Brad Sherman

Mr. SHERMAN

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6735) to establish the Consumer and Investor Fraud Working Group to help protect consumers and investors from fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic, to assist consumers and investors affected by such fraud, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend the gentleman from Utah on the passage of his bill, and I rise to support H.R. 6735, the COVID-19 Fraud Prevention Act, which is authored and put forward by Congresswoman Cindy Axne. I support this legislation and I thank my colleague from Iowa for her leadership in bringing it forward. Congresswoman Axne's legislation will mark a major step in improving efforts to protect consumers and investors alike by requiring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the CFPB, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC, to establish a joint working group with the purpose of addressing and preventing predatory and deceptive financial practices during this COVID-19 crisis. Under this bill, this joint CFPB-SEC working group will be required to consult and collaborate with other Federal and State agencies, where appropriate, to ensure fraud does not slip through the cracks during this COVID-19 pandemic and appropriately report their efforts to Congress. As we know, unfortunately, in times of uncertainty like the one we face today, predatory actors can and have sought to take advantage of confusion and financial vulnerability, and to take advantage even of desperation from struggling consumers and struggling homeowners who need help. These actors cause even further damage to communities that are already hit by the crisis of the pandemic and the economic downturn. The 2008 crisis is an example of how much financial devastation that predatory and deceitful actors can wreak on our communities, especially when Federal regulators don't have the tools to cooperate and put a stop to it. Families that are still impacted by that phase of unchecked, toxic lending now have yet another crisis to contend to as we must deal with the COVID crisis. As chair of the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets, I note that investors, too, are at risk of being defrauded and mislead by fraudulent investment schemes. As during other times of crises, investors are at risk of being defrauded and mislead by so-called investment opportunities claiming to have some novel information, cures, or vaccines, but are really part of a pump-and-dump scheme where fraudsters intentionally use false and misleading information to boost the price of a stock or other investment and then sell the shares when the stock rises but before the manipulation is detected. Congresswoman Axne's legislation will help ensure that the CFPB and the SEC, as well as other Federal and State agencies they work with, will work collaboratively to identify problematic patterns and work to prevent future schemes where consumers and investors get ripped off. I commend Mrs. Axne for her work in drafting this legislation, and if I may be a little premature, I also commend the gentlewoman on getting this legislation passed through the House today. I urge Members to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for his work on all of these bills and his work here today. In closing, Congress must do more to ensure that communities are protected from deceitful actors during the COVID-19 period. As we have seen in our immediate past, bad actors often try to take advantage of people in crisis and the consequences can be significant unless the Federal Government, working with the States, actively monitors and prevents such deceitful practices. H.R. 6735 will encourage key regulators to share information and work together to identify scams while keeping Congress informed as to how these agencies are addressing fraud during the pandemic. This bill has the support of consumer and investor advocate organizations including: Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Federation of America, National Consumer Law Center, and Public Citizen. I would like to thank the author of this bill, Representative Axne, for her efforts. I urge all Members to support H.R. 6735, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERMAN

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. MDIs face several challenges, including the ability to raise capital despite overall strong financial performance. They face challenges experienced as a result of servicing communities that are often first and hardest hit by economic downcycles. This decline is contributing to a growing incidence of banking deserts in minority communities. This bill will help turn this dangerous tide so that individuals in more ZIP Codes will have access to safe banking. I again thank Mr. Meeks for authoring this legislation and for all of his dedication to the Financial Services Committee. I also thank Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member McHenry and the other members of the committee. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support H.R. 5322, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5322) to establish or modify requirements relating to minority depository institutions, community development financial institutions, and impact banks, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), the author of this legislation.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. SHERMAN

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6934) to amend the CARES Act to require the uniform treatment of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations under certain programs carried out in response to the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6934, the Uniform Treatment of NRSROs, which is sponsored by Congresswoman Dean from Pennsylvania. This important legislation from Congresswoman Dean will ensure that qualified issuers have fair access to lending facilities, and it will ensure that these facilities are granted on clear terms. This is not a time where agencies such as the Federal Reserve should just make it up as they go along, especially when these policies disproportionately harm small and mid-sized companies. Thus, my colleague, Ms. Dean, introduced, and I was pleased to cosponsor, legislation to provide clarity in the lending process by ensuring that nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, also referred to as NRSROs, are treated uniformly. More specifically, the Federal Reserve and Treasury often require a credit rating to apply for participation in a lending facility. When there is such a requirement, the Federal Reserve has, at times, required that the rating be issued by a specific credit rating agency or has required that the rating be from a specific category of NRSROs, such as the so-called major NRSROs. Often, these categories are self-created by the Federal Reserve and have been undefined and unclear to issuers. These requirements act as an obstacle between issuers and these lending facilities. This clearly was not Congress' intent, as it goes against Dodd-Frank, which mandates that we foster competition among NRSROs rather than trying to make sure that companies rely only on an oligarchy of three NRSROs. As chair of the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets, I am quite familiar with the work that has been done in the last decade to end overreliance on the big three credit agencies, which led us into the 2008 crisis. It is those big three that gave AAA ratings to Alt-A lendings, which I believe is what caused the 2008 crisis. Decisions by the Fed and Treasury with respect to many lending facilities have threatened to undo our work to try to diversify the availability of different NRSROs. H.R. 6934, which is limited to facilities which have been stood up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, will set clear credit rating standards for both the Federal Reserve and its issuers. It also clarifies Congress' intent and will ensure that its legislative objectives are carried out at the agency level. Most importantly, however, the legislation will result in more issuers having access to these lending facilities, an important objective during this pandemic and economic downturn, while it will still ensure that there are standards in effect that will adequately protect the facility and the interests of the taxpayer. Mr. Speaker, I greatly appreciate Congresswoman Dean's leadership in bringing forth this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean), the author of this legislation.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I again would like to thank my colleague from Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean) for introducing, supporting, and, in effect, passing this legislation here today. It will help qualified issuers have access to lending facilities; it will ensure that that access to facilities is granted on terms that are clear; and it will ensure that Congress' legislative intent is carried out and is consistent with the policy of Congress that we have focused on in the Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets Subcommittee to make sure that we are not overly reliant on just three credit rating agencies. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERMAN

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7592) to require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a study on trafficking, and for other purposes.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7592, the Stopping Trafficking, Illicit Flows, Laundering, and Exploitation Act of 2020, the STIFLE Act, introduced by Representatives McAdams and Gonzalez. This bill would commission the Government Accountability Office to study and analyze the converging attributes of transnational trafficking networks. These shared or overlapping characteristics and methods, such as supply chains, facilitators, or gatekeepers, and the movement of finances make it possible for traffickers in a host of different areas to move their illicit proceeds and evade detection. By better understanding the ``business models'' that underlie these networks, we can better combat their terrible acts in a host of different areas, ranging from selling illicit drugs to trafficking in modern slavery. We have focused on illicit trafficking--human trafficking, drug trafficking, et cetera--in the Foreign Affairs Committee. Mr. Speaker, I commend the members of the Financial Services Committee for focusing on this issue, since the linchpin, the Achilles heel, of many of these trafficking networks is their financial movements, their access to the financial system, and this may be the way to accomplish an awful lot to stop this illicit trafficking. The STIFLE Act is part of the House Financial Services Committee's bipartisan Counter-Trafficking Initiative, introduced in March to address this pervasive issue that is a threat to all of our constituents and communities. Human trafficking, drug trafficking, wildlife trafficking, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are just a few examples of the illicit markets that generate an estimated $2.2 trillion, annually. The resulting proceeds and instability benefit bad actors, while threatening the environment, civil society, individuals on our streets, our economy, our national security, and, of course, the human rights of so many thousands of people who are trafficked around the world. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. McAdams and Mr. Gonzalez for introducing this bill to help identify concrete opportunities for action to combat these criminals and terrorists who engage in this illicit trade by focusing on our financial system. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7592. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. McAdams).

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, in closing, understanding the business of trafficking-- whether it be illicit drugs, whether it be human trafficking, whether it be terrorism, et cetera--is fundamental to stopping transnational crime, and the harm that it causes and the victims it creates in communities worldwide. The House Financial Services Committee's bipartisan Counter- Trafficking Initiative is a comprehensive approach to this challenge and is a very important adjunct to the Foreign Affairs Committee's work to stop illicit trafficking, particularly human trafficking. We need to examine these illicit networks as a whole, whether they engage in narcotics, timber, endangered species, rare earths, or, tragically, human trafficking of men and women--modern slavery. So I look forward to all of the committees of this Congress focusing on these criminal traffickers. H.R. 7592, the STIFLE Act, is a significant piece of that effort, tapping into the knowledge from survivor and victim advocacy organizations, law enforcement, regulators, research organizations, and the private sector to be able to focus on the financial system and make sure that we keep these traffickers at bay and out of the financial system as much as possible. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation which is an important step to protecting our citizens, our economy, and our national security. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERMAN

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5698) to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States Executive Directors at the international financial institutions on United States policy regarding international financial institution assistance with respect to advanced wireless technologies.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials thereon.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5698, the Promoting Secure 5G Act of 2020, which establishes that at the international financial institutions, known as IFIs, such as the World Bank, it will be U.S. policy that supports the financing for advanced wireless communication technologies, including next-generation 5G networks only if the technologies to be financed provide adequate security for users. Cybersecurity has been an important concern of this House, and it is an important concern of this country. We see that in the recent action taken with regard to TikTok, we see that in the steps that this House is taking with regard to cybersecurity, and it makes sense that our voice and vote at the international financial institutions be used to ensure that the world moves forward with secure 5G networks. This legislation establishes a U.S. position at the IFIs in support of infrastructure or policy reforms that facilitate the use of secure advanced wireless technologies, and it encourages U.S. cooperation with our allies and partners to strengthen international support for such secure technologies. I support this legislation because I think it reflects a good policy goal and a good example of how central international cooperation is for our own economic and national security goals. This legislation seeks to use our voice at the IFIs to counter China's efforts to expands its 5G influence internationally and to expand the use of Chinese technology with back doors and other devices that can be used by the Chinese Communist Party. This is especially important with regard to developing countries. By placing an important strategic U.S. policy goal within the system of the international financial institutions, this legislation recognizes that sustained international cooperation is important for advancing a range of U.S. economic security and foreign policy interest, and I welcome that recognition. 5G is the next generation of wireless communications networks. It may very well be the most extraordinary remaking of the system, controls, and use of the airwaves that make up today's internet since the internet first came into existence. 5G networks, we are told, will transform the way we live. In the global race for 5G, where the U.S. and China are among the main contenders, the competition is fierce, and from that frame certainly the core of this bill's proposal--to have the international financial institutions support 5G infrastructure only if it is from trusted vendors--makes sense. We would not want to see this kind of policy cause problems for the missions of the IFIs if they get further caught up in any rivalry between the United States and China. But if our money is involved in these international financial institutions, then it needs to be American policy that those funds be used only to finance secure 5G networks. That said, the success of such a U.S. policy at the IFIs will depend in large part on the state of U.S. leadership worldwide not only in those institutions but around the world. Let's face it. Over the last 3 years America has squandered its role as a world leader, and we have stretched almost to the breaking point our alliances with our traditional allies. I look forward to working with everyone in Congress over the next few years to recement our international alliances and put us in a position so that when we speak at the international financial institutions that we are listened to as a world leader and not mocked as a nation that has one tweet one day and another tweet another day. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the passage of this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5798. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from South Carolina for authoring this legislation. Also, again, I commend him for spending time this afternoon to pass all the legislation that is here before us. Mr. Speaker, the United States has often looked to the international financial institutions to meet strategic objectives at critical moments, and this legislation is a good example of that. The World Bank and others are currently focused on helping developing nations deal with the coronavirus, but soon, they will return to other development goals. The basic principle of this legislation is important because it establishes not only what U.S. policy is going to be in a particular area, but it also directs the administration to pursue that policy. It provides flexibility in the implementation of that policy and keeps Congress informed. It is important to keep in mind that our ability to influence the direction of the IFIs, the international financial institutions, and to prioritize global objectives in the areas that we think are critically important depend in large part on the degree to which the United States maintains and exercises strong leadership in these international financial institutions and in the world writ large. We on the Foreign Affairs Committee have focused on the importance of rebuilding our relationships and rebuilding America's status and leadership in the world, and we will only be as effective in carrying out the intent of this legislation as we are in rehabilitating America's image. For U.S. policy to be effectively advanced in the international financial institutions, other member states at these institutions need to believe that the policies we pursue are not based exclusively out of a narrow self-interest but are policies that will help the entire world move forward. Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERMAN

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6294) to require data sharing regarding protecting the homeless from coronavirus, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SHERMAN. 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. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6294, the Improving Emergency Disease Response via Housing Act, which will help the Federal Government better identify and serve populations particularly at risk from COVID-19. This bill will require the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, to share with the Department of Health and Human Services the locations of HUD senior housing properties and local continuums of care with high concentrations of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. The bill also includes important protections to ensure people's privacy and to prevent the misuse of this information. Early in this pandemic, we learned the devastating impact COVID-19 has on seniors. Seniors often have underlying health conditions, which make them particularly vulnerable to the virus. Making matters worse, many seniors live in large multifamily buildings, including HUD- subsidized properties, where the risk of contagion is particularly high. This constellation of factors--close living quarters, advanced age, higher prevalence of underlying health conditions--puts this population at substantial risk for contracting and at a higher risk for dying from COVID-19. According to The New York Times, as of last month, 40 percent of COVID-19-related deaths have occurred in senior communities, not just to those who have reached senior age but that subset of seniors who live in these senior communities. People experiencing homelessness are also particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 because they are disproportionately likely to have underlying conditions and because they often do not have the means to follow CDC guidelines around handwashing, social distancing, mask-wearing, et cetera. People experiencing homelessness who contract COVID-19 are twice as likely to be hospitalized, two to four times as likely to require critical care, and two to three times as likely to die as others in the general public. So, Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Tipton for introducing this bill to help us better protect some of this country's most vulnerable people, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I, again, thank my colleague, Mr. Tipton, for introducing this bill to help us better protect seniors and people experiencing homelessness from COVID-19. We have lost too many people to this terrible virus. While it is important that we ensure the safety of those who are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus, I hope that we can all work together this month to provide a comprehensive response to this public crisis, modeled after the HEROES Act, which this House passed in May of this year. Our constituents want us to act on major legislation, but in the meantime, it is good to pass this bill to help those who are particularly impacted by COVID. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.