion to recommit would stop rewarding unsavory financial institutions that abuse the trust and harm the financial health of America's seniors.

America's seniors, who have spent their lives working to provide for their families, deserve to retire with dignity and live without fear of being stripped of financial security due to the actions of predatory financial institutions. Yet, House Republicans are willing to grant these shady financial companies access to emergency resources established by the Federal Reserve.

We need to adopt this motion to recommit to send a strong signal to predatory financial entities across this country that putting profits ahead of people will not be rewarded by the U.S. Government.

I am co-chair of the Democratic Congressional Task Force on Seniors, and I am committed to protecting the well-being of older Americans and ensuring that those who work hard and play by the rules receive a dignified and secure retirement.

In addition to protecting hard-earned benefits like Social Security and Medicare, we also need to ensure that vulnerable seniors are not the subject of predatory lending that further puts them at risk for economic security.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, older Americans are particularly vulnerable to bad actors who seek to defraud them, take advantage of their hard-earned retirement savings, or push them into taking on financial products or services--like a reverse mortgage--that they may not want or need.

Roughly 1 million older Americans lose an estimated $2.6 billion annually as a result of financial abuse according to a MetLife study entitled, ``Broken Trust: Elders, Family and Finances.'' This is unacceptable.

As older Americans age, we have an obligation to ensure that they are not an easy target for financial companies peddling predatory financial products and services.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to vote in favor of this motion to recommit. By voting for this motion to recommit, Members can make clear whose side they are on, whether it be in favor of protecting our vulnerable seniors or in favor of protecting dishonest financial companies that seek to do them harm.

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

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