Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. AUCHINCLOSS. Mr. Speaker, our economy has not always worked for everyone equally. This is evident in the glaring wealth disparities for American families emphasized in the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances Federal Reserve report. Chairwoman Waters' Financial Services Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Economic Justice Act is an effort to ease economic disparities across racial and ethnic groups. The bill will also expand access to financial services for consumers and small businesses in underserved communities.

Consumers should have access to affordable banking services, which requires competition in the market. Over the last several decades, there has been consolidation amongst banks and credit unions. This has effectively limited the products available to consumers and artificially driven up costs while closing banking branches for people who already did not have many choices.

The Financial Services Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Economic Justice Act includes my bipartisan bill, the Promoting New and Diverse Depository Institutions Act, which is the first step to expand competition and increase the supply of banking services. My bill directs banking regulators to work together to address the challenges that new depository institutions, including MDIs and CDFIs, face when applying for a charter.

Starting and maintaining a new bank or credit union is hard work. It is the banking regulators' responsibility to measure and mitigate the challenges that new banks face. My bill will help new banks, and in doing so will expand access to affordable services for underbanked communities.

The legislation we are considering today also includes other necessary equity bills, such as Congresswoman Garcia's, which expands language access in mortgage services. Congressman Green's bill would clarify that sexual orientation and gender identity are protected classes under credit discrimination.

I applaud Chairwoman Waters' leadership on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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