Ann Wagner

Mrs. WAGNER

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4300, the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act. Each year, Mr. Speaker, roughly 20,000 youth age out of foster care. Young adults without families who exit the foster care system are incredibly vulnerable to homelessness. A number of studies show that between 11 and 36 percent of these young people who age out of our foster care system experience homelessness. These foster youth need and deserve our support. A stable roof over their heads can allow these young men and women to pursue an education or a career. A home can be a bedrock from which they can build their lives and protect them from crimes like human trafficking. It will also help these young adults by allowing up to 2 years of extensions if they enroll in HUD's Family Self-Sufficiency program, pursue education or workforce development, or gain employment. It is our duty, Mr. Speaker, to protect these young men and women from being jettisoned from our foster care system and onto the streets. This bill doesn't just give them a roof over their heads; it gives them the ability to build a future. I applaud the sponsors of H.R. 4300, Ms. Dean and Mr. Stivers, and I would like to acknowledge, in particular, the hard work that my good friend, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner) has put into this bill over the last few years. He has been a true champion of this issue, and should be commended for his dedication. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to strongly support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I am in support of the bill. However, this is the jurisdiction of the Financial Services Committee. I am the vice ranking member, and I am willing to yield time. I think we will be speaking in both opposition and in support of the bill.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3702, the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act, which I introduced with Congressman Al Green. Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I want to take a moment to thank Congressman Green and the majority leader, Mr. Hoyer, and so many others who have been great partners in this endeavor--again, unanimous votes out of the Financial Services Committee in both the 115th and the 116th Congresses. I appreciate their willingness to make sure that disaster relief is being spent on the most vulnerable victims of natural disasters. When natural disasters strike, the Federal Government plays a critical role in delivering emergency aid. Taxpayer dollars spent on disaster relief must be allocated wisely and efficiently. Every disaster relief dollar diverted to an ineffective or wasteful use is a dollar that is not going to help people in need. Last Congress, the Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations began a bipartisan effort to improve the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program. Today's legislation is a product of that strong bipartisan work. The Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program helps communities start the recovery process and assists neighborhoods with limited resources in rebuilding critical infrastructure after a catastrophic event. According to numerous IG reports and a hearing that the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held in 2018, major issues have been identified with the CDBG-DR program. Slow reimbursement of disaster- related funding, delays in funding for our low- to moderate-income citizens, and the potential duplication of benefits were just some of the identified difficulties. While FEMA and other government agencies provide immediate resources to victims of disasters, it is HUD that often distributes the most aid through the CDBG disaster recovery program. Although HUD has become a primary provider of disaster assistance since 1993, this program is not codified in statute. HUD uses more than 60 Federal Register notices to issue clarifying guidance waivers and alternative requirements to oversee at least 113 active disaster recovery program grants, which total--are you ready for this, Mr. Speaker?--more than $47 billion of taxpayer money as of last year. Codifying the CDBG-DR program would provide a framework for future disasters, reduce the overreliance on Federal Register notices for each disaster, and speed delivery of disaster assistance to grantees and disaster victims. The CDBG-DR program must be codified and reformed to increase oversight and accountability and ensure that disaster relief dollars go directly and expeditiously to those who need them the most. Codification provides proper controls that protect against waste, fraud, and abuse. In testimony before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee last Congress, the acting inspector general of HUD noted that $11.5 billion of CDBG-DR funds appropriated for disasters, going all the way back for almost nearly a decade, remain unspent. H.R. 3702 sets up a mechanism to recapture future unused CDBG-DR funds, an accountability mechanism that we desperately need to put in reserves for future disasters. We must do a better job recouping this lost money for future disasters. And, most importantly, this will help ensure disaster funds are getting to those who need them most when they need it. H.R. 3702 also helps to eliminate the duplication of benefits that can occur in the wake of government response to a natural disaster under our current multiagency system. It helps protect taxpayer dollars from being improperly allocated, from waste, fraud, and abuse, as was laid out by the inspector general. It is about time, Mr. Speaker, that Congress makes this disaster relief program accountable to the people we serve and to American taxpayers in every State. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), one of our senior members of the Financial Services Committee who is also the ranking member on the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, may I make an inquiry? Is the gentleman ready to close? I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Those who oppose this bill, the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act, they oppose it because HUD involvement has been involved in disaster recovery. Their opposition is so strong that they would allow waste, fraud, and abuse to continue to overrun the program instead of codifying and reforming it. Their opposition is purely philosophical, Mr. Speaker. It is not practical. HUD has been charged with administering this program since 1993 under Democrat and Republican Presidents, under Democrat and Republican Speakers. No matter the composition of the House or the Senate, this program has continued. I have seen no national movement to end this program and bring the gentleman's theoretical vision into being. Meanwhile, the program continues to generate waste, fraud, and abuse. The gentleman would justify this waste and abuse because they believe some day they will successfully convince both Chambers in Congress and the President to pass legislation that would make FEMA the sole distributor of disaster funds. The gentlemen have articulated no feasible path toward ending the program. The gentlemen have no interest in reforming or fixing the program, and they have no jurisdiction, Mr. Speaker. During the 115th Congress I served as the chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee. I worked with committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, a conservative through and through, to draft this legislation with my good friend and colleague, Mr. Green, and address the flaws in this program. We must pass this bill in order to end the waste and abuse, and to ensure that funding goes quickly to those who need it, and to recapture the unused funds responsibly. I am dismayed that my colleagues in opposition will continue to waste taxpayer dollars simply because they have an interagency disagreement that falls outside of their jurisdiction. This legislation places greater accountability and controls on taxpayer money spent after disaster through codification, a clawback provision, duplication of benefit reforms, minimum procurement standards for States, and other very important provisions. This bill, Mr. Speaker, is effective and responsive policy, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this piece of legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4029, the Tribal Eligibility for Homeless Assistance Grants Act of 2019. According to a study from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness on Tribal lands often looks different from many other areas of the country. Tribal homelessness often results in overcrowding in housing that is already in short supply and rapidly aging and deteriorating. Sadly, 16 percent of households in Tribal areas are overcrowded compared to just 2 percent nationally. These overcrowded conditions hide the problem of homelessness throughout these communities. In 1996, the Native American Housing Assistance and Self- Determination Act was passed to give Tribes one larger and more flexible block grant to meet their housing needs. As a result, Tribes are ineligible for HUD's individual housing assistance programs. H.R. 4029 would allow Tribal communities to be eligible to apply for and receive HUD's local Continuum of Care grants. Making Tribes eligible recipients for homeless assistance grants is a first step towards fixing Tribal housing issues and solving this hidden crisis of homelessness on Tribal lands. Mr. Speaker, I applaud the sponsors of H.R. 4029, Mr. Heck, and our former colleague, Mr. Duffy. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop).

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues once again to support H.R. 4029, the Tribal Eligibility for Homeless Assistance Grants Act of 2019, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this Congress, our committee has held multiple hearings focused on strengthening diversity and inclusion in our financial system and beyond, including a full committee hearing examining America's boardrooms. Witness testimony makes clear that women and minorities are underrepresented in leadership positions throughout the financial services sector. This bill will help move companies in the right direction. We know that women hold just 26 percent of senior management positions and only 15 percent of executive positions in the finance industry. These figures have stayed relatively flat over the past decade. Corporate leaders know the value of having a wide range of perspectives and experiences in the boardroom and are being proactive in their efforts to diversify leadership in the financial services industry. Last year, 91 percent of board directors reported taking steps to increase diversity. Just last month, Citigroup announced the promotion of Jane Fraser to lead Citigroup's global consumer banking, setting her up to be the first female CEO of a major bank. The private sector is working proactively to achieve more diversity, and this bill will give us even more data to measure progress, including with respect to hiring veterans. Companies should also work to help our servicemen and -women reacclimate into civilian life. This bill will reinforce the work that industry is already doing to help employ our veterans. Witnesses who testified before the committee believe that the disclosures in this bill are a step in the right direction, in part because a large percentage of companies already do it annually. In fact, more than 40 percent of publicly traded companies already disclose information related to the gender, race, and ethnic makeup of their boards. I thank Congresswoman Maloney and Congressman Meeks for working on this bill. I am grateful to the ranking member and the chairman of the Committee on Financial Services. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 5084, the Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2019. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the gentleman from Utah (Mr. McAdams) and the ranking member of the Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets Subcommittee, Mr. Huizenga, for their diligent efforts on this bipartisan bill. This bill is the result of the Supreme Court's Kokesh decision, which restricted the SEC's disgorgement authority to 5 years. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton almost never advocates for Congress to legislate on a particular issue; however, the issue before us today is the exception, as Chairman Clayton has expressed concern that a 5-year statute of limitations allows bad actors to hold on to their ill-gotten gains obtained outside of that 5-year window. As Chairman Clayton has pointed out: Many long-running frauds go longer and, in some cases, well longer than 5 years; and it is just plain wrong to allow a fraudster to keep money made from their fraud simply because he or she was good at concealing the wrongful behavior. Today's bill is responsive to Chairman Clayton's concerns in a thoughtful and balanced way. Statutes of limitations are important procedural protections intended to strike the balance between ensuring wrongdoers are not rewarded for bad behavior and protecting shareholders, who are ultimately responsible for paying large penalties for violations they did not commit in the event of an SEC judgment. I know there is concern that the 14-year statute of limitations in the bill is too long. I share concerns that the SEC could be slow to bring a case when certainty and swiftness should be the priority when pursuing enforcement actions. However, the reality is this: A 14-year statute of limitations is a reasonable first attempt to strike the appropriate balance in the disgorgement context. I say ``first attempt'' because the bill also requires the SEC to report to Congress with data on cases where the SEC has sought disgorgement. These reports will be useful in allowing Congress to evaluate the effectiveness of the statute of limitations and fine-tune it, if appropriate. This bipartisan bill carefully balances the benefits of statutes of limitations with the downside of fraudsters potentially holding on to significant amounts of their gains. Again, I thank the gentlemen from Utah and Michigan for their thoughtful draft bipartisan legislation, which I support, and I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga), the ranking member of the Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets Subcommittee.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER

Mrs. WAGNER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1865, the National Law Enforcement Museum Commemorative Coin Act. I would like to also thank the gentleman from New Jersey, Representative Pascrell, and my colleague, Senator Blunt from Missouri, for all of their hard work on this important, bipartisan piece of legislation. Madam Speaker, in 2000, Congress authorized the creation of the National Law Enforcement Museum, and just 18 years later, the museum was formally opened on October 13, 2018, in Washington, D.C., across the street from the National Law Enforcement Memorial. Every day, our Nation's law enforcement officers put their uniforms on and go to work not knowing if they will make it home. They selflessly protect us while asking nothing in return. The establishment of this museum serves as a reminder of the great sacrifices that law enforcement officers make. By educating the public on their work, the museum serves as a vital resource in sharing the daily experiences of our men and women in uniform. Madam Speaker, H.R. 1865, the National Law Enforcement Museum Commemorative Coin Act, directs the U.S. Treasury to mint a coin in 2021 in commemoration of the opening of the National Law Enforcement Museum here in Washington, D.C. Additionally, the proceeds of this important commemorative coin will go to support the National Law Enforcement Museum and to ensure that it is able to maintain a robust and diverse level of programming. Madam Speaker, the passage of H.R. 1865 will greatly honor our Nation's law enforcement and further support this remarkable institution. We should do our part by passing this bipartisan piece of legislation to create this commemorative coin. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER. Madam Speaker, it is now my privilege to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford), the Republican lead and cochair of the Law Enforcement Caucus.

Mrs. WAGNER. Madam Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2423, the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act. I thank the gentlewoman from New York, Congresswoman Stefanik, my good friend, who has introduced and brought this bill forward to the floor, as well as the gentlewoman from Tennessee, Senator Blackburn, for their tireless work on this commemorative coin bill. Congresswoman Stefanik, Senator Blackburn, and all of the women in our conference have been tireless supporters of this issue. 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing and protecting a woman's constitutional right to vote in this country. I would be remiss if I did not recognize and honor the work of the late Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin. Congresswoman Rankin founded the Committee on Woman Suffrage, which led the fight in the House of Representatives for the constitutional amendment that would grant women, nationwide, the right to vote. It is these efforts for equality that we are commemorating today. This historic centennial offers an unparalleled opportunity to commemorate a milestone of democracy and to shed light on and honor the legacy of pioneers and patriots who blazed new trails to lead women to the voting booth. Beginning in July of 1848, the first women's rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Yet, it was not until August of 1920, 140 years after signing the Declaration of Independence, that the fight for a woman's right to vote concluded in Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, Tennessee became the 36th and final State needed to ratify the 19th Amendment, marking the single largest extension of voting rights in our Nation's history, enfranchising 27 million American women. Mr. Speaker, this bill will help ensure that the upcoming anniversary, and the 72 years of tireless perseverance by three generations of dedicated suffragists who sought to overturn centuries of law and millennia of tradition, are commemorated and celebrated throughout the United States. Mr. Speaker, additionally, the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act will not cost any taxpayer dollars. All funding will come from the sale of the coins to private citizens, with proceeds from the coin going to support the Smithsonian Institution's American Women's History Initiative. This initiative is intended to be the Nation's most comprehensive undertaking to document, research, collect, display, and share the rich and compelling story of women in America. Mr. Speaker, passage of H.R. 2423 will honor this unforgettable movement and support educating our future generations about the fight for women's equality. We should do our part by passing this legislation to create this commemorative coin. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik), the author of this piece of legislation.

Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik) and Congresswoman Lawrence, also, for their tremendous work on this, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. WAGNER

Mrs. WAGNER. Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?