Providing for Congressional Disapproval of Rule Submitted By Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Relating to ``Community Reinvestment Act Regulations''

Floor Speech

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Mr. STEIL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the resolution of disapproval.

The Community Reinvestment Act is an important law that encourages investments in places like Racine, Kenosha, and Janesville, and communities in need across this country. But the rulings governing the CRA haven't been updated since 1995.

In the last 25 years, the banking industry has undergone significant changes. Small and medium-sized banks have consolidated and closed. Branches have disappeared from some rural and low-income areas. Technology has drastically affected the way millions of Americans are conducting their banking.

The CRA needs to be updated to fit the banking system we have today and to meet the needs of the communities in 2020. That is exactly what the OCC is trying to do with the new rule.

The new CRA rule provides financial institutions with greater clarity about which activities count for CRA credit and where that activity needs to take place. It also takes into account the reality that many banking activities are conducted online by giving banks that are largely digital credit for investing in areas where they take deposits.

By implementing consistent, objective metrics, the new CRA rule also makes it easier for examiners to measure the performance and to compare institutions. This resolution of disapproval would block all that progress, to the detriment of communities in need.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this resolution.

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