Al Green

Mr. GREEN of Texas

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, for 26 years we have had the circumstances that we are trying to correct with this bill. This bill is not perfect, but for 26 years, it has been an opportunity for those who desire to do otherwise to bring the cause before the Congress of the United States of America. It is ironic that this cause would be brought to the Congress at the time we are about to pass significant legislation that the Governor of North Carolina agrees with. I have a letter that is signed by many Governors, one of whom is the Governor of North Carolina. I won't read it in its entirety, but I do think one line is salient and important. It reads: ``We''--all of these Governors--``ask that Congress pass it as quickly as possible.'' Pass it as quickly as possible. They are talking about this bill, the Governor of North Carolina. I would also add, Mr. Speaker, that FEMA has indicated on the record that it does not desire to have this bill under the jurisdiction of FEMA. In fact, I have a statement from the associate administrator for response and recovery, Mr. Jeff Byard, and it reads: ``I would love to work with the committee about expanding our authorities . . .'' he is talking about the Financial Services Committee. ``. . . to do a different means of housing, but not to take on other agencies' responsibilities or grants.'' He is talking about our agency, HUD. They, meaning FEMA, do not want to take on the responsibilities that HUD has already within its wheelhouse, as they say. Now, Mr. Speaker, I would also add this: The Committee on Financial Services is familiar with these kinds of concerns associated with disaster relief. We have the Community Development Block Grant program under our jurisdiction. We have the National Flood Insurance Program under our jurisdiction. And as a Member, I would tell you that I was born in Louisiana. I know what New Orleans is like. I was there after Katrina. I saw what happened, and I also saw thousands of people come to my district in Houston, Texas, where they were welcomed. They were welcomed, and many of them are still in my district in Houston, Texas. This is not to say that my colleagues have done anything wrong. I am merely indicating that I have some understanding about what is happening in Louisiana. But I also know what is happening in Texas. Mr. Speaker, in Texas, within a 3-year period, we had billion-dollar floods each year. We had Hurricane Harvey, the last, and Hurricane Harvey took lives and inundated our city. It was like something we have not seen before and, arguably, the country has not seen before, but we suffered through it. And we want to make it easier for those persons who were victimized, such as the ones who were victimized with Harvey, to have a better means by which they can acquire long-term relief. FEMA deals with immediate relief, emergency relief. HUD is dealing with long-term relief. We are dealing with mitigation. Mitigation can take years to accomplish because some of the structures that have to be rebuilt can be rebuilt in no short order. It takes time. It takes plans. You have to involve various agencies to rebuild these structures. We are talking about long-term relief. That is what this bill provides. This bill also is about the business of making sure--and I must commend Mr. Hoyer for this--that that mitigation relief that the Governors that I spoke of wanted is contained in the bill. The Governors called to our attention the need for mitigation relief, as did the builders. And Mr. Hoyer, working with the builders, crafted the mitigation language that is going to make a difference in the future. It is not a perfect bill. We will not have a perfect bill in this House--unless everybody agrees with me, and that is not likely to happen. It is a good bill and all of my friends on the other side are good people, every one of them. I have an inordinate amount of respect for them, and I support their efforts to do more in the area with FEMA, but I do not support efforts to remove this program from HUD. HUD has had it for 26 years--hasn't been perfect--but we are trying to perfect some of the issues associated with mitigation, some of the issues associated with disaster relief. And we are doing a fairly good job with this bill--not a perfect bill, but it is a good bill. And I would hope that my colleagues--understanding that over the last 26 years, we haven't had a FEMA bill brought to the floor and passed, and we now have the opportunity to pass this HUD bill, my hope is that we will get it passed. My belief is this is the right bill for the right time. It not only makes sense, it makes dollars and cents. It will save money and it will save some lives. Mr. Speaker, I would just mention a few more entities, if I may, with reference to endorsement: the National Housing Resource Center; the National Fair Housing Alliance; the National Low Income Housing Coalition; Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition; and, of course, we have the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force. Also, Disaster Law Project; Enterprise Community Partners; Fair Share Housing Center; and we have the Hispanic Federation. Also, Local Initiatives Support Coalition; National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities; National Coalition for Healthy Housing; National Community Development Association; National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty; Paralyzed Veterans of America; and Texas Low Income Housing Information Service. And many more. Mr. Speaker, as I bring this to closure, I include in the Record a letter from the Governors as it relates to this legislation. October 9, 2019. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Hon. Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McCarthy, Majority Leader McConnell, and Minority Leader Schumer: Our states are full of determined, tough people. For generations, our families have weathered brutal hurricanes, killer tornadoes, sustained flooding, and devastating forest fires. But recent history tells us there's a new normal when it comes to these natural disasters and if we don't rise to the challenge, they will get the best of us. As these natural disasters continue to increase in frequency and devastation, we appreciate relief and recovery assistance from the federal government. However, there are critical reforms needed to ensure long-term disaster recovery programs function more efficiently. Right now, long-term federal disaster recovery assistance, in the form of Community Development Block Grant--Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding controlled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), gets passed by Congress and announced with great fanfare, but affected states are left to wait months--sometimes years--before HUD publishes the Federal Register. A Federal Register is only the first required step in a lengthy and bureaucratic approval process setting out how that money can be put into action. CDBG-DR funds are routinely appropriated after natural disasters, but the program is unauthorized, meaning states must wait for new Federal Register guidelines after each round of funding is announced. There are currently over 60 Federal Register Notices on record for CDBG-DR, with grantees facing variable, overlapping and even contradictory details. Many of us have met with the President, administration officials, and our Congressional representatives to push for changes. We need Congress to require HUD to publish program requirements in the Federal Register within a much shorter timeframe. Better yet, Congress could get the money to the people who need it even faster by formally authorizing the CDBG-DR program so that Federal Register instructions can be significantly standardized and expedited. Bipartisan legislation to do this has been introduced in both the House and the Senate, with a clear intent to balance speed-to-need and accountability for public resources. We ask that Congress pass it as quickly as possible. Another critical reform would create a universal application for disaster survivors that would be shared among FEMA, HUD and the Small Business Administration so people busy with recovery only need to fill out one application. Combining this with seamless interagency data sharing would enable significantly better communication and coordination, as well as faster disbursement of funds and improved oversight and accountability. We must all keep fighting for survivors recovering from these disasters, working to rebuild their lives and protect themselves from the next catastrophe. We owe it to them to deliver on our mission for stronger, smarter, more resilient communities. Sincerely, Governor Roy Cooper, State of North Carolina. Governor JB Pritzker, State of Illinois. Governor Mike Parson, State of Missouri. Governor Tony Evers, State of Wisconsin. Governor Kay Ivey, State of Alabama. Governor Eric Holcomb, State of Indiana. Governor Ralph Northam, State of Virginia.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, point of inquiry, please, how much time does the gentleman from North Carolina have remaining?

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, with this said, I thank my colleagues again. I consider them all honorable people, and I beg that my colleagues would support this legislation that is 26 years in the making. If it fails, I know not when we will stand in this position again. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), the chair of the Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the honorable majority leader of the House. (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. GREEN of Texas

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I, too, encourage my colleagues to please support this important piece of legislation. It will make meaningful change. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5084, the Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2019. I thank the chair of our Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions, the Honorable Gregory Meeks, and the chair of the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets, the Honorable Carolyn Maloney, for this incredibly important piece of legislation. According to Deloitte's 2017 board diversity survey, 90 percent of companies surveyed agreed that increased board diversity will improve their company's ability to innovate as well as their overall business performance. Given the impact on performance, investors have an interest in the extent to which companies include diverse perspectives and people in their boardrooms and senior executive ranks. Despite the acknowledgment by companies that the highest levels of their organizations should reflect the diversity of their shareholders, consumers, and America at large, the Alliance for Board Diversity reported that, among Fortune 500 companies, 80.7 percent of new board directors in 2017 were White men. To address the lack of transparency and to shine a light on the lack of representation of women and minorities in corporate boardrooms and in the C-suite, H.R. 5084 would require public companies to annually disclose the voluntarily self-identified gender, race, ethnicity, and veteran status of their board of directors and nominees and senior executive officers. This bill would also establish a diversity advisory group at the Securities and Exchange Commission and require the agency's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion to publish best practices for compliance with diversity reporting requirements. We must ensure that the leadership of corporate America reflects the growing diversity of our Nation. Transparency and disclosure are two actions that allow progress toward racial and gender parity at the highest levels of corporations. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5084, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Utah an additional 1 minute.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4344) to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to seek and Federal courts to grant disgorgement of unjust enrichment, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Utah an additional 10 seconds.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4344. I would like to start by commending my colleagues, Representatives McAdams and Huizenga, for crafting this bipartisan solution to a problem that, in just 2 years, has cost investors approximately $1.1 billion. In 2017, the Supreme Court, in Kokesh v. SEC, held that the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, to recover for investors the wrongful gains of securities law violators, known as disgorgement, is effectively a penalty. As a result, the SEC's authority to obtain disgorgement is time limited by the general Federal statute of limitations for penalties so that the SEC must bring its case within 5 years of the violation. This ruling was a boon to white-collar criminals like Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford, who are now able to defraud investors for a decade and keep their profits. Even worse, the SEC is currently in litigation before the Supreme Court over whether it even has the authority to obtain disgorgement for investors. I am pleased that H.R. 4344 would ensure that the SEC has the tools it needs to hold bad actors accountable and to return funds to harmed investors by clarifying that the SEC does indeed have disgorgement authority, and its authority reasonably extends to 14 years following the date of violation. This longer time limit would ensure that the SEC has enough time to detect and sue the Bernie Madoffs of the world. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Mr. GREEN of Texas

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck), a member of the Financial Services Committee and the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4029) to amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to enable Indian Tribes and tribally designated housing entities to apply for, receive, and administer grants and subgrants under the Continuum of Care Program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as amended.

Mr. GREEN of Texas

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean), the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass bill (H.R. 4300) to provide Federal housing assistance on behalf of youths who are aging out of foster care, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4300, the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act of 2019. This bill will help to ensure that our young adults aging out of foster care and at risk of homelessness have the housing assistance they need. In addition, this bill includes incentives for these young adults to participate in activities or programs to help them achieve self-sufficiency. The young people who have aged out of the foster care system face many challenges as they abruptly face adulthood without many of the supports needed to help them make the transition. These young people have limited resources with which to secure safe and stable housing, which leaves them at heightened risk of experiencing homelessness. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I simply want to thank Mrs. Wagner for working with me and the other members of the committee. I would like to also thank Ms. Dean and Mr. Stivers for introducing this important piece of legislation that is aimed at protecting some of our most vulnerable young people who too often fall into homelessness after they age out of foster care. Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation and urge my colleagues to do so, and I yield back the balance of my time.