Majority Press Releases
Brown Statement on the Passing of Former Chair of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, today released a statement following the passing of Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Volcker served as Chair under both Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. He was appointed by President Carter in 1979. He was re-nominated by President Reagan in 1983 and served until 1987. He started the Volcker Alliance in 2013 to support policies that … Continue Reading
December 9, 2019
Brown Demands Answers on Administration’s Policy and Personnel Choices Related to Homelessness
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, today demanded answers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on the administration’s pick, Robert Marbut, to lead the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). Brown pressed David C. Woll, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, on the administration’s decision. Marbut has publicly proposed sev… Continue Reading
December 5, 2019
Brown Blasts Trump Designee to Lead Homelessness Council
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - today released the following statement after President Trump selected Robert Marbut to lead the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). Marbut has publicly proposed several harmful ideas that would effectively punish homeless Americans and are deeply troubling coming from someone selected to lead the agency tasked with responding to homelessnes… Continue Reading
December 5, 2019
Brown Opening Statement at Hearing on Oversight of Financial Regulators
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing entitled ‘Oversight of Financial Regulators.’ Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to start by noting that typically when we have the financial regulators testify, the Comptroller of the Currency is also here. Mr. Otting had a conflict today.… Continue Reading
December 3, 2019
Brown: Banking Watchdogs Put Short-Term Profits Over Hardworking Families
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - sent a letter ahead of the Senate Banking Committee’s December 5th hearing to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, as well as Financial Stability Oversight Council members including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams, and NCUA Chair Rodney Hood, requesting that the regulators take action to address the threat of leveraged len… Continue Reading
November 25, 2019
Brown, Senate Dems Urge HUD To Reject Proposed Changes To The Fair Housing Act's Disparate Impact Standard
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee along with forty-five senators sent a letter to Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, urging him to reject changes proposed in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) August 19, 2019 Proposed Rulemaking: HUD’s Implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard (the Proposed Rule). The Proposed Ru… Continue Reading
November 20, 2019
Brown Opening Statement at Nominations Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing nominations to the Department of Treasury, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Export-Import Bank. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding today’s hearing on the nominations of Mr. Mitchell Silk, Mr. Brian Montgomery, Mr. David Woll, Mr. John Bobbitt, and Mr. Peter Coniglio. C… Continue Reading
November 20, 2019
Brown Opening Statement at TRIA Markup
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee delivered the following remarks at a hearing to markup S. 2877, the “Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019.” Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow: We lost thousands of our friends and neighbors on September 11th, 2001. Since that day, almost ten thousand first responders have been diagnosed with serious illnesses related to… Continue Reading
November 19, 2019
Brown, Senate Dems Demand HUD Reverse Eric Blankenstein's Promotion
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and four Banking Committee Democrats are demanding the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rescind the promotion of Eric Blankenstein to Executive Vice President at the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). In a letter to HUD Secretary Ben Carson, the Senators cited Blankenstein’s racist and sexist remarks, and the previous Inspector… Continue Reading
November 19, 2019
Brown Blasts Regulators for Approving BB&T and SunTrust Merger
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee blasted the Federal Reserve and FDIC for approving the merger BB&T and SunTrust Bank. The merger is the largest since the financial crisis, sending a signal that the agencies are open for business for further consolidation of the largest banks.“The merger of BB&T and SunTrust, along with the agencies’ gutting of regulation, will further decrease competition among … Continue Reading
November 7, 2019
Brown, Grassley Introduce Legislation To Provide Stable Housing For Foster Youth Transitioning To Adulthood
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and Charles Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced legislation to help provide stable housing options for foster care youth transitioning to adulthood. Each year, approximately 20,000 youth across the country age out of foster care. Unfortunately, this sudden transition places these vulnerable young adults at risk of homeless… Continue Reading
October 28, 2019
Senate Democrats Slam Carson For Undercutting Transgender Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs along with thirty two Senators are demanding Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson retract his statements about the rights of transgender individuals, following dismissive remarks he made during a staff meeting according to the Washington Post.“We are deeply concerned that your comments undercut protections provided to transgender people… Continue Reading
October 28, 2019
Senate Democrats Slam Carson For Undercutting Transgender Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs along with thirty two Senators are demanding Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson retract his statements about the rights of transgender individuals, following dismissive remarks he made during a staff meeting according to the Washington Post.“We are deeply concerned that your comments undercut protections provided to transgender people… Continue Reading
October 22, 2019
Brown Opening Statememt at Banking Committee Hearing on Consolidated Audit Trail
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing entitled ‘Oversight of the Status of the Consolidated Audit Trail’. Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow: Thank you, Chairman Crapo, and welcome to our witnesses. We are just shy of 200 days from the 10th anniversary of the 2010 flash crash. Although there hasn’t been a marke… Continue Reading
October 17, 2019
Brown Opening Statement at Hearing On CFPB Semi-Annual Report To Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing entitled ‘The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’ Semiannual Report to Congress’. Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow: Thank you, Chairman Crapo. We created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stand up for students, servicemembers, and other hardworking Americans a… Continue Reading
October 11, 2019
Brown Statement On Payment Providers Declining To Join Facebook's Libra Association
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - released the following statement on MasterCard, Visa, and Stripe announcing that they will not join Facebook’s Libra Association. “Large payment companies are wise to avoid legitimizing Facebook’s private, global currency,” said Brown. “Facebook is too big and too powerful, and it is unconscionable for financial companies to aid it in monopolizing our … Continue Reading
October 10, 2019
Brown and Murray Lay Out Expectations For New CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman
Washington, D.C. -U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Student Loan Ombudsman Mr. Robert Cameron laying out guiding principles and expectations for the Student Loan Ombudsman's Office“As you know, the Consumer Financial Protection Act … Continue Reading
October 9, 2019
Brown, Schatz Warn Payments Providers Of Risks With Libra Association
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee and U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, sent letters to the CEOs of Visa, MasterCard, and Stripe to express deep concerns over Facebook’s Libra Association and to urge potential member companies to proceed with caution until Facebook is able to provide real answers. PayPal left the Libra Association on Friday. “We are concerned because key que… Continue Reading
September 27, 2019
Brown and Waters Call On Appraisal Subcommittee To Provide Answers On Unprecedented Appraisal Waiver
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter to the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) Chairman Arthur Lindo requesting answers about ASC’s decision to grant a waiver of appraiser certification and licensing to the state of North Dakota. Created in 1989 by Congress, ASC strengthened federal oversight of t… Continue Reading
September 26, 2019
Brown Demands Answers From CFPB On Why Funds Were Not Returned To Harmed Consumers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - is demanding that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger stop protecting bad actors at the expense of harmed consumers. In his letter, Brown criticized the CFPB enforcement actions under Director Kraninger that have provided little and in some cases zero monetary relief for consumers. “This is a critical function of the B… Continue Reading
