Majority Press Releases
Brown Applauds Biden Administration Action on Rental Junk Fees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, released the following statement after the Biden Administration announced that it would work across agencies to encourage landlords to increase transparency and fairness in rents and limit junk fees.“Too often, renters are hit with unexpected junk fees on top of their rent that eat into seniors’ and working families’ monthly budgets,” said Brown. “I applaud the Administratio… Continue Reading
March 8, 2023
Brown, Cortez Masto, Warren Sound Alarm on Check Washing Fraud
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, along with Committee members Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), sent a letter to the American Bankers Association (ABA) expressing concerns regarding increasing check fraud scams, which cost consumers over $800 million last year.“Check washing has become an elaborate and organized method of successfully scamming consumers and banks,” wrote th… Continue Reading
March 7, 2023
Brown to Powell: Put Workers First in the Fight Against Inflation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — 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, “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Reporter to the Congress.”Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:Today we examine the Fed’s actions to combat inflation and whether these actions are working - including how these actions affect Americans’ jobs and their paychecks.Prices are still too … Continue Reading
March 3, 2023
Senate Dems Urge Biden to Address Our Nation's Affordable Housing Crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, led 17 Senate Committee Chairs and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in a letter to President Biden requesting that the federal government utilize a “whole-of-government” approach to address our nation’s housing needs.“Our nation’s housing is an essential piece of our infrastructure, but it is a sector that remains in crisis,” wrote the Senators. “With the Bipartisan Infr… Continue Reading
March 2, 2023
To Help Americans Keep Their Money Safe, U.S. Senators Urge Regulators to Hold Zelle Accountable for Inadequate Protections to Stop Fraudulently Induced Payments to Crooks
WASHINGTON, DC - As scammers find new ways and employ sophisticated schemes to dupe customers using instant peer-to-peer payment systems like Zelle to send money on the platform under fraudulent pretenses, a leading group of U.S. Senators is seeking new ways to ensure financial institutions and regulators help people keep their hard-earned cash safe from fraud and scams. In an effort to protect consumers and hold banks accountable for fraudulent transactions conducted using the bank-owned instan… Continue Reading
March 2, 2023
Brown Presses OCC to Address Bank Mergers and Branch Closures in Low-Income, Rural, and Minority Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to Michael Hsu, Acting Comptroller of the Currency, expressing concerns about bank branch closures in low- to moderate-income communities. Brown’s letter follows news reports of bank closures in low-income communities and a report from Federal Reserve officials on the negative impact of banking deserts in rural, low-income, and minority communities.“I am concer… Continue Reading
February 28, 2023
Brown: Using Economic Tools Will Advance U.S. National Security
WASHINGTON, D.C. — 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, “Advancing National Security and Foreign Policy Through Sanctions, Export Controls, and Other Economic Tools.”Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:Last week marked one year since Vladimir Putin unleashed his brutal, criminal war on Ukraine. Putin wanted to jeopardize the future of … Continue Reading
February 27, 2023
Brown Statement on Supreme Court Decision to Hear CFPB Case
Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, issued the following statement after the Supreme Court announced that it would reconsider the Fifth Circuit court’s decision in Community Financial Services Association of America v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau next term: “Congress created the CFPB so that consumers could have an agency dedicated to one thing: fighting for their interests, not Wall Street’s. The CFPB’s funding struct… Continue Reading
February 23, 2023
Regulators Heed Brown's Call to Apply Existing Safeguards to Crypto Risks
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, issued the following statement after the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) warned banks on the liquidity risks presented by cryptocurrencies. The regulatory agencies reminded banking organizations to apply existing risk management principles to certain sources of funding fro… Continue Reading
February 22, 2023
Brown Applauds Administration's Action to Cut Costs for New FHA Homebuyers
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, issued the following statement after the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), will cut its annual mortgage insurance premium by 0.30 percentage points for most new borrowers.“Homeownership is out of reach for too many Ohioans and families across the cou… Continue Reading
February 15, 2023
Brown Applauds Changes to President Biden's Economic Team
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, issued the following statement after President Biden announced Lael Brainard, Vice Chair and Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, was selected to lead President Biden’s National Economic Council (NEC) and Jared Bernstein to lead the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA):“I thank Vice Chair Brainard and Mr. Bernstein for their service and dedication. Both have built their care… Continue Reading
February 14, 2023
Brown: Let's Regulate Crypto and Protect Consumers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — 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, “Crypto Crash: Why Financial Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets.”Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:What a difference a year makes.Go back to last year’s Super Bowl. The cryptocurrency industry spent a whopping $54 million on eight ads, promising Americans untold riches and… Continue Reading
February 9, 2023
Brown: Housing is Too Expensive for Too Many Families and Seniors
WASHINGTON, D.C. — 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, “The State of Housing 2023.”Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:Welcome back to many of you, and welcome to the new members of this Committee.I want to welcome Senator Scott as the new Ranking Member of this Committee.Senator Scott has played an important role on this Committee fo… Continue Reading
February 8, 2023
Chairman Brown and Ranking Member Scott Announce Banking and Housing Subcommittee Assignments for 118th Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC) today announced the panel’s subcommittee assignments for the 118th Congress.“On this committee, we are focusing everything we do on workers, their families, and the issues that matter most to their lives,” said Chairman Brown. “I look forward to working with these subcommittee chairs, their ranking members, and other committee member… Continue Reading
February 3, 2023
Brown Announces February Hearing Schedule
***All press attending hearings are encouraged to wear a N95 or KN95 mask, regardless of vaccination status.***WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today announced the hearing schedule for the month of February.February 9, 10:00 AM - Full Committee Hearing: “The State of Housing 2023”February 14, 10:00 AM - Full Committee Hearing: “Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Asset… Continue Reading
February 1, 2023
Brown, Reed, Colleagues to FHFA: Keep Homes in the Hands of Homeowners and Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, along with Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), sent a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) requesting a review of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s nonperforming loan and reperforming loan sales programs. These programs often result in loans being sold to large investors, who then control whether h… Continue Reading
January 27, 2023
Brown Announces Democratic Caucus' Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Membership for the 118th Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, issued the following statement regarding the Banking and Housing Committee membership for the 118th Congress:“Under Democrats’ leadership, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee has put workers, their families, and what matters to their lives at the center of everything we do. This Congress, we’ll continue to focus on the issues that matter most to wo… Continue Reading
January 26, 2023
Merkley, Brown Applaud SEC for Moving Towards Finalizing Conflicts of Interest Rule for Asset-Backed Securities
Washington D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Banking and Housing Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) applauded the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for reintroducing proposed rulemaking to address conflicts of interests in the securitization market. “Conflicts of interest in the securitization market contributed to the 2008 economic collapse. Sadly, many of those same financial institutions are still able to sell investors asset-backed securities, bet against them,… Continue Reading
January 25, 2023
Brown Applauds Biden-Harris Administration's Actions to Protect Renters
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, issued the following statement after the Biden-Harris Administration released a blueprint on enhancing protections for renters. “Too many renters in Ohio and around the country pay more than they can afford for homes that put their health at risk, or live in constant fear of losing their homes through eviction,” said Brown. “Home impacts everything in a person’s… Continue Reading
January 23, 2023
Brown, Van Hollen to Regulators: Don't Let Taxpayers Pay for Wall Street's Failures
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a member of the Committee sent letters to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in support of the agencies’ efforts to strengthen our banking system. In October, the regulators took the first steps to propose a rule that would protect consumers and taxpayers from footing the… Continue Reading
