Majority Press Releases
Brown, Warren Urge CFPB to Protect Homeowners Exiting COVID-19 Related Forbearance
U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a member of the Senate Banking and Housing Committee, sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Uejio urging him to put in place better protections for the millions of homeowners who could unnecessarily lose their homes to foreclosure.“More than 2.1 million homeowners remain in mortgage forbearance and will exit forbear… Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Brown Applauds Eviction Moratorium Extension
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today released the following statement after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Walensky announced an extension of the CDC eviction moratorium through July 31st, 2021:“The eviction moratorium is providing essential protections to millions of renters during the pandemic. It’s time for state and local grantees to remove unnecessary red tape and make sure that the fun… Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Brown: We Must Address Our Country’s Housing Crisis
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 “Examining Bipartisan Bills to Increase Access to Housing.”Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:In our first hearing I gaveled as chair, we talked about how housing is the gateway to opportunity, and to building a middle class life - and how too many families are locked out of it.I said that this Comm… Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Brown Statement on the Supreme Court’s Collins v. Yellen Decision
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 the Supreme Court ruled in today’s Collins v. Yellen decision that the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director position, as established in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, is unconstitutional.“We are facing an affordable housing crisis in every part of the country. Today’s decision gives President Biden the opportunit… Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Bennet, Portman, Brown, and Young Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Tackle the Eviction Crisis
Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) introduced the Eviction Crisis Act of 2021 to address the national housing crisis holding back millions of American families who are struggling to ascend into the middle class. This legislation will shed light on the root causes of the eviction crisis, reduce preventable evictions, and limit the devastation to families when eviction is unavoidable. “Time and again I’ve hea… Continue Reading
June 22, 2021
Brown: These Nominees Will Protect Our National Security From Terrorists and Financial Criminals
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 nominations hearing for Brian Nelson to be Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes and Elizabeth Rosenberg to be Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing.Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:This hearing will come to order.Today we will consider President Biden’s nominations for two key… Continue Reading
June 18, 2021
Brown Applauds Federal Housing Administration on Steps to Remove Barriers to Homeownership for Those With Student Loan Debt
Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, applauded the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for taking steps to remove barriers and provide more access to affordable single family FHA-insured mortgage financing for creditworthy individuals with student loan debt, which has a disproportionate impact on people of color. The updated policy more closely aligns FHA student loan debt calculation policies with other housing age… Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
Gillibrand Introduces New and Improved Consumer Watchdog Agency to Give Americans Control Over Their Data
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced her renewed legislation, the Data Protection Act of 2021, which would create the Data Protection Agency (DPA), an independent federal agency that would protect Americans’ data, safeguard their privacy, and ensure data practices are fair and transparent. First introduced in 2020, the updated legislation has undergone significant improvements, including updated provisions to protect against privacy harms and discrimination, oversee the use of high-ri… Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
Brown: To Make Our Communities More Resilient, We Must Strengthen Flood Insurance
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 “Reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program, Part II.”Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:Today’s hearing is the second in our effort to enact a long-term reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program this Congress.In May, we heard from a panel of experts who emphasized that we… Continue Reading
June 15, 2021
Sens. Brown, Blunt, Durbin and Reps. Beatty, Wagner Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Housing Services for Survivors of Human Trafficking
Today, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Dick Durbin (D-IL), as well as U.S. Representatives Joyce Beatty (D-OH) and Ann Wagner (R-MO), introduced legislation that would commission a study reviewing current homelessness and housing services for survivors of trafficking. The bill was previously introduced in 2019 and 2018.“To fight back against human trafficking, we have to address the affordable… Continue Reading
June 15, 2021
Brown: Local Leaders Are Calling for Transformative Infrastructure Investments, and We Must Listen
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered the following remarks during a Committee hearing entitled, “21st Century Communities: Local Leaders on the Infrastructure Needs Facing America’s States, Cities, and Towns.” The witnesses testifying at today’s hearing include Mayor Daniel Horrigan of Akron, Ohio, Mayor Corey Woods of Tempe, Arizona, and Mayor Cyndy Andrus of Bozeman, Montana.Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for… Continue Reading
June 10, 2021
Brown Applauds the Confirmations of Ms. Adrianne Todman, to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Ms. Nuria Fernandez, to be Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration
Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, applauded the confirmations of Ms. Adrianne Todman of the Virgin Islands to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and Ms. Nuria Fernandez of California to be Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Both historic nominees have broad bipartisan support. Fernandez is the first Senate-confirmed woman of color to lead the agency, and Todman is t… Continue Reading
June 10, 2021
Brown Presses Private Equity Firm on Evictions Filed During Moratorium
Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - requested a briefing from Pretium Partners, LLC about reports that the company has attempted to evict over a thousand tenants for unpaid rent despite the federal eviction moratorium. In his letter to Pretium Partners CEO Don Mullen, Senator Brown expresses particular concern that the company has reportedly filed eviction notices at higher rates in majority-Black counties.“While e… Continue Reading
June 9, 2021
Brown On Digital Currency: Our Banking System Should Work For Everyone
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered the following remarks during a Subcommittee on Economic Policy hearing entitled, “Building A Stronger Financial System: Opportunities of a Central Bank Digital Currency.”Video of the remarks can be found here.Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Thank you to Chair Warren and Ranking Member Kennedy for holding this important hearing, and thank you to our witnesses. I’… Continue Reading
June 9, 2021
At Hearing, Warren Delivers Remarks on Digital Currency
Today, chairing a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Economic Policy, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) delivered remarks on the opportunities and risks that digital currencies present. Following Senator Warren's remarks the following will testify: Dr. Neha Narula, Director of the Digital Currency Initiative at MIT; Lev Menand, Academic Fellow And Lecturer In Law at Columbia Law School; J. Christopher Giancarlo, Senior Counsel at… Continue Reading
June 9, 2021
Brown Applauds Biden-Harris Administration’s First Step to Restoring Fair Housing Act
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 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released an interim final rule restoring key provisions of HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, which implements a critical element of the Fair Housing Act but had been gutted by the Trump Administration:“More than 50 years ago, we made a commitment to promote fair… Continue Reading
June 8, 2021
Senate Passes Bipartisan Legislation With Key Brown Provisions to Make Historic Investments in Science, Technology & Innovation, Allow U.S. To Better Compete With China
Today, the U.S. Senate passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which included key provisions from U.S. Senator Brown (D-OH) to make a once-in-a-generation investment in American science, technology and innovation to help the U.S. preserve its competitive edge.“Our competitors like China spend billions propping up state-owned enterprises and subsidizing research and development, and they also take our ideas and use them to compete - and sometimes cheat - against American workers and busin… Continue Reading
June 8, 2021
Chair Tina Smith Leads Hearing on Rural Transit, Brings Transit Leaders Together to Discuss Connecting Rural Communities
Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chair of a key Senate transportation subcommittee, led a hearing to gather input from rural transit leaders from across the country—including Brandon Nurmi from Arrowhead Transit in Virginia, Minnesota. The local transit officials shared the challenges they face each day in managing transit services in rural areas, as well as innovative solutions to connect rural communities.Chair Smith, who was joined at the bipartisan hearing by the Subcommittee’s Rank… Continue Reading
June 4, 2021
Brown, Reed, Tester Applaud Fixes to VA’s Assistance for Military Borrowers
Today, U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Jack Reed (D-RI), Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, and Jon Tester (D-MT), Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, applauded the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for making changes to the agency’s proposed COVID-19 Veterans Assistance Partial Claim Payment (COVID-VAPCP) program in response to concerns raised by the Senators and other stakehold… Continue Reading
May 27, 2021
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Highlights Urgent Need to Invest in Housing for Native Americans at First Hearing as Chair of Key Senate Panel
U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) - in her first hearing as Chair of a key Senate housing panel - said there is an urgent need for investment in housing for Native Americans in Minnesota and across the country, and promised to continue efforts to knock down the systemic barriers that have kept generations of Native Americans from having a safe, stable, and affordable place to live.Chair Smith, who was joined at the bipartisan hearing by the Subcommittee’s Ranking Member Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), … Continue Reading
