Majority Press Releases
Brown: Nominees are Ready to Work for Americans’ Jobs, Businesses, and Homes
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered the following opening statement at today’s nomination hearing for Reta Jo Lewis to be President and Chair of the Export-Import Bank; and Elizabeth de Leon Bhargava to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:The Committee meets today to consider the nominations of: Reta Jo Lewis to be President and Chair o… Continue Reading
October 21, 2021
Brown Statement on Fed Stock Trading Announcement
Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, issued the following statement after the Federal Reserve announced new policies around officials and senior staff owning and trading individual stocks.“Today’s announcement is a start, but we can’t let up now,” said Senator Brown. “My coming legislation would set strong requirements, like banning Fed officials from trading individual stocks, and it would have the rule of law. The American people … Continue Reading
October 21, 2021
Brown Lays Out Private Equity’s Harmful Impact on Renters, Communities
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing entitled “How Private Equity Landlords are Changing the Housing Market.”Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:One thing seems to be pretty much certain in this economy: no matter what happens to most Americans - a financial crisis, a global pandemic - Wall Street will find a way to profit off of everybody else’… Continue Reading
October 20, 2021
Warren, Baldwin, Brown, Pocan, Jayapal, Colleagues Reintroduce Bold Legislation to Fundamentally Reform the Private Equity Industry
United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Chair of the Senate Banking Committee, along with Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), today reintroduced the Stop Wall Street Looting Act, a comprehensive bill to fundamentally reform the private equity industry and level the playing field by forcing private investment firms to take responsibility for the outcomes of companies they take over, empowering workers, and… Continue Reading
October 20, 2021
Brown Calls On Newly-confirmed CFPB Director Chopra To Review The Tenant Screening Industry
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to Rohit Chopra, the newly-confirmed Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), urging him to review the tenant screening industry and protect renters. In April, Chair Brown wrote to several tenant screening companies about the impact of inaccuracies in their screening reports and scores, which can lock tenants out of the housing market and exacerbate raci… Continue Reading
October 19, 2021
Schatz, Brown, Senators To Zuckerberg: Facebook Cannot Be Trusted To Manage Cryptocurrency, Stop Launch Of Diem, Novi Immediately
Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) voiced their opposition to Facebook’s revived effort to launch a cryptocurrency (“Diem”) and digital wallet (“Novi”). In light of yet another scandal involving Facebook’s failure to protect its users, the senators urged Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to immediately dis… Continue Reading
October 19, 2021
Brown: Robust, Effective Sanctions Policies Will Protect U.S. National Security
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing entitled International Policy Update: The Treasury Department’s Sanctions Policy Review and Other Issues.Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:Today we welcome Deputy Secretary Adeyemo to the Committee for an update on international policy issues.Sanctions policy is an area where we have done important, biparti… Continue Reading
October 13, 2021
Brown to Powell: No More Giveaways to Wall Street
Today U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell urging the Fed to take no further action deregulating the banking industry until the President has announced his nominees for upcoming Board terms.“When Vice Chair Quarles was confirmed to his position, banking lobbyists cheered. Not only did he immediately set out a plan to shift post-crisis rules to benefitting industry interes… Continue Reading
October 7, 2021
Brown: These Nominees Will Strengthen National Security and Expand Housing Opportunities Across the Country
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered the following opening statement at today’s nomination hearing for Matthew Axelrod, to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce; Alanna McCargo, to be President, Government National Mortgage Association, Department of Housing and Urban Development; James Arthur Jemison II, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and Mark Colón, to be an Assistant Secretary of… Continue Reading
October 6, 2021
Brown Blasts Ranking Member Toomey For Red Scare Attacks On Saule Omarova
Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, released the following statement blasting Ranking Member Toomey for his baseless accusations against Saule Omarova, nominee to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). “Before today, I thought, red scare McCarthyism was rightly relegated to the dustbin of history. Any American citizen who fled communist repression - whether it be FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams or OCC nom… Continue Reading
October 5, 2021
Brown: We Must Send Humanitarian Aid to the Afghan People – While Ensuring Funds Don’t Fall Into Taliban Hands
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing entitled “Afghanistan’s Future: Assessing the National Security, Humanitarian and Economic Implications of the Taliban Takeover.”Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:In August, we finally ended twenty years of war in Afghanistan. Almost 125,000 people were airlifted out of the country in a few short weeks, bec… Continue Reading
October 5, 2021
Senate Banking and Housing Committee Votes on Key Biden Administration Nominees
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, led the Committee in voting on nine key Biden Administration nominees:Mr. Brian Nelson, of California, to be Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, U.S. Department of Treasury;Ms. Elizabeth Rosenberg, of Vermont, to be Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing, U.S. Department of Treasury;Ms. Alexia Marie Gabrielle Latortue, of the District of Col… Continue Reading
October 4, 2021
Brown Statement on the Pandora Papers
Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, released the following statement on the newly released Pandora Papers.“The revelations in the massive Pandora Papers leaks reveal once again the extraordinary lengths to which billionaires, oligarchs, kleptocrats, and other bad actors will go to hide their wealth, evade taxes and accountability, and launder dirty money,” said Brown. “It’s why I worked with my Republican colleagues to e… Continue Reading
September 30, 2021
Brown Statement on Rohit Chopra’s Confirmation
Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, released the following statement after Rohit Chopra was confirmed as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB):“The CFPB will have a leader who is ready to stand up to the biggest banks and the most powerful corporations to protect families, service members, students, and the elderly,” said Brown. “Congratulations to Mr. Chopra. I applaud my colleagues for coming toge… Continue Reading
September 30, 2021
Brown Opening Statement at Nomination Hearing
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing on nominations to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Export-Import Bank (EXIM).Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:The Committee meets today to consider the nominations of: Todd Harper to be Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration;Judith Pryor to be First Vice President of … Continue Reading
September 30, 2021
Senator Reverend Warnock Introduces Legislation to Support First-Generation Home Buyers, Pushes for Inclusion in Build Back Better Economic Package
Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) introduced new legislation to help millions access the benefits of homeownership and provide a pathway to financial security and housing stability across the country. The Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2021 would provide federal grants, administered through local entities, to aid first-generation homebuyers with qualifying expenses toward purchasing their first home—including downpayment costs, closing costs, and costs to reduce the rates of … Continue Reading
September 28, 2021
Brown to Powell, Yellen: We Must All Continue to Support the Real Economy and Its Workers
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing entitled “CARES Act Oversight of the Treasury and Federal Reserve: Supporting an Equitable Pandemic Recovery.”Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:We all remember the dark days of 2008, and the painful years that followed. Secretary Yellen and Chair Powell, you both helped us deal with the aftermath in your ro… Continue Reading
September 23, 2021
Brown Statement on the Historic Selection of Saule Omarova to Lead the OCC
Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, released the following statement after President Biden announced the nomination of Saule Omarova to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). If confirmed, Omarova would be the first woman, and the first person of color to lead the agency in its 158-year history.“Saule Omarova has spent her career working with both Republicans and Democrats on systemic financial s… Continue Reading
September 22, 2021
Warren, Brown, Smith, and Van Hollen Request Information from SPAC Creators Amid “Astonishing” Reports of Abuse and Market Dysfunction
Text of Letters (PDF)United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) sent letters to six creators of prominent Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs, publicly traded shell companies that raise money to buy private companies and take them public. Their letters raise concerns about abuses by the creators and operators of SPACs, including reports that insiders are taking advantage of legislative and regulatory g… Continue Reading
September 22, 2021
Brown: Rohit Chopra Is One Step Closer to Confirmation
Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, released the following statement after Rohit Chopra, nominee for Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), was successfully discharged from the Committee. His nomination will next be considered for final confirmation by the Senate.“Americans need someone at the helm of the CFPB who is ready to stand up to the biggest banks and the most powerful corporations in order … Continue Reading
