Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank the floor manager, Mr. Green of Texas, and I stand with my colleagues and Chairwoman Maxine Waters of California who I know is watching this debate in support of the Financial Services Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Economic Justice Act. I wish her a speedy return, but I thank her for the tremendous amount of work put into this piece of legislation, which would transform countless American lives for the better.
I specifically highlight the inclusion of the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act--Community Development Financial Institutions-- a priority of the CDFI community. I thank Congressman William Timmons from South Carolina for his partnership in advancing the bill through the Financial Services Committee by voice vote in committee markup last month.
According to the CDFI Fund in 2019, 33 percent of CDFI lending was in high-poverty areas, but we have got to do better. Seventeen percent was in rural areas.
CDFIs are instrumental in providing affordable capital to communities typically excluded or underserved by the mainstream financial system. I am proud of committee efforts to provide additional resources to these mission-driven community institutions that have faced several challenges in recent years.
Prior to the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, CDFIs were extremely limited in their ability to access capital to make large-scale investments in community facilities, basic infrastructure projects, or job-generating businesses. The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program was enacted to provide long-term, low-cost capital to CDFIs which use the funding for economic development activities in low-income urban, rural, and indigenous communities.
My bill would authorize the program and reduce the minimum issuance from $100 million to $25 million, opening up the program to smaller CDFIs and to support more community development projects such as loans to small businesses, commercial real estate, affordable housing, and healthcare facilities all across the Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill.
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