Main Street Capital Access Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 6955.

Community banks and credit unions are the foundations of our financial system. As ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, I understand better than most the role they play in our communities, offering small business loans, farm loans, and mortgages. They are critical lifelines to our rural and underserved communities that have been left behind by our biggest banks.

While I believe in sensible tailoring to help community banks and credit unions do what they do best--deliver personalized products to meet the needs of their customers--this bill moves far beyond sensible tailoring.

Instead of focusing on modest improvements, this package represents the largest amount of bank deregulation since before the financial crisis. It includes sweeping reforms that will not only significantly roll back necessary safeguards and weaken oversight, but it will also undermine consumer protection and antidiscrimination measures and hamper the CFPB's ability to issue new rules. This deregulation package will push risk into the shadows and make the next publicly financed bailout more likely.

This is especially concerning at a time when financial regulatory agencies are under political attack, pursuing industry-friendly agendas, and are starved of resources. That is why more than 25 labor, consumer, housing, economic justice, and public interest organizations are opposing this bill.

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill.

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