Patrick McHenry

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, may I inquire if there are additional speakers? I am prepared to close.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time. There is an extraordinary story to tell about the American Armed Forces. There is an extraordinary story to tell about African Americans in our Armed Forces in the United States. The Harlem Hellfighters were representative of a really amazing achievement during the war to end all wars, World War I. But there are also stories before this. That was not the first group of African Americans to fight to defend our Nation. It was not the Civil War where African Americans fought for our Nation for the first time. It was not. It was actually our liberation from Great Britain. It was George Washington's army that had African Americans serving alongside other Americans to liberate us from Great Britain. Our founding of this Nation is one of a multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual, amazing group of folks who wanted the same things, which is freedom to make decisions for themselves and for their families. And it was that first integrated army, which was George Washington's army, the Continental Army, that begat the African Americans who served alongside other Americans in the Civil War. And, sadly, that established capacity was lost for two generations before the Great War, and the Harlem Hellfighters showed the American people that African Americans can fight just as well as any other American, and, in fact, do better in unmitigated harsh treatment on the front lines of the biggest war that anyone thought they would ever see in their lifetimes; which then said, during World War II, actually, we are all in this together; which then changed the whole face of the 20th century. So what the Harlem Hellfighters represent to us in this debate is not just the good work of the Congressional delegation from New York, or Congressman Suozzi in bringing this to the floor today, but giving us the opportunity to highlight what this generation of men showed to the American people and to our allies in Europe about who we are as Americans. So for us to honor the Harlem Hellfighters today has given us the opportunity to recognize 100 years of progress. Not even progress, not fulfillment of every dream that we have as Americans, not perfect, not perfect, but a whole hell of a lot better than we were 100 years ago when these Harlem Hellfighters showed the world not just what America is about, but specifically what African Americans were about and their capacity. Not just capacity to fight, but to be smart, to be capable, to deliver results, to be the best, the best. So the last hundred years, you can go back to that generation of Harlem Hellfighters and you can see what they brought to the public and the understanding that they brought over the last hundred years, and it made us better. So for us to have this opportunity to recognize them also lets us recognize ourselves as a country and who we are, and to actually say, you know, it is pretty amazing. We have an amazing country. And these men who fought and died--many who died--they loved their country. They love their country and they are willing to not just support it with words like I am right now, but with their lives. So, with a grateful heart, I say thank you to Congressman Suozzi and his constituents for bringing this debate to the floor. I want to thank my colleagues for doing this in a very wide, bipartisan way, and giving us the opportunity to have a broader look at history and the greatness of the last century and the improvement that we have as a result of what they broke through over 100 years ago in the Argonne Forest. Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2332, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, debt bondage is a terrible crime, and many victims find themselves trapped in a perpetual cycle of forced labor and coerced debt because of it. Earlier this year, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing where we focused on the financing of human trafficking. This is an area of bipartisan cooperation on the House Financial Services Committee. I want to commend my Democrat colleagues for leading this discussion and finding time on the committee docket for us to continue the conversation we have had over the last couple of Congresses. In that hearing, we heard from many powerful witnesses, including Rev. Dr. Marian Hatcher, who is a trafficking survivor. Rev. Dr. Hatcher had the courage to tell us her story, and because of it, we now have legislation that will help others. This is the way Congress is supposed to work. We are supposed to listen to experts and get ideas out of that on how we can construct legislation. Because of Dr. Hatcher, we know a lot more. Dr. Hatcher, like so many others in this country and around the globe, but in this country, in particular, fell victim to human traffickers. Thankfully, she was able to escape a terrible situation and restore her life. However, she struggled to reestablish herself because of a credit score, which was negatively affecting her whole financial life. She was affected by loans in particular that she was forced to obtain on behalf of her traffickers. So not only does she have to go through the emotional and social struggles, but she has this that is a weight around her. This is something where we can legislate and make her life and make the lives of trafficking survivors like hers better. You see, Madam Speaker, this is where traffickers trap a victim into a debt cycle. Traffickers will take out loans, open businesses, and destroy a victim's credit, which forces them to remain a victim until they pay off the debt. Now, you think this happens in other places around the globe. You think that this is some other country. No, it is here. It is here in our midst, and they are doing it through what seems like legal means. Too often, these victims are never able to get out. This is something that we have to be aware of and focus on. That is where this bill, the Debt Bondage Repair Act, comes in. This simple, 4-page bill has the potential to help thousands of victims every year by ensuring that a consumer reporting agency may not furnish a credit report with adverse information from a severe form of trafficking. While this does not erase the terrible crimes committed against them, it will help victims to regain their financial freedom and begin to rebuild their lives. I would like to note that this bill has a very tailored rulemaking provision. We want to fix this problem. We provide the CFPB a window of 180 days for rulemaking. This should be sufficient time to hear from all the stakeholders. But it is my hope that they will complete this rulemaking quickly so that the victims can get relief as soon as possible. I would like to thank the many victim advocates and consumer data industry representatives who provided technical assistance to get this bill where it is. I would say the difficulty of legislating is that you have to take in folks who are on opposite sides of an issue. Not that they don't care about the same issue, but you have folks that are on one side of a business and those advocates that see things differently. It takes time to bring them together to see what is a workable solution, maybe not a perfect solution, but a workable solution. I include in the Record statements of support from Shared Hope International, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, Rev. Dr. Hatcher herself, and the Consumer Data Industry Association. Sharedhope International, June 11, 2021. Letter of Support for the Debt Bondage Repair Act. Dear Ranking Member McHenry and Congressmembers Wagner, Gonzalez, Taylor, and Hill: Traffickers financially benefit from exploiting human trafficking victims through forced labor and commercial sex, but also by exploiting their victims' credit history. With credit cards, loan applications, and access to financial services all dependent on an individual's credit history, the impact of this financial exploitation is both far reaching and long-term. We thank you for taking an important step in addressing these harms by introducing and sponsoring HR 2332, the Debt Bondage Repair Act (DBRA). The DBRA supports trafficking survivors by preventing consumer reporting agencies from issuing credit reports containing adverse information that resulted from a survivor's victimization. This legislation is essential to address the long-term impact of human trafficking by eliminating adverse credit history that would otherwise remain on a survivor's credit report. Most importantly, the DBRA provides survivors an opportunity for financial independence and stability that can help end the cycle of exploitation. Good credit history is essential for opening bank accounts, and applying for loans, credit cards, insurance, and housing. Credit reports are also sometimes necessary for applying for student loans, and utility and cellphone service contracts. Individuals with adverse credit history and low credit scores experience higher interest rates or denial altogether. Traffickers use coercion and control to financially exploit their victims in various ways. One survivor described her trafficker coercing her into obtaining a loan and then credit cards by threatening the survivor's family. This left the survivor with poor credit and more than $25,000 in debt. Traffickers may also try to access credit that has not yet been exploited by intentionally targeting younger victims. One survivor recalled a trafficker targeting seventeen-year- old girls, who were about to turn eighteen because the trafficker could exploit their fresh credit by having them sign up for credit cards. In addition, as Rev. Dr. Marian Hatcher powerfully recounted in her testimony to the House Committee on Financial Services, traffickers may also use their victim's credit to purchase expensive items, such as cars. Traffickers also control their victim's bank accounts, passwords, and use the victim's accounts to engage in criminal activities. Consequently, financial institutions may later deny the survivor services because of criminal activity. Traffickers often exploit their victim's credit history at a time when the victim is not present in the formal economy and unable to build positive credit history. Trafficking survivors then experience adverse credit history and burdensome loan obligations because of their financial exploitation. Consequently, when survivors leave their trafficking situations, they often cannot access financial resources. Trafficking survivors report difficulty opening bank accounts and obtaining safe housing, employment, cars, and cell phones. Access to housing is especially important to ending the cycle of vulnerability and exploitation. In one study, 64% of trafficking victims reported that lack of affordable housing prevented them from escaping their trafficking situation. Lack of resources may result in survivors returning to their exploitative circumstances. In her testimony to the House Committee on Financial Services, Rev. Dr. Marian Hatcher testified that lack of resources leads to reexploitation because ``survivors feel they have no option other than returning to the commercial sex industry.'' Also, obstacles to accessing financial resources and student loans may also hinder a survivor's educational aspirations. This negatively impacts the survivor's academic empowerment and long-term goals. Furthermore, survivors may feel stigmatized or embarrassed because of their poor credit. By preventing a consumer reporting agency from reporting adverse information resulting from a survivor's trafficking, the DBRA prevents a survivor's credit report from becoming an apparatus for continuing victimization. Poor credit due to financial exploitation has long-term impacts on a survivor's ability to access financial resources, build financial independence, and navigate life after exploitation. The Debt Bondage Repair Act is crucial to providing trafficking survivors a clean slate and path toward financial independence. We support this critical legislation and urge Congress to support trafficking survivors by passing the Debt Bondage Repair Act. Sincerely, Christine Raino, Senior Director of Public Policy, Shared Hope International.

Mr. McHENRY. Additionally, I would like to thank Polaris for their support of this legislation. This is a great example of what happens when both parties work together. I want to thank Chairwoman Waters for her help and assistance, and her staff, the Financial Services Committee majority Democrat staff, for their help with my staff and the Republican minority staff on the House Financial Services Committee. We have a bipartisan solution to help trafficking victims pick up the pieces and begin a new life. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I think this will be helpful to the lives at stake and let them rebuild their lives, not just financially but rebuild their lives. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for this good bipartisan bill that will help victims.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I thought I reserved. Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of this important measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We can all agree data is important. But we need to recognize, particularly as it relates to obtaining data on companies, that each one is unique. Mandatory reporting metrics do not accurately measure progress. Just look at the mandatory disclosure bills on the floor this week. They are a mess. The only outcome we can expect to see with those bills is a higher compliance cost on companies, leaving fewer resources to build out a workforce and invest in research and development. Simply put, one size does not fit all, and one-size-fits-all doesn't work. However, the bill we have in front of us today does not impose a new mandatory reporting regime. It adds on a list of voluntary data and adds a new item to that voluntary data. Data is collected on a voluntary basis under ECOA, under this law that is being amended. Any loan applicant who does not wish to provide information can decline to provide it, meaning there are fewer concerns over privacy or a one- size-fits-all reporting regime. These are the things I have raised about this bill. I want to commend the sponsor for being willing to work with Republicans on getting back to the essence of the bill. I appreciate that my Democrat colleagues have offered a solution to promote diversity and inclusion without imposing new requirements on businesses or business owners that do not effectively measure their success. I support this bill. I will vote for this bill. And I want to commend my Democrat colleagues for working with us on a number of concerns that we had with the various drafts of the bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3325, a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. Capitol Police and those who protected the Capitol on January 6, 2021. I would like to thank the Speaker for bringing this legislation to the floor to honor the officers who work tirelessly to protect us in and out every day, to not just protect this building, but to protect the Members in this building. Not just protect the Members, but to make sure that staff is safe on a daily basis. And the staff, indeed, makes Congress what it is and gives us the capacity that we have to legislate. We want to make sure that staff and Members and our visitors here are protected on a daily basis, and the Capitol Police, indeed, do that. Madam Speaker, what happened to this institution on January 6 was horrific. This building is a working monument to our Nation's Founding Fathers and our founding principles. It is a testament to the freedoms we hold dear and that we strive for, and we strive to become a more perfect Union on every day that we are here. Not perfectly, but we strive for a more perfect Union. Madam Speaker, the brave men and women who stood and faced danger on January 6 deserve to be recognized for their actions. Without their courageous work and their dedication, many of us here today could have been seriously injured or worse. This gold medal will also honor another Capitol Police Officer, William ``Billy'' Evans. Officer Evans, an 18-year veteran of Capitol Police, was killed at his post when a car rammed into the Capitol barricade on Good Friday. Any life lost is a tragedy, especially those of our friends on the police force. Once this bill is enacted, a Congressional Gold Medal will be displayed at the U.S. Capitol Police headquarters. It will be a recognition of the good work the Capitol Police do on a daily basis. Another will be displayed at the D.C. Metropolitan Police headquarters, and the third will be given to the Smithsonian Institution so everyone who visits D.C. will be reminded of the bravery by our police officers on that very day. Madam Speaker, I think I speak for all my colleagues when I say thank you, thank you to each and every officer who was here on January 6. Their bravery will not be forgotten. The U.S. Capitol Police and those who protected us on January 6 deserve this Congressional Gold Medal. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I think this is a special moment for the House in a very tough year for us to pause and to say thank you to those men and women who stand guard over this institution; not just this building, not just this campus, but the people who work here every day. It is not Members; it is staff that are here every day. It is the people that make the Capitol work physically. It is the folks who are at the daycare, the folks who are in the press. They are the folks who are frequent visitors here, such that they feel like they work here, too. It is the Capitol Police that keep us safe not from one another, but safe from the harms that can happen in a very dangerous world. And we want to say thank you to the men and women of the Capitol Police for their dedication, for their bravery, for their training every day. And we honor you not just in word, but with deed; not just with word and this deed of a Congressional Gold Medal, but our ongoing support. Our ongoing support, such that you can operate every day to the best of your training with the best training and tactics available to police and law enforcement anywhere in the world, the best equipment, the best training resources, but also the freedom to use those things in a way that is commensurate with public safety. So I want to thank the Capitol Police for their service and their sacrifice in making this institution safe; safe so we can debate important things that need to be debated, to disagree, for us to be able to disagree as a civil society, yet still come together for the important things of being friends and neighbors and lovers of this great country. Madam Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2547. Let's just start off and call the bill what it is. It is another attempt by Democrats to socialize our financial system. Once again, under the guise of consumer support, Democrats are trying to implement their long-held partisan priorities. That is what we have seen a lot of in this Congress. Democrats are trying to sell H.R. 2547 to the American people as a necessary action to help families and small businesses hardest hit by the economic impacts of COVID-19. It is not. The truth is, this bill is just a redo of several partisan bills that we had from last Congress, pre-COVID. If there was any question as to whether or not Democrats viewed the pandemic as a ``tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit their vision,'' this bill proves it. This bill is more about catering to progressive lobbyists and stakeholders who have long sought to tear down the pillars of our credit markets and financial system. First, it is clear that progressives want to eliminate a fundamental part of our free market system, the belief that you should be paid for services provided in a timely manner. The fact is, limiting the ability of businesses and individuals to be repaid for their services already provided will not benefit anyone. This is especially true for small businesses that have been hardest hit, frankly, from the pandemic shutdowns. If enacted, this bill will also drive up the cost of credit for all borrowers, especially low-income borrowers, as well as limit their credit options. There are commonsense ways to update and improve the process for collecting payments and to modernize the credit reporting regimes. This includes identifying ways to protect consumers and encourage them and their service providers or lenders to work out repayment plans. In fact, just last month, the entire House voted to support the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania, Representative Dean's bill to ensure that members of our military are not threatened with service-related consequences as they work to repay debts owed. That makes sense. It was a bipartisan bill with a great result. But the further you dig into this bill, the more problematic it gets. For example, this bill will actually make healthcare in this country more expensive and will limit the medical services provided to those who need it most. I don't think that is the intention, but that is, in fact, the impact. Making it more difficult for medical providers to seek payment for their services does not make them free, does not make the system less expensive. And excluding medical debt from an individual's credit report is not a way to support consumers or our healthcare providers, who have been, frankly, on the front lines of the COVID pandemic. I have a bill that allows medical debt that results from nonelective services to be protected, and ensures that if it is repaid, it is eliminated from a consumer credit report's adverse actions. I think that bill makes sense, right? If people repay their medical debt, I think we should acknowledge that on credit reports. But if it's elective surgery or if it is perhaps something medically of their own choosing, I think they should have to pay for that. And if they don't pay for those services, it should be on their credit report. I think these things make sense. I think there are ways we can ensure we have accurate reporting. Accurate reporting and full repayment allows the credit markets to work smoothly and to accurately account for risk. This, in turn, allows the financial system to continue to provide low-cost credit to those who need it most. Democrats also want to undermine the CFPB's work to finalize its debt collection rule last fall. This rule was the result of more than 7 years of research, analysis, data collection; and it clarifies the allowable uses of modern communication technology. I think it is a proper update to these long-held consumer protection laws that we have on the books. This bill eliminates this positive step forward. This bill prohibits debt collectors from using 21st century methods of communication to reach consumers. That is insane. That is bad. That goes all against the whole movement post-COVID or in the midst of COVID, that we digitize our communication tools and enable people to do things more cheaply via technology. This bill includes stopping consumers from being contacted via email or text message without explicit prior consent. Consumers should be able to communicate about their payment options privately in the way they prefer. This bill eliminates that choice. Restricting options like that makes it more difficult to contact consumers. It doesn't help anyone. Perhaps the consumer doesn't know that they missed the payment, and this bill would say you can't text them to let them know they missed their payment. That is absurd. I don't think that is the bill author's intent, but that is the impact in the real market. Just to reiterate, limiting the ability of individuals and businesses to seek repayment for services provided will undermine the ability to underwrite and thereby increase the risk to the financial system. If you can't price for risk, you are going to have more risk. If we have more risk that is not appropriately priced, we will get bad outcomes in the financial system. This ultimately makes extending credit more expensive for all borrowers and may push the lowest income borrowers out of the system entirely. That is a bad result. That is not what we want. Either side of the aisle, we don't want that. This bill has that harmful impact. We all agree that consumers who owe a debt should be treated with respect and dignity and not be subject to abusive or harassing behavior. The law already upholds this. This bill is a Big Government, anti-consumer, anti-small business solution in search of a problem. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill and the harmful impacts herein. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson), my friend and colleague.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I must say, for the Record, that I believe the bill's sponsors are of sincere purpose here, but I am pointing out what I think are the deficiencies that we could have worked through in a bipartisan way if there was a goal to have a bipartisan outcome for this bill. So while I oppose the bill, it is not for a lack of ideas on this side on how to improve it and actually how to come up with something reasonable to help our people and update our technology and laws. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Emmer), the ranking member of the Task Force on Financial Technology.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil).

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I concur that our colleague, Mr. Heck, was instrumental in these debates. I miss his lively debates in committee markup, but, frankly, given the sick burns he has given me there, I think I am better off with him as Lieutenant Governor. But I concur with the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter). Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), the ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1532. Some studies suggest that small-dollar mortgages, which are amounts less than $70,000, may be disproportionately denied compared to loans of higher amounts, even when credit profiles are similar. If true, this could be an issue for families in my district and across the country who are trying to buy their first home, particularly in rural America. H.R. 1532 is a bipartisan bill reported last Congress by the House Financial Services Committee that seeks to understand the challenges associated with small-dollar lending and why. This bill asks the fundamental questions: Why not have the FHA review its own policies? Why shouldn't the FHA look to determine whether there are borrowers who would otherwise qualify for a mortgage and who are being left out of the market as an unintended consequence of the FHA's own regulations? After all, the FHA's mission is to serve creditworthy borrowers who are underserved by the private market. This includes serving without bias as to how small a loan seeking insurance should be or might be. Moreover, the FHA should understand whether its own regulations are hurting borrowers' access to credit and remedy the problem without affecting the health of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, which is at issue. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues on the subcommittee, in particular Mr. Cleaver and Ranking Member Stivers, for bringing this issue to our attention and for their work on this important bill. H.R. 1532 is a positive example of Congress identifying a problem and working together in a bipartisan way to understand the causes and to identify a reasonable solution. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I do not. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1491, the Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act. I thank Representative Dean for offering this legislation. Madam Speaker, our servicemembers put their lives on the line for us every day. To that end, we must ensure they are adequately protected from abuse or harassment related to outstanding debt. I am pleased that we were able to work in a bipartisan fashion to meet this goal. H.R. 1491 prohibits debt collectors from using threats against a servicemember's rank or security clearance, or threats of prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Not only are such practices unfair, they also create the risk of harm to military readiness. Last Congress, during the committee markup of H.R. 1491, Republicans expressed concerns that there were too many unanswered questions about how this bill could impact military readiness. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stivers), who has had a distinguished career in our military, offered an amendment, which directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on the impact this bill has on readiness with servicemembers regarding debts in collection, as well as military readiness and national security. This commonsense approach ensures that Congress understands and is able to account for the connection between national security and the protection of servicemembers from unfair practices. Madam Speaker, I thank the Democrat majority for accepting this amendment, and I am glad that it continues to be included in this bill we are considering today. This makes this a far more lasting bill, I believe, and more impactful on the people that the author and this Congress want to ensure are taken care of, and those are the folks who serve and protect us each and every day. As a reminder, this bill passed the House unanimously in March of last year. All Americans deserve to be treated with dignity and respect when faced with repaying a debt. This is especially true for our servicemembers, who fight for our freedoms every day. Madam Speaker, this bill contains important safeguards. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) for all of her hard work on H.R. 1395, the Housing Financial Literacy Act of 2021. The Federal Housing Administration, FHA, currently provides government-backed mortgage insurance to more than $1.3 trillion in loans. FHA insurance allows a wide array of borrowers to qualify for mortgages. This includes many low- and moderate-income families who might not otherwise have access to credit through traditional underwriting. In fiscal year 2020, the FHA insured over 800,000 forward mortgage purchase loans, with more than 83 percent going to first-time home buyers. Given the large population of first-time home buyers using FHA, it makes sense to encourage those individuals to seek out ways to strengthen their financial knowledge and better prepare them for the challenges of homeownership. Right now, current law states that FHA has the ability to provide first-time homeowners with a discount on their FHA upfront premiums. However, the homeowner must complete an approved homeownership financial counseling course. Yet, the statute is drafted in such a way that the provision only applies in particular circumstances. This includes when FHA upfront premiums exceed 2.75 percent. Since FHA upfront premiums are currently set at 1.75 percent, the rate has not been exceeded in a decade. Thus, FHA does not currently provide an upfront premium discount to first- time home buyers who complete a financial counseling course. H.R. 1395 would amend current law to require FHA to provide a one- quarter percent upfront premium discount, from the prevailing rate, in order to help those first-time home buyers get financial literacy and then get the discount. This equates to about $625 of savings off the current premium structure on a $250,000 mortgage. This is not an insignificant amount. Given the nature of this, I think it is great to have a financial benefit for people understanding financial consequences. I think there are many other areas in our government that would benefit from this type of thinking. The hope is that by making such a discount mandatory, more first-time home buyers will seek out financial literacy counseling which, in turn, will produce better outcomes for a traditionally at-risk group of home buyers. The bottom line is that FHA is a valuable tool to help expand the universe of mortgage credit in our housing system. We ought to be doing all that we can to ensure that we are using our limited public resources to encourage all borrowers to be well-prepared for the commitments of homeownership through financial counseling or through other effective means of creating more stable and reliable borrowers. So I think this is a very good bill thoughtfully done by Mrs. Beatty, and it is bipartisan, coming out of committee last Congress. Madam Speaker, I have no more speakers. I urge its adoption, I ask my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1565, the Senior Security Act. I would like to thank my colleagues, Mr. Hollingsworth of Indiana and Mr. Gottheimer of New Jersey for their work on this important piece of bipartisan legislation that will strengthen current efforts to protect senior investors. Madam Speaker, American capital markets provide every mom-and-pop investor with the opportunity to realize the American Dream. Our capital markets allow individuals and families to grow their nest egg for retirement, their children to have an opportunity for college tuition, or to save and purchase a home. Moreover, as Americans age, they are an important part of the success and vibrancy of the U.S. capital markets. In fact, Americans over the age of 50 already account for roughly 77 percent of financial assets in the United States. To that end, fraud and exploitation of any kind in our capital markets threatens the integrity of our markets and harm investors seeking to build their nest eggs. It is especially problematic when the fraud targets senior investors. Protecting senior investors and preventing such predatory behavior within our financial markets is a goal that we all share, regardless of party. This bill will support the Securities and Exchange Commission's current efforts to protect against increasing instances of financial exploitation against senior investors. H.R. 1565 creates an interdivisional task force at the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine and identify challenges faced by senior investors. We already have some data on senior citizens who are targeted by financial exploitation. These statistics are alarming. Older Americans lose up to $36 billion each year to financial scams and abuse. One in five seniors have reported being victims of exploitation, and only a small number of cases of financial abuse are even reported. The rates of exploitation are only rising. In fact, The New England Journal of Medicine calls elder financial exploitation a virtual epidemic. There are concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the trend. In addition to Congress, many States are already taking action, and that is a good thing. This bipartisan bill is an important step for the Federal Government. The bill requires the SEC to identify current issues and challenges facing senior investors and to make policy recommendations for addressing these issues harming senior investors. Madam Speaker, protecting senior investors and safeguarding the integrity of our financial markets are objectives I believe we can get behind. In our duty to protect our constituents, especially those most vulnerable who contribute so much to society, we need to be helpful and supportive. For that reason, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hollingsworth), the coauthor of this bill.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.