[Senate Hearing 115-122]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 115-122
NOMINATIONS OF PAUL COMPTON, ANNA MARIA FARIAS, NEAL RACKLEFF, RICHARD
ASHOOH, ELIZABETH ERIN WALSH, AND CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON
BANKING,HOUSING,AND URBAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
THE NOMINATIONS OF:
Paul Compton, of Alabama, to be General Counsel, Department of Housing
and Urban Development
__________
Anna Maria Farias, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing
and Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development
__________
Neal Rackleff, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary for Community
Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development
__________
Richard Ashooh, of New Hampshire, to be Assistant Secretary for Export
Administration, Department of Commerce
__________
Elizabeth Erin Walsh, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant
Secretary for Global Markets and Director General of the United States
and Foreign Commerical Service, Department of Commerce
__________
Christopher Campbell, of California, to be Assistant Secretary for
Financial Institutions, Department of the Treasury
__________
JULY 18, 2017
__________
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COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS
MIKE CRAPO, Idaho, Chairman
RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
BOB CORKER, Tennessee JACK REED, Rhode Island
PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
DEAN HELLER, Nevada JON TESTER, Montana
TIM SCOTT, South Carolina MARK R. WARNER, Virginia
BEN SASSE, Nebraska ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts
TOM COTTON, Arkansas HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota JOE DONNELLY, Indiana
DAVID PERDUE, Georgia BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
THOM TILLIS, North Carolina CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland
JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
Gregg Richard, Staff Director
Mark Powden, Democratic Staff Director
Elad Roisman, Chief Counsel
Matt Jones, Professional Staff Member
Laura Swanson, Democratic Deputy Staff Director
Colin McGinnis, Democratic Policy Director
Beth Cooper, Democratic Professional Staff Member
Dawn Ratliff, Chief Clerk
Cameron Ricker, Hearing Clerk
Shelvin Simmons, IT Director
Jim Crowell, Editor
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
----------
TUESDAY, JULY 18, 2017
Page
Opening statement of Chairman Crapo.............................. 1
Opening statements, comments, or prepared statements of:
Senator Brown................................................ 2
Senator Shelby
Prepared statements...................................... 33
WITNESS
Statement of Orrin G. Hatch, a U.S. Senator from the State of
Utah........................................................... 4
NOMINEES
Paul Compton, of Alabama, to be General Counsel, Department of
Housing and Urban Development.................................. 5
Prepared statement........................................... 33
Biographical sketch of nominee............................... 34
Responses to written questions of:
Senator Brown............................................ 98
Senator Shelby........................................... 99
Senator Reed............................................. 99
Senator Menendez......................................... 100
Anna Maria Farias, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary for Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban
Development.................................................... 6
Prepared statement........................................... 44
Biographical sketch of nominee............................... 45
Responses to written questions of:
Senator Brown............................................ 101
Senator Reed............................................. 102
Senator Menendez......................................... 102
Neal Rackleff, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary for Community
Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban
Development.................................................... 8
Prepared statement........................................... 59
Biographical sketch of nominee............................... 61
Responses to written questions of:
Senator Brown............................................ 104
Senator Shelby........................................... 105
Senator Reed............................................. 106
Senator Menendez......................................... 108
Senator Heitkamp......................................... 109
Richard Ashooh, of New Hampshire, to be Assistant Secretary for
Export Administration, Department of Commerce.................. 10
Prepared statement........................................... 70
Biographical sketch of nominee............................... 71
Responses to written questions of:
Senator Brown............................................ 111
Senator Menendez......................................... 111
Elizabeth Erin Walsh, of the District of Columbia, to be
Assistant Secretary for Global Markets and Director General of
the United States and Foreign Commerical Service, Department of
Commerce....................................................... 11
Prepared statement........................................... 84
Biographical sketch of nominee............................... 86
Responses to written questions of:
Senator Brown............................................ 112
Senator Menendez......................................... 112
Christopher Campbell, of California, to be Assistant Secretary
for Financial Institutions, Department of the Treasury......... 12
Prepared statement........................................... 92
Biographical sketch of nominee............................... 94
Responses to written questions of:
Senator Brown............................................ 113
Senator Shelby........................................... 114
Senator Reed............................................. 114
Senator Menendez......................................... 115
Additional Material Supplied for the Record
Letters submitted in support of the nomination of Paul Compton... 117
Letter submitted in support of the nomination of Anna Maria
Farias......................................................... 122
Letters submitted in support of the nomination of Neal Rackleff.. 123
NOMINATIONS OF PAUL COMPTON, ANNA MARIA FARIAS, NEAL RACKLEFF, RICHARD
ASHOOH, ELIZABETH ERIN WALSH, AND CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL
----------
TUESDAY, JULY 18, 2017
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met at 10:03 a.m., in room SD-538, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Mike Crapo, Chairman of the
Committee, presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN MIKE CRAPO
Chairman Crapo. This hearing will come to order.
This morning we will consider the nominations of six
individuals to serve in key leadership posts within the
Administration.
Welcome to all of you, and congratulations on your nomination
to these important positions. I see friends and family behind
you today, and we welcome them here as well.
The nominees before us are: Paul Compton, to be HUD General
Counsel; Anna Farias, to be HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity; Neal Rackleff, to be HUD
Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development; Mr.
Richard Ashooh, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Export Administration; Elizabeth Erin Walsh, to be Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director-General
of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service; and
Christopher Campbell, to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
for Financial Institutions.
Each of these nominees brings diverse life and work
experience and expertise which will play an important role in
shaping national policy and advancing economic opportunities
for Americans.
Mr. Compton has dedicated his entire 30-year legal career
to affordable housing and community development and has
developed an intimate familiarity with HUD's various programs.
This will enable him, as General Counsel of HUD, to provide
effective counsel to Secretary Carson and be a valuable
resource for other HUD program administrators.
Ms. Farias, who grew up in public housing in Crystal City,
Texas, later returned to run the Crystal City housing authority
and, leading by example, lived in one of the units that she
managed. She also served twice as a HUD Deputy Assistant
Secretary and has dedicated much of her legal career to
developing diverse communities and fighting discrimination in
housing.
Mr. Rackleff, as well, has on-the-ground community
development experience, directing the Houston Housing and
Community Development Department and serving as General Counsel
for the Housing Authority of the city of Houston.
Mr. Ashooh served for over two decades in the aerospace
industry, ensuring the success of programs that protect our
warfighters, particularly in the electronic warfare space. This
experience should equip him well to develop policies and
regulations for the Bureau of Industry and Security which
handles our Nation's critical export control system.
Ms. Walsh has had an extensive international career in both
the public and private sector, including experience at the
State Department and the United Nations. In her position, she
would assist United States firms in entering foreign markets as
well as promote investment into the United States.
Mr. Campbell serves as Staff Director for the Senate
Finance Committee, where he has developed a strong reputation
of policy expertise, and an ability to work with both sides of
the aisle to get results done. Chris has been instrumental in
the enactment of significant recent legislative accomplishments
in trade, health care, customs reform, and tax extenders.
Senators from both sides of the aisle have looked to Chris for
his policy insights and strategic know-how.
As a member of the Finance Committee myself, I know Chris
well, and I know that he also understands how the Senate and
the Treasury can work together to enact meaningful reform.
Passing bipartisan legislation to promote economic growth
is one of my top priorities in this Congress, and if he is
confirmed, I look forward to working closely with Chris and the
other Members of this Committee on getting legislation enacted
into law.
I urge all of my colleagues to confirm all six of you
today. Thank you.
The Committee will continue its work to push nominations
through as expeditiously as possible so that our agencies have
all the personnel they need to tackle the critical issues
facing our country.
Once again, congratulations to all of you on your
nominations to these very important offices, and thank you for
your willingness to serve.
Senator Brown.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR SHERROD BROWN
Senator Brown. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I second the
Chairman's comments about thanking you for your willingness to
serve. We all appreciate that. I am thrilled to see you here
today. I am glad that this Administration, after months and
months of bungling nominees and indifference and criticism of
Federal employees and attacks on the character of lots of
people, is finally taking its job more seriously and actually
nominating public servants to carry out the work that you all
pledge to do and you all want to do. And, again, I thank you
for putting your private sector jobs aside and private sector
work to serve the public. Thank you for that.
Thanks to your families especially because their lives may,
in fact, change, too, and they will be part of the work you do
in so many ways. So thank you for that.
Mr. Chris Campbell has been nominated by President Trump to
serve as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the
Department of Treasury. This position is responsible for
developing and coordinating the Treasury's policies regarding
financial institutions.
My support for Wall Street reform is clear. I am very
concerned about efforts coming out of the White House to roll
back important rules we put in place after the financial crisis
to protect consumers and prevent more taxpayer bailouts. We
have seen collective amnesia in this town about what happened
to workers who lost jobs, homeowners who lost homes, renters
who were evicted, and so many others, seniors and others, who
lost their lifetime saving. There is a collective amnesia in
this body and on this Committee from time to time, far too
often, about what happened.
I have known Mr. Campbell for several years. I appreciate
his long history of working together with Senator Crapo and me
and others, Senator Menendez on this Committee and others who
serve both on the Finance Committee and now serve on Banking,
have appreciated your work to foster bipartisanship on the
Finance Committee. Thank you, Mr. Campbell, for that.
If confirmed, I hope he will do the same in this role and
be a strong voice to protect and strengthen the Dodd-Frank
rules that promote financial stability, promote safety and
soundness, strong consumer protections, and not just adopt
industry talking points.
We will be considering three nominees for the Department of
Housing and Urban Development today. All of these positions are
important for fulfilling HUD's mission of creating strong,
sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes
for all. HUD and its programs are critical to families and
communities in Ohio and across the country.
If confirmed as General Counsel, Mr. Paul Compton--thank
you for your willingness to serve--will help set the tone for
HUD's approach to legislation, to renter and homeowner
protections, and to enforcement.
If confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and
Equal Opportunity, Ms. Anna Maria Farias would be responsible
for implementing and enforcing HUD's fair housing laws.
Mr. Neal Rackleff is an affordable housing and community
development attorney who recently led the city of Houston's
Housing and Community Development Department. The President
nominated him to serve as the Assistant Secretary for the
Office of Community Planning and Development, which administers
the Community Development Block Grant, HOME, and Homeless
Assistance Programs. Your work is especially important, Mr.
Rackleff.
We will be considering two nominees for the Department of
Commerce.
Mr. Richard Ashooh has been nominated as Assistant
Secretary to assist and advise the Under Secretary of Commerce
on the development of policies affecting export administration
issues. This position provides direction to and management of
the national security, nonproliferation, foreign policy,
national defense, and
strategic industrial resource functions at the Bureau of
Industry and Security. This is a critical, though often
overlooked, national security role in our Government.
And Ms. Erin Walsh has been nominated to serve as Assistant
Secretary--welcome--for Global Markets and Director General of
the U.S. Foreign and Commercial Service, where she would direct
the activities of the International Trade Administration's
export promotion programs. We know American products made by
American workers can compete with any in the world if given the
chance. That is what this position will do, give American
companies the chance.
That gives me a moment to touch on something Senator
Heitkamp and I have worked unrelentingly on, and that is the
Export-Import Bank. We continue to be disappointed by this
Administration's back-and-forth--not your issue, I understand,
but this is a public forum--for it/against it on the Ex-Im
Bank, first on reauthorization, then the issues of
appointments, then not appointing, then appointing somebody who
seems to want to emasculate the Bank, then backing of, and now
seeming to be supportive again of that nominee. All of those
things matter to us on this Committee because we know for you
to do your job well, you also need a vibrant financial sector
that actually can help U.S. companies export.
This position for which Ms. Walsh was nominated provides
strategic direction and management oversight for a network of
trade professionals located around the world, responsible for
American firms' entry into foreign markets and expansion of
exports, and for promoting foreign direct investment in the
United States.
So congratulations, all of you. Again, thank you for your
unselfish willingness to serve our country.
Thank you.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you very much.
We just noticed that Senator Hatch, the Chairman of the
Finance Committee and someone who is very interested in Mr.
Campbell, has just arrived. I would ask him to come up. Would
you like to take a seat right here? Senator, please, right
here. And if you would like to make a comment at all, we would
certainly appreciate it. We are just doing introductions right
now.
STATEMENT OF ORRIN G. HATCH, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF
UTAH
Senator Hatch. Well, I have known Chris Campbell for quite
a long time. He has been a tremendous staff leader on the
Finance Committee, among other things, and we have traveled the
country together. He is honest, straightforward, very
dedicated, intelligent, about everything you would want in
somebody working with Treasury. He is just a very, very fine
fellow.
So I am happy to be here and am grateful that you have
given me this opportunity to say a few words.
Chairman Crapo. Well, thank you, Senator. And I know you
have got another hearing going and other things that will take
your time, so any time you can spend with us we appreciate.
And I know, Chris, this is one of the parts of the job to
have the spotlight put on you when your boss shows up to give
you a special introduction, but that is, I think, very
appropriate.
Before we do the testimony, I would like to issue an oath,
so would each of you please stand and raise your right hand? Do
you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help
you God? Please say, ``I do.''
Mr. Compton. I do.
Ms. Farias. I do.
Mr. Rackleff. I do.
Mr. Ashooh. I do.
Ms. Walsh. I do.
Mr. Campbell. I do.
Chairman Crapo. And do you agree to appear and testify
before any duly constituted Committee of the Senate?
Mr. Compton. I do.
Ms. Farias. I do.
Mr. Rackleff. I do.
Mr. Ashooh. I do.
Ms. Walsh. I do.
Mr. Campbell. I do.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you. You can take your seats.
Your written statement will be made a part of the record in
its entirety. Before you begin, I invite you to introduce your
family, if you choose to. And, again, before I move to you, Mr.
Compton, to start, I want to remind all of my colleagues once
again that we have 5 minutes for the questioning period, and I
will promise to honor my 5 minutes and encourage you to honor
it as well. That also applies to you and your statements, those
of you who are testifying.
We like to try to keep the Committee on time as we are
always bumping up against schedules.
And, with that, Mr. Compton, please proceed.
STATEMENT OF PAUL COMPTON, OF ALABAMA, TO BE GENERAL COUNSEL,
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Mr. Compton. Thank you, Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member
Brown, and this entire Committee for the opportunity to testify
before you today. I am honored to have been nominated by the
President to be the General Counsel of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development and, if confirmed, to have the
privilege to work with Secretary Carson.
But I want to begin, Chairman, as you invited, to introduce
my wife of almost 30 years, Dana Compton; our three children,
Katie, Anne, and Jay; and Katie's husband, Cameron Pulsifer,
who is making his first trip to the Nation's capital for this
visit.
Mr. Chairman, when I was in law school at the University of
Virginia, I had the distinct honor of visiting with Justice
Lewis Powell, who had just retired from the Supreme Court and
was spending a semester at the law school. When I asked him
where I should practice law, his response was: ``Go somewhere
you can make a difference.''
I followed that advice. I returned to my native Alabama,
where I have practiced with the same law firm, Bradley Arant
Boult Cummings, for 28 years. Back in the early years, as a
young
attorney, I was initially attracted to the banking area of
practice. Increasingly, though, I found myself focusing on
housing issues. It proved to be a natural fit. I realized I
could make a profound
difference by using the law to help create shelter and security
for vulnerable people while builders and investors at the same
time reinforced the local economy.
I jumped at the chance when asked to find a way for a local
bank to be an equity partner in a planned apartment building
for low-income housing residents in Tuscaloosa. It was a novel
question at the time. I succeeded--with results that were
gratifying--and my career took on a new emphasis.
Over the next several years, I represented that bank in 70
transactions as it grew to be a regional institution, creating
more than 5,000 units of affordable housing throughout the
southeastern United States. Since then, I have worked on
hundreds more affordable housing transactions, with other
investors, developers, lenders, and public housing authorities
in public-private partnerships that benefited low-income
residents.
I have often noted that the complexity of transactions goes
up exponentially with the number of programs and parties that
are involved. And some of these transactions were indeed
enormously complicated, but we almost always found a way to
succeed. I encouraged clients to think of themselves as repeat
players, to focus on their long-term reputation, and to look
for win-win solutions. I think because of this approach, I was
tapped to become the outside General Counsel to the Alabama
Affordable Housing Association.
Which brings me to the present day and my nomination to
serve as HUD's next General Counsel. I look back at Justice
Powell's advice to me all those years ago, and I cannot help
but think I am still heeding it to this day.
HUD is a place where I can make a difference for our fellow
citizens. If confirmed, I will strive each day during my tenure
to ensure that the Department and its 8,000 dedicated employees
operate in a legal and ethical manner. I will work to apply the
law thoughtfully, vigorously, and as Congress intended. And I
pledge to work with all the Members of this Committee to find
solutions to the Nation's housing challenges and to eliminate
barriers to affordable housing.
Mr. Chairman, I am grateful to this Committee for holding
this hearing on my nomination, and I look forward to addressing
your questions.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you, Mr. Compton.
Ms. Farias.
STATEMENT OF ANNA MARIA FARIAS, OF TEXAS, TO BE ASSISTANT
SECRETARY FOR FAIR HOUSING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, DEPARTMENT OF
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Ms. Farias. Thank you, Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member
Brown, and all the distinguished Members of this Committee.
I would like to thank President Trump for nominating me to
be Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
and Secretary Carson for his strong support of my nomination.
But I would also like to recognize the most important
person in my life--my mom, Ofelia Gutierrez. She is not with us
today. She is 89, she is disabled, but she is watching us. I am
an only child. All of my cousins are working, which is exactly
where I want them. I will just give them a summary version of
what happens here today.
But today I would like to recognize the Honorable Kim
Kendrick--she is the former Assistant Secretary for Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity nominated by former President
George W. Bush--and my fellow nominees here on the panel. And
if we are confirmed, I am looking forward to working with all
of them.
The mission at HUD is to provide access to safe, affordable
housing to all Americans, and my job would be the chief
enforcer of the Nation's fair housing laws. I am fully,
strongly committed to those laws. FHEO leads the Nation in the
development, enforcement, and public understanding of the Fair
Housing Act.
I come before you with 20 years of experience in the
Federal Government, including 8 at HUD. But, most importantly,
you need to know where I was before those 20 years. I am a
product of the Fair Housing Act, even though I got to the
housing projects in 1963, 5 years before that law passed. I am
the daughter of a single mother with a third-grade education, a
domestic, working 6 \1/2\ days a week, earning between $12 and
$20 per week. The one thing my mother always said was, ``You
need to get an education so that you can do something
differently than I am doing. I know that as a domestic, my job
is honorable and honest. I just want something different.''
I saw how much she sacrificed for me, and I quickly
realized that, for me, hard work meant success, not just
survival.
As the high school valedictorian, I had a choice, and I
selected Boston University, who gave me a full 4-year
scholarship, and once again there I was blessed to come across
someone who really had my best interest at heart. He was a
young philosophy professor who became my mentor, and he is
still my mentor. His name: William J. Bennett.
When he became Secretary of Education, I gave up a safe
legal career in the Government to go work by his side, and I
can assure you there was never a dull moment working for
William J. Bennett.
In between Administrations, I did the one thing I always
said I was not going to do. I went back home to run the housing
authority, and I agreed to be among the first ones to live in
the housing while I was there. The housing commissioners
assigned me to what was then called ``Project Terror.'' It was
the site of murders, rapes, child prostitution, child
pornography, and drug dealing. My job was to clean it up.
I stayed there 6 years, thinking that I could do it in 6
months, and I was successful. And that is because the majority
of the tenants wanted the same thing for their children and
grandchildren that my mother had wanted for me as a child:
safety and an opportunity for an education.
As a result of our work together, we won over 12 national
awards of merit, including several for Section 3. And in 2000,
I was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame for my work
at the housing authority.
Today I am very proud to be the Chair of the Board of
Regents of the Texas Woman's University, once again getting
always back to education.
Mr. Chairman, FHEO is an extremely important office to
millions of Americans. If confirmed, my approach will be
exactly what it has always been: apply the statute, the rules,
and the facts in enforcing housing laws vigorously and in an
impartial manner. And I pledge to work in a bipartisan manner
with this Committee and Congress to meet the housing challenges
facing our Nation.
I thank the Members of this Committee for this great honor
and opportunity to appear before you today, and I stand ready
to answer your questions.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you, Ms. Farias.
Mr. Rackleff.
STATEMENT OF NEAL RACKLEFF, OF TEXAS, TO BE
ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT,
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Mr. Rackleff. Thank you, Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member
Brown, and all the Members of the Committee for inviting me to
testify today.
I am delighted to have my wife of 29 years, the lovely
Christa Rackleff, with me; and my daughters, Eve and Karen, who
are here with me today, two of our four children. Our other two
children, Stephen and Annie, and our son-in-law, Brett, were
unable to make it. My wife is the pillar of strength in our
family. She is my best friend and in every single way she is my
better, and I am so grateful for her. My family is truly the
most important thing to me in time and eternity.
Mr. Chairman, I am honored to be nominated to serve as
Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development for
the Housing and Urban Development Department.
For over 20 years I have worked at the intersection of the
public and private sectors, doing real estate development
focused on resurrecting ailing communities and providing high-
quality housing for hardworking, good people who, despite their
best efforts, are still in need.
I started on this path as a young city attorney in the mid-
1990s. Downtown Houston was in trouble. Property values were
declining and population was fleeing to the suburbs. Under the
direction of a visionary mayor, I served on the team that
successfully implemented public-private partnerships to
redevelop historic downtown properties and revitalize a public
housing complex that had been mired in litigation for years.
Houston not only turned around, but came roaring back,
after these projects truly ignited a downtown renaissance. I
was blessed to learn from some of the brightest legal and real
estate experts in the city's history. We used private sector
creativity and innovation to achieve results with the public
sector that neither sector--the public or private--could
accomplish alone.
Public-private partnerships can accomplish incredible
change. For example, a terribly blighted apartment complex
plagued a Houston inner-city community. For more than 10 years,
local, State, and Federal officials tried to condemn and
demolish the structure, but a wily slum lord successfully
slipped from their grasp.
My team took a different approach. We analyzed the market
forces at work, then partnered with the local school district
and used funds, from a tax increment finance district and the
school district, to purchase and demolish the slum property. I
am really proud to say that an elementary school stands today
on the former epicenter of blight that was dragging down an
entire neighborhood.
My faith has been a formative factor in focusing on
families in need. I served as the bishop of an inner-city
congregation for many years and saw firsthand how hard so many
people struggle to meet basic needs. And I became convinced
that most people struggling with poverty truly desire a hand up
rather than a handout. So I decided to do what I could to be
part of the solution in helping people become more self-
reliant.
I left the practice of law at Locke Lord and went back to
the city of Houston and ended up running the Department of
Housing and Community Development. When I took the reins at the
department, it was struggling. Looming over it were 102 HUD
findings and over $80 million in potential fines. But a great
team pulled
together and not only cleared every finding, but we transformed
our department into one of the finest and most effective in the
Nation.
During my tenure the department financed completion of
7,800 high-quality affordable multifamily housing units;
another 2,700 are in progress, under construction. And we
assisted 1,700 single-family homeowners with reconstruction of
hurricane-damaged homes, financial assistance for low-income
homebuyers, and emergency home repairs.
I can tell you that Houston truly has an unstoppable ``can-
do'' spirit. During this same timeframe, the city, Harris
County, the for-profit and nonprofit sectors all partnered with
HUD to alleviate homelessness. Within a few years, we reduced
chronic homelessness by more than 70 percent and became the
first major city in the country to effectively eliminate the
homelessness of veterans.
I will also tell you that I have become convinced that the
democratization of data is key to more effective governance. As
an example, in the aftermath of severe flooding, I worked with
a coalition of faith-based and nonprofit groups to alleviate
suffering in Houston. We mined the city's fire, police, and
public works databases to generate GIS maps, enabling churches
and civic groups to locate and serve the elderly and disabled
who desperately needed help. We then utilized an open-source
social media platform to share data and avoid duplication of
efforts as the various philanthropic groups worked together in
the same space.
I have been truly amazed to see the successes that are
possible in ameliorating suffering when people put aside
differences and ideologies in a united effort to help their
neighbors. Love has animated the work I have been a part of,
and I truly love the people I serve.
Mr. Chairman, Committee, thank you very much for this
opportunity to appear before you. I welcome your questions.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you, Mr. Rackleff.
Mr. Ashooh.
STATEMENT OF RICHARD ASHOOH, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, TO BE ASSISTANT
SECRETARY FOR EXPORT ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Mr. Ashooh. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member
Brown and to the rest of the Committee. I am honored to be
before you today, and I am grateful to the President and the
Secretary of Commerce for their confidence in me to serve in
this capacity.
I would love to introduce the family I have that is here.
My wife of 25 years is behind me, Laurie. It only feels like 2,
but it has been 25. And my daughter, Emma, who is here as a
delegate for the other four children that could not be here--
Sophie, Elias, Maya, and Sam. And I also welcome Angeline, who
is Emma's sister in residence here as her roommate.
I would also like to acknowledge the memory of a former
boss, mentor, and friend named Warren Rudman, whom I got to
know on these very premises years ago as a staffer for him. His
example of fidelity to the country, his colleagues, and the
Constitution still stands as guiding principles in my own life.
Everyone in America is familiar with the Boston Tea Party.
But you would have to come from New Hampshire as I do to be
familiar with the Pine Tree Riot. Briefly, the Pine Tree Riot
was a pre-revolutionary protest in New Hampshire against the
British Crown's attempt to regulate the colonial pine tree
trade. This is significant because these mighty pine trees made
the best ships' masts, and the King reserved the best of them
for the Royal Navy, allowing Great Britain to project power all
over the world. The colonists rejected this intrusion into
their economy and livelihoods, and the Pine Tree Riot was one
of several incidents that led the way to Revolution.
Why this obscure history lesson? Well, these pine trees
were the turbofan engines of their day--technology that was
vital both to national security and civilian commerce. The
Crown's behavior was in effect an export control--one that did
not work out very well for the King. The point is we need to
weigh the national security implications of our technology
trade, and it has been with us since before we were a Nation.
The position to which I have been nominated sits at the
intersection where national security, technology, and the
economy meet. Never has this juncture been more critical. The
number and nature of the threats facing our Nation, from state
and nonstate actors alike, has grown. Meanwhile, the pace of
technology has not only accelerated dramatically; it has
shifted. The national security establishment once led areas of
technology development that are now driven by the commercial
sector. The responsibility for eliminating the vulnerabilities
to our Nation presented by these dynamic shifts, while
encouraging robust trade in the technology sector, rests
squarely with the Bureau of Industry and Security. The workload
at BIS--which has increased and will continue to do so--further
reflects these trends.
Both my desire and readiness to serve in this capacity is a
product of a career spent advancing key elements of this
mission. Early in my career as a Senate staffer, I was
privileged to work on issues concerning technology transfer, in
particular to adversary nations. It is worth noting that the
global parties of concern at that time--specifically, China,
Russia, and Iran--occupy more or less the policy priorities BIS
faces today.
After more than two decades of experience in the aerospace
industry, where I was able to work on behalf of our Nation's
most advanced technology enterprises, the strictures of the
U.S. export control regime were, and still are, well known to
me. I understand better than most the challenges and
necessities associated with technology development, believing
that our success as a Nation is underpinned by our ability to
remain ahead of our adversaries in this area, both commercially
and strategically.
These experiences imparted to me countless lessons that can
help advance the critical mission of the Bureau, especially in
the challenging times that we have. Should I be honored with
confirmation, I would look forward to working with you as we
endeavor to meet these challenges.
Thank you again for the privilege of being with you today,
and I look forward to your questions.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you, Mr. Ashooh.
Ms. Walsh.
STATEMENT OF ELIZABETH ERIN WALSH, OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,
TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR GLOBAL MARKETS AND DIRECTOR
GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE,
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Ms. Walsh. Thank you, Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown,
and distinguished Members of the Banking Committee. I am
grateful for the opportunity to appear before you today. I am
very honored to be here as President Trump's nominee for
Assistant Secretary for Global Markets and Director General of
the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Services. I am so honored to
have my family with me on this special day. If you do not mind,
I would like to introduce my father, Michael Walsh; my sister,
Anne Walsh; and my mother and sister were unable to come today.
Over the past several days, I have had the pleasure of
meeting Members of this Committee and your staff. Thank you for
taking the time to share your insights and perspectives on the
economic conditions of your home States. If confirmed, I look
forward to working closely with you and with your team.
I bring to this nomination over 30 years of public and
private sector experience. Through my work I have had the
opportunity to gain extensive knowledge of foreign and economic
affairs in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and I have
traveled to or worked in 100 countries.
A Georgetown University graduate, I interned at the White
House during school before landing a full-time position in the
Office of Political Affairs. I also worked at the Department of
Energy and later joined the Department of State, where I served
as the Deputy Manager and then Acting Manager of Blair House.
In 1989, I moved to New York to serve as the Chief of Protocol
to the U.S. Mission to the U.N. In 1994, I joined UNICEF as the
head of emergency operations in Tuzla, Bosnia, during the war.
I later left
Bosnia to attend graduate school at the London School of
Economics and then returned to Sarajevo to work with the United
Nations as an economic and political affairs officer.
Returning home from Bosnia, I went to work at Cisco, where
I built a strong partnership organization to bring the Cisco
Networking Academy Program to 90 countries around the globe,
particularly in Africa, Asia, and Central America, including 41
of the least developed countries in the world.
After several years in the private sector, I returned to
the State Department in 2005 to serve as a Senior Advisor in
the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. I was recruited to
formulate and execute a strategic plan to advance U.S. policy
interests, strengthen alliances, and establish programs focused
on women across 16 countries in the Middle East and North
Africa.
At Goldman Sachs I was based in China and led the firm's
philanthropic activities in Asia Pacific. I developed a long-
term strategic platform in Asia, seeking to foster economic
growth and opportunity through investment in the community,
public engagement, and partnership building. Through this
experience I have seen firsthand the role the private sector
can play in facilitating and enhancing America's prominence
abroad and in advancing U.S. values. Furthermore, I know the
critical role the U.S. Government plays in leveling the playing
field to ensure U.S. companies can compete abroad and to ensure
that our foreign competitors abide by their commitments and
play by the same rules. I am passionate about the mission of
the Department of Commerce and can think of nothing more
meaningful or impactful than creating jobs through promoting
U.S. exports or attracting foreign direct investment into the
United States.
Trade, exports, and foreign direct investment are a
powerful engine for economic growth. With 95 percent of the
world's population outside of the United States and more than
one in five American jobs supported by trade, the Office of
Global Markets has a critical role to play. Last year alone,
for every $1 appropriated to Global Markets, an estimated $192
was returned to the American economy in the form of increased
exports and FDI for a total impact of $62.2 billion, which
supported approximately 300,000 U.S. jobs.
I am deeply grateful to Secretary Ross for his leadership
and confidence in me. If confirmed, I look forward to having
the opportunity to lead this organization, with all the amazing
people that we have in the field, both at home and abroad. And
I will bring to it my global experience and business background
as well as my knowledge of how to leverage Government resources
to ensure effectiveness.
Thank you for your time today and for your consideration of
my nomination.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you, Ms. Walsh.
Mr. Campbell.
STATEMENT OF CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL, OF CALIFORNIA, TO BE
ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, DEPARTMENT OF
THE TREASURY
Mr. Campbell. Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, and
distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today and considering my
nomination to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for
Financial Institutions. I am deeply honored and humbled to have
been selected for this position and am grateful to President
Trump and Secretary Mnuchin for the opportunity to continue my
career in public service in a different venue.
Before I get too far into my statement, I would like to
recognize the members of my family who are in attendance today.
With me today are my sister Michelle, my brother-in-law
Richard, my brother Eric, and my sister Catherine. I also want
to acknowledge my two other siblings who were not able to make
it today: my brothers Scot and Marc. My mother would surely
like to be here today, but she is too ill to travel. But I know
she is watching from home.
I also want to acknowledge my many friends, colleagues, and
former colleagues who are here, many of whom have flown here
for this occasion and for the hearing, and I appreciate them
being here.
I want to thank every one of them for being here and for
their love and support. One does not receive opportunities like
this without years of help from many, many people, and that is
certainly the case for me.
I come from the humblest of beginnings. I lived most of my
childhood in poverty, really never thinking that I would be
afforded the opportunities that have been presented to me over
the last two decades.
The first great opportunity that came my way was the chance
to join Senator Orrin Hatch's campaign for President as the
national field director. I think Senator Hatch would agree
that, after that initial experience in politics and public
service, there was really nowhere to go but up.
Despite the results of that particular campaign, the
Senator for some reason asked me to run his 2000 campaign for
reelection. This was, to say the least, a lot of responsibility
for a relatively inexperienced kid, but, thankfully, that
campaign was a huge success, and I have worked with the Senator
in a variety of capacities since that election, most recently
as Staff Director for the Senate Finance Committee.
I am, of course, grateful to Senator Hatch for his support
and his encouragement over these years. He has been a mentor to
me, and I certainly would not be here if not for his skillful
tutoring.
During my time in the Senate, I have worked hard to
cultivate a reputation for three things.
First and foremost, I have sought to be known as an
effective advocate and strategist for achieving the goals of my
employer, whether it be the Senator or the Committee.
Second, I have worked to be known as one who prefers and
effectively facilitates bipartisan cooperation. Throughout my
career I have begun every effort with the presumption that a
bipartisan result would be the preferred one and more enduring
than a partisan one and have worked to achieve those kinds of
outcomes.
Finally, I have endeavored to build a reputation for being
a good manager and leader. On the Finance Committee, Chairman
Hatch and I have put together an effective and professional
staff. Leading this team has been one of my most proud
professional achievements.
I cannot take credit for everything that has happened in
the Finance Committee, of course, that we have accomplished
there. The credit belongs to Chairman Hatch, Ranking Member
Wyden, and Senator Baucus, who was the Chairman when I first
started. But, once again, during my time on the Committee and
throughout all of my time in the Senate, I have sought to leave
a mark and build a reputation for being an effective advocate,
a bipartisan facilitator, and a strong leader.
Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, I have had the
privilege to work closely with you, as well as with many other
Members of this Committee throughout the years. As you consider
my nomination, my hope is that those efforts to build that kind
of reputation have been successful and that I have displayed to
you those kinds of characteristics.
The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial
Institutions is responsible for leading the Treasury's efforts
to monitor and regulate our Nation's banks and securities
markets and to ensure our financial sector is resilient in
times of crisis. In addition, it is responsible for
coordinating, among other things, Treasury's work on financial
education, consumer protection, community development,
affordable housing, and cybersecurity.
In other words, the position has a broad focus, dealing
with the largest banks and investment companies as well as
small community organizations. This is not unlike the broad
jurisdiction of the Senate Finance Committee. Successful
leadership from this position will require great management
skills and the help of many talented career staff at the
Department. In addition, it will require a balance of competing
interests.
I think it is safe to say that few, if any, nominees
considered by this Committee have ever been so cognizant of the
need for cooperation between Congress and agencies in the
executive branch. If confirmed, I look forward to working with
the Members of this Committee to ensure safety and soundness of
financial institutions and practices, fairness, and avenues
through which the financial sector works to facilitate economic
growth and opportunities for all Americans.
Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to
appear with you today, and I look forward to answering your
questions.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you very much, Mr. Campbell. And
before I begin the questioning round, I want to say I am super
impressed with this panel, not only because of the
qualifications that each of you have but because each one of
you finished your testimony in well less than 5 minutes.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Crapo. I think that is actually a record. Thank
you very much for that.
I was going to ask each one of you to just briefly tell me
what your top priorities are, if you are confirmed. But I am
going to ask you to do that instead in writing. Following this
hearing, each of you or at least I expect that each of you will
receive some follow-up questions from Senators, and we will
encourage you to respond to those as promptly as you can. So
consider that to be your first question, and that is, just in a
paragraph or so, what are your priorities as you move into this
position?
Chairman Crapo. And then I actually only have one specific
question for one of you, and that is you, Mr. Ashooh. The last
Administration launched an export control reform initiative,
some of which is still being implemented. My question is: Do
you think that that initiative has accomplished what it was set
out to achieve? What else needs to be done? Or should the
Administration take a different route?
Mr. Ashooh. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I agree, many good
things were done in the prior Administration to do what many
would consider to be long overdue changes to make our export
control regimes more accessible to those who are by necessity
accountable to them.
I do believe there is more to do. I would not prejudge for
a moment the entirety of what those things are. If confirmed, I
would absolutely follow up with you about that, but there is no
question that I believe the fresh eyes that I would bring to
our export control system would certainly result in some
opportunities to do things even better.
Chairman Crapo. All right. Thank you very much. I was going
to let Senator Hatch take a couple minutes and ask Chris some
questions when he is under oath.
Mr. Campbell. Oh, no.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Crapo. But he has politely declined to do that, so
you just dodged a bullet.
Mr. Campbell. I am so grateful.
Chairman Crapo. With that, I am going to conclude my
questioning. Senator Brown.
Senator Brown. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I do not often suggest reading material to people in the
Administration or even colleagues, but I would ask the three
HUD nominees to consider reading a couple of books that I have
spoken of. I was one of, I believe, five or six Democrats to
vote for the confirmation of your boss for a number of reasons,
and I asked him to read two books that I think are particularly
important. One is ``Evicted'' by Matthew Desmond about the
increased rates of foreclosure in this country and how lives
turn upside down when someone is foreclosed on or is evicted
from their homes. It was a case study that he did that was very
effective in painting the picture, maybe a picture of where you
at one time lived, Ms. Farias.
Written recently, another book, sort of hand in hand with
this genre of Michael Harrington and others in this country, is
a book called ``$2.00 a Day,'' and I would suggest to the three
of you that you would find time prior to or in your early days
of serving this Administration for reading those two books.
Thank you.
We have a large panel. I want to get through as many
questions as possible. Ms. Farias, FHEO is instrumental in
implementing HUD's Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, AFFH,
rule. Do you support the AFFH rule? And will you commit to
implementing it?
Ms. Farias. The law of 1968 makes it very clear that for
discrimination against housing that is one of the things
grantees have to do, and HUD has been implementing it as it was
when I was there under President Bush. I know that there is a
new rule. If confirmed, I will review the concerns and--but,
yes, it will be implemented. And if there are any changes, they
have to comport with the law.
Senator Brown. OK. Thank you.
Mr. Campbell, you played a significant role in a colloquy
between the Chair and Ranking Members on Finance regarding
responsiveness by the Administration to requests from both
Democrats and Republicans. Thank you for that. If confirmed,
will you commit to reply to every oversight or other letter and
request for information, from the Chair, or from Members on
both sides of this Committee in a timely manner?
Mr. Campbell. Senator Brown, you will find no one that
cares more about this institution probably than me, and I spent
the majority of my time in the minority. I understand the
challenges of the minority, and everything that is in my power,
I will answer each question from you or any Member of the
Committee.
Senator Brown. Thank you. And I would like to ask each of
you that same question. Will you commit to reply to every
oversight or other letter and request for information from any
of us on this panel? Ms. Walsh?
Ms. Walsh. Yes, Senator, I do commit.
Senator Brown. Mr. Ashooh?
Mr. Ashooh. Yes, Senator.
Senator Brown. Mr. Rackleff?
Mr. Rackleff. Yes, sir.
Senator Brown. Ms. Farias?
Ms. Farias. Yes, sir.
Senator Brown. Mr. Compton?
Mr. Compton. Yes, Senator.
Senator Brown. Thank you. Thank you for that.
Ms. Walsh, you served for several months in the Trump
administration transition, both on the campaign, then at the
White House as a key point of contact for the State Department,
including a co-leader for the State Department landing team.
Did you during that period have or arrange any meetings between
Russian and U.S. officials?
Ms. Walsh. No, sir.
Senator Brown. OK. Thank you for that.
Mr. Campbell, at the recent G-20, President Trump said he
talked with Vladimir Putin about forming a cybersecurity unit
to guard against future election hacking. It seems like the
President has since cooled on that idea. Secretary Mnuchin,
your future boss, echoed the President, described as a
``significant accomplishment'' that President Trump talked with
Putin about forming this unit. I have not heard the Secretary
further comment on it.
If confirmed, you will play a significant role in
Treasury's cybersecurity efforts. I hope you will not be
setting up a cybersecurity unit with Russians in your new role.
Any comments?
Mr. Campbell. Senator, I think it is important and I think
you hopefully would agree that the U.S. lead the efforts, no
matter who we engage with, on cybersecurity and making sure
that we protect the critical financial backbone of the
financial markets. So
irrespective of with whom we engage--and, obviously, the
Secretary and the President will coordinate those, make those
decisions, and I will, as well as working with you guys on the
Committee and your staff, make sure that we export America's
values and make sure that we protect the critical
infrastructure of our financial markets and institutions.
Senator Brown. OK. Thank you. And last question. Mr.
Compton, if confirmed, you will bring valuable experience in
affordable housing development and finance as General Counsel.
In addition to and as part of your affordable housing work, you
have spent many years representing financial interests, as you
told us about your background in banking in Alabama. As General
Counsel, you will be charged with protecting the rights of
renters and homebuyers and FHA consumers.
Tell me, briefly if you can--because I am over my 5
minutes, and I respect the Chairman's admonitions every day.
[Laughter.]
Senator Brown. What will your approach be in protecting the
rights of these groups, particularly in cases where their
interests may go up against the interests of the banking
industry?
Mr. Compton. Senator, first I recognize, if confirmed, my
role as General Counsel at the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, and it has a broad purview, and certainly in
representing the Department as my client first, I would
coordinate on enforcement matters with my colleagues on that.
But I think that my background with respect to having
represented financial institutions in the past helps me
understand the plight of the consumer on the other side as
well.
Senator Brown. OK. Thank you for that. There is concern
among large swaths of the public that, particularly inside the
White House and in Treasury and other places, there is simply
too much influence by Wall Street and among major banking
interests in this Administration, and your role in pushing back
against that when you get it from the higher-ups is
particularly important. So thank you for your commitment to do
that.
Mr. Compton. Thank you, Senator.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you.
Senator Shelby.
Senator Shelby. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I believe we have a distinguished group here
from Mr. Compton to Mr. Campbell. Everybody is ready to go to
work. The Administration needs these people. I would call this
a sterling group.
I would say a few other words about Mr. Compton. He is well
known in my State in the area of housing. As he said in his
opening statement, he has been involved in development of a lot
of low-income housing, up into the thousands of units. He knows
this area. We are proud that he is coming in here and taking a
job at HUD. But I am also proud of all of you accepting the
responsibility of Federal service, and I look forward to
supporting all of you.
I have a number of questions, but I will submit those for
the record, and I would like for my opening statement to be
made part of the record, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Crapo. Without objection.
Senator Shelby. And I hope you can expedite, you and
Senator Brown, these nominees as soon as possible.
Chairman Crapo. We intend to try to do that.
Senator Brown. Mr. Chairman, we will move at a much more
rapid pace than we have in the last several years.
Senator Shelby. I would think so because we probably have a
lot more distinguished people to move.
[Laughter.]
Senator Brown. Which we would not know, because we actually
had so few hearings to find out about them.
Senator Shelby. I would say again, when I was Chairman, we
evaluated people like we are doing now, and I like what I see
today.
Chairman Crapo. You can see why they put me in this seat.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Crapo. Next is Senator Warren.
Senator Warren. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And
thank you all for being here and for your willingness to serve.
I want to talk about affordable housing. There is an
affordable housing crisis in this country. Most experts say
that a family that spends more than 30 percent of its income on
rent will have a very hard time meeting their other
obligations, you know, for food and clothing and
transportation. But at this moment, more than 11 million
families are paying more than half their income in rent.
Now, HUD's core mission is to address the affordable
housing crisis, but that actually takes money to make it
happen. And even as this problem gets worse and worse, Donald
Trump wants to slash more than $6 billion from the HUD budget
next year. That would be a 13-percent cut.
Community Planning and Development is the part of HUD that
is responsible for developing affordable housing and the
surrounding communities so that residents have access to decent
jobs and to services. The Trump budget would cut the funding
for this Department by 60 percent, and I do not know how anyone
runs a Department when more than $1 out of every $2 disappears
in a single year.
So let me ask, Mr. Rackleff, if you were nominated to run
the Community Planning and Development Department, do you
support these massive cuts to your Department's budget?
Mr. Rackleff. I do support the President budget.
Senator Warren. So I guess then I do not understand what--
how do you plan to run a Department where you lose 60 percent
of your money?
Mr. Rackleff. I can only say to you, Senator Warren, that
whatever resources are afforded to me by the Administration and
by Congress I will use wisely. We have faced significant cuts
at the city of Houston in some of the very same funding
sources, and it has been difficult, but we will find ways to
help those that we can.
Senator Warren. Let me push back on that. You have touted
your record at Houston. You said that is the reason that we
should confirm you, is because you had a great record at
Houston. But let me just take a look. When you served as
director of the Housing and Community Development Department
for the city of Houston from 2012 through July of 2016,
according to HUD data, the city of Houston received more than
$100 million in Federal Community Development Block Grants from
HUD. And you used that money to rehab homes, to remove lead, to
improve surrounding roads, all trying to increase access to
safe and affordable homes.
Now, if you are confirmed, you are not going to have that
same money to give to other cities. Do you think other cities
do not deserve that same opportunity?
Mr. Rackleff. As I mentioned, I support the President's
budget, and I will use whatever resources are afforded to me
effectively and well.
Senator Warren. So what is going to happen to affordable
housing in America?
Mr. Rackleff. Most of the affordable housing that is
generated in America today, as you are aware of, I am sure, is
financed actually through tax credit equity through the Low-
Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
Senator Warren. Are you telling me the $100 million that
Houston got while you were in charge was not helpful as you
described it at the time to rehab homes, to remove lead, and to
improve surrounding roads?
Mr. Rackleff. No; it certainly was helpful. But what I
will--I am not so concerned about what acronyms are associated
with the funding that we receive, and I am confident that we
will obtain the funding necessary to help the people that I
care so much about.
Senator Warren. I do not think I understand that last
answer. Are you telling me you think you are going to get the
money from someplace else?
Mr. Rackleff. I am confident in the Congress of the United
States and the Administration working together to provide the
resources that we need to help the people that we both care so
much about.
Senator Warren. Well, the resources we need include, it
seems to me, the $6 billion that has been spent in the past,
that you yourself personally have administered and made good
use of in Houston. Are you saying you think we are going to
make up that $6 billion somewhere else?
Mr. Rackleff. I hope that resources will be found to help
us accomplish the things that we need to get done, yes.
Senator Warren. So you support the President's cuts, but
you hope that they are not actually going to happen?
Mr. Rackleff. No, ma'am. I believe that there are other
ways that we can find to help folks who need assistance, and I
know that Dr. Carson has talked about finding other mechanisms
to help those that we----
Senator Warren. And I think so far, how much extra money
have you found?
Mr. Rackleff. If confirmed, I will do the best that I can
to work with----
Senator Warren. How much has he found so far, extra money?
Mr. Rackleff. I do not know the answer----
Senator Warren. None.
Mr. Rackleff.----to that question.
Senator Warren. I think the answer is none.
You know, look, I just want to be clear about this. It
takes money to rehab those homes. It takes money to do lead
abatement. It takes money to rebuild the roads so there is some
transportation in and out of these neighborhoods. It takes
money to help us accomplish some affordable--to build some
affordable housing, to make sure we have some affordable
housing. And if we turn our backs on that, then the affordable
housing crisis in this country just gets worse.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I apologize for going over.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you.
Senator Rounds.
Senator Rounds. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rackleff, I would like to just follow this up just a
little bit. I get the sense that what you are trying to share
with the Committee is that your role is to use whatever
resources are made available to you, you will do in a
responsible manner. Is that a fair way of putting it?
Mr. Rackleff. Yes, sir. You sense my response perfectly.
Senator Rounds. Let me just offer this: I understand where
the Senator from Massachusetts is coming from in expressing
that housing is a very important issue. We have the same
challenges in South Dakota with housing on the reservations and
so forth. And, most certainly, I recognize that where the
President may make recommendations and focus, which has been on
defense improvements and so forth--which are critical and I
agree with him on that--I also understand that as part of this
process, we will be looking at funding for the other agencies
as well, and that becomes our role.
You understand that the appropriations process is where the
decisions are actually made, and that belongs to the
congressional branch of Government. Is that not correct?
Mr. Rackleff. Yes, sir, and I have tremendous faith and
confidence in our constitutional system.
Senator Rounds. The responsibilities for the actual
determination of the amount of money that will be delivered to
your Department, which we would expect you to expend in a
responsible manner, is our decision, is it not?
Mr. Rackleff. Yes, sir.
Senator Rounds. And the money that we do entrust to you,
you will utilize in the most responsible manner possible.
Mr. Rackleff. Yes, sir. I feel I have a strong history of
using whatever resources that are made available to me to do a
good job in helping the people that we all care so much about.
Senator Rounds. Is there anything else on this subject that
you would like to clarify?
Mr. Rackleff. No, sir.
Senator Rounds. Thank you.
I do have a couple of other questions for the nominees
within our housing--or let me begin with Commerce just for a
minute. Mr. Ashooh and Ms. Walsh--first of all, I want to thank
all of you for appearing before this Committee. You all have
very impressive backgrounds and qualifications, and I do
appreciate your willingness to step forward and to serve.
My question is going to be directed to our two nominees for
the Department of Commerce who will have significant
responsibilities with respect to trade. You both may be aware
that South Dakota exports billions of dollars of agricultural
products every year. As a result, I have been watching with
great interest the decisions that President Trump has made with
respect to agreements like TPP and the North American Free
Trade Agreement.
Can you share your views on our evolving trade
relationships? How will the work that you do to help facilitate
and grow our trade with other countries come forward? The
reason why I ask this question is it is one thing to be able to
put together a very complicated compact with a number of
countries and get as far as we did with TPP. But then to try to
do the individual agreements country by country, while I admire
the idea of doing it, it provides us with opportunities, the
time challenges on this will be significant.
Can you share your thoughts about how you will prepare and
move forward with your new roles?
Mr. Ashooh. You get to go first.
Ms. Walsh. OK. Thank you, Senator, for that question. It
was wonderful to have the opportunity to meet with you in your
office, so thank you for your time.
In this role, if confirmed, I think that the focus will
definitely be on increasing our exports globally. At this point
about 1 percent of our small- and medium-sized businesses in
the United States export, and the role of the Foreign
Commercial Services is to really focus on each of these
businesses, particularly in small- and medium-sized
enterprises, to expand their markets globally, to look at where
the opportunities are and the trends, where there is an
increasing level of middle-class consumers. And that is what
our teams would be looking at at the Department of Commerce, to
focus on trade and also the reduction of the trade deficit.
Mr. Ashooh. Senator, thank you. I would say that the
increased economic activity that increased our trade creates
puts pressure on the Bureau of Industry and Security to ensure
that we are not losing control of our valuable technology
assets. So that is the perspective that BIS would have.
What I would say is that there are already preexisting
multilateral agreements that the Department of Commerce uses in
order to implement export controls, and I have been impressed
to learn these run very well. And, if confirmed, I would look
forward to ensuring that these agreements continue to serve
this important role in the face of increasing economic
activity.
Senator Rounds. Very good. With regard to housing, one of
the most pressing concerns from a housing standpoint within our
State is how our new Administration will work with Native
American tribes and officials on promoting housing on Native
American reservations. Reservations face some of the most
significant obstacles when it comes to promoting a safe and
stable housing supply, and oftentimes the remote location and
economic challenges make it difficult to promote the growth of
new housing stock.
I am going to ask this for the record. I will respect my 5-
minute time limit. Could the three of you please respond in
writing? Can you please discuss your views on tribal housing?
And I need to bring this to your attention because we have a
real lack of housing on the reservations themselves. And will
you commit to working with us and your colleagues to
understanding and improving the challenges associated with
tribal housing? That is a yes or no answer, but I would like
that part right now. This is a critical area in rural areas
where the most poverty in America exists, and housing is a
major part of the issue. Would all of you agree to commit to
responding back to how you see we can work to promote more
housing in rural areas, particularly reservation areas? And
would you commit that it is a serious problem and you would
agree to work with us to find solutions?
Ms. Farias. Yes, Senator Rounds.
Mr. Compton. Yes, Senator, and certainly tribal areas post
special issues in public-private partnerships that I am aware
of.
Mr. Rackleff. Absolutely, and I would add that I have had a
fair amount of experience working in Texas in rural areas where
we have a lot of the same inherent economic challenges in
providing housing economically in remote locations. One of the
things we have done in Texas is to target set-asides of the
housing tax credit equity that is provided to the State to
those areas, and I think that there are some innovative things
that we can do to help you.
Senator Rounds. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you.
Senator Menendez.
Senator Menendez. Mr. Chairman, before I start, I want to
briefly note that I have some serious concerns about the
Committee considering this many nominees at one time. The
breadth and scope of the nominations go from banking,
affordable housing, financial institutions, national security,
and trade, and within 5 minutes or so, even with the Chairman's
courtesy of letting it go over a little bit, the breadth and
scope--I just cannot possibly do that in 5 minutes. I know
others are much more talented than I am, but I cannot.
[Laughter.]
Senator Menendez. And so, therefore, I will have real
problems with the nominees unless I get substantive answers to
my written questions and the lack of being able to pursue the
time here. And I would hope that the Chair would consider in
the future either two panels or a smaller set so that we can
have the substantive time to ask these nominees.
Ms. Farias, I understand that in response to Ranking Member
Brown's questions, you affirmed that you will provide clear
guidance to grantees in public housing agencies on how to meet
their requirement to affirmatively further fair housing under
the Fair Housing Act, and that you intend to implement the Fair
Housing Rule affirmatively. Is that fair to say?
Ms. Farias. Yes, Senator Menendez.
Senator Menendez. Mr. Compton, you are going to be the
General Counsel. Will you be doing the same?
Mr. Compton. Yes, Senator. I think implementation of
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing is one of our big
projects.
Senator Menendez. Thank you.
Mr. Rackleff, your testimony touts your tenure as former
director of the Houston Housing Community Development
Department. Under your leadership in Houston, the department
produced an impressive 7,800 multifamily housing units with
another 2,700 in progress.
Would you say that the development of those units expanded
access to affordable homes in the Houston area?
Mr. Rackleff. Absolutely.
Senator Menendez. During your time as director, did Houston
utilize Community Development Block Grant and Home Investment
Partnership funds to develop and rehabilitate affordable
housing units?
Mr. Rackleff. We did.
Senator Menendez. So I think you would disagree with the
statement that the Community Development Block Grant Program
and the Home Investment Partnership have not demonstrated a
measurable impact on communities. Is that correct?
Mr. Rackleff. I can only speak to my own experience in
Houston----
Senator Menendez. And in your experience, would you say
that is correct?
Mr. Rackleff. In Houston, we did a great job with those
funds.
Senator Menendez. OK. Now, Mr. Campbell, it is good to see
you over here in the Banking Committee.
Mr. Campbell. Good to see you, Senator.
Senator Menendez. In the Senate Finance Committee as well,
it is always great to see you there. The President spent a
great deal of time on the campaign trail highlighting
neighborhoods and communities throughout the country that
seldom reap the benefits of economic expansion but are reliably
and disproportionately burdened by economic downturns. And yet,
astonishingly to me, the Administration has proposed zeroing
out the Community Development Financial Institutions, the CDFI
funds, which support the private community partners that have
stepped up for the better part of a century to inject capital
in these forgotten communities.
I have not seen any justification rooted in facts, and at
least one of your future colleagues, NCUA Chair McWatters, told
this Committee he opposes the fund's elimination, a sentiment
echoed by the ABA and ICBA.
As Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, the CDFI
fund will fall directly under your oversight. If confirmed,
will you be an advocate to maybe lend some light to the
Administration that may not have all the information here to
try to sustain the important work of the CDFI funds?
Mr. Campbell. So, Senator, as you know, as you are well
aware, I was not a part of the Administration when the
President developed his budget, and as you are also aware, I am
definitely a creature of this institution, having worked
closely with you on Puerto Rico issues and many others.
With regard to the CDFI specifically, there is--I am
confident in your and your colleagues' ability to be able to
best determine how you want to spend the taxpayer dollars, and
if afforded and if appropriated to the CDFI and if confirmed, I
will do my level best to work with you, your colleagues,
interested colleagues and staff to----
Senator Menendez. Well, I appreciate that you want to punt
it to us, and I understand that. But let me just say, part of
my--I just came from a Foreign Relations hearing where I had
the same problem. Part of the challenge of hearing that answer
is that when you are confirmed, you will be in a position to
advocate policy within the Treasury Department and within the
Administration and interagency process. And so I know you are
going to basically follow the lead of whatever the final
decision is, whether by Congress or the Administration.
What I am asking you is: Do you believe the CDFI funds
actually provide a good basis for development in these
communities? And can you be an advocate for them even if, at
the end of the day, you lose your advocacy?
Mr. Campbell. So, Senator, I want to work with you and your
staff. I know of your strong commitment to this issue. There
are some areas of duplications within the Administration that
cover CDFI. I think there are perhaps ways to streamline those
issues to make the use of taxpayer funds more efficient and
more effective to the affected community, and I think we can--
and I hope we can work together and create a dialogue in which
we can find a way to better streamline those and be able to
deliver those necessary and important resources to those
affected communities.
Senator Menendez. Mr. Chairman, I have a series of other
questions. I will submit them for the record. I will be looking
for substantive responses, and the lack thereof I will have a
problem with moving the nominees to the floor and hold it on
the floor until I get them.
Senator Menendez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you.
Senator Tester.
Senator Tester. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all
for your willingness to serve.
I am going to start with you, Mr. Rackleff. You are up for
the position of Secretary of Community Planning and
Development. In the Trump budget, the Housing Trust Fund has
been eliminated, the Interagency Council on Homelessness has
been eliminated, the HOME Program has been eliminated, and the
CDBG Program has been eliminated. I want to follow up a little
bit. You had mentioned in a previous question--I believe it was
from the Senator from Massachusetts--that low-income tax
credits could fill that void. Do you really believe that?
Mr. Rackleff. I do not believe that I conveyed that low-
income tax credits can fill every other financial void that is
out there. My statement was simply that low-income tax credits
are by far the largest source of equity----
Senator Tester. OK. I got that. So is affordable housing
important to you?
Mr. Rackleff. Absolutely.
Senator Tester. OK. So with those being zeroed out, how are
we going to have any affordable housing initiatives? Anything
come to mind?
Mr. Rackleff. As I mentioned before, I support the budget
as presented, and I will do everything I can to utilize funds--
--
Senator Tester. I appreciate that.
Mr. Rackleff.----that I have at my disposal.
Senator Tester. I got it. And as far as the Senator from
South Dakota goes, who I have a tremendous amount of respect
for, you are right, Congress is going to touch this budget. But
if you do not advocate for stuff, how are we supposed to know
where to put money?
Mr. Rackleff. I will say that I have always been an
advocate for those who are underserved, and I will continue to
be.
Senator Tester. I got it. But I am talking about from a
funding standpoint and from a budgetary line-item standpoint.
If you do not tell us that the CDBG Program is important or the
HOME Program is important, how do we know where to put the
money?
Mr. Rackleff. I will provide good data on all of those
programs if I am confirmed. I look forward to the opportunity
to work----
Senator Tester. I appreciate that. So I anticipate what you
are saying is that, if you are confirmed, you will put
recommendations forward to us on what line items need to be
plussed up to be able to have more affordable housing in this
country?
Mr. Rackleff. I will certainly work with Secretary Carson
and the Administration, and within that context, I will be an
advocate for those----
Senator Tester. And so if he says, ``No, we are sticking
with this budget; we are not going to increase any of them,''
do you intend to push back on that?
Mr. Rackleff. Ultimately, I think it is critically
important that our country moves toward fiscal responsibility
and balancing the budget, and I think that there are
macroeconomic concerns that are important. If we do not have a
strong middle class, if we are not strong fiscally, we are not
going to be able to help anybody.
Senator Tester. OK. I agree with you. So let me give you an
example of a town of about 8,000 people that I was at earlier
this year that said, ``We cannot get any new businesses to come
to our town because we have no place for the employees to live
because we have no affordable housing.'' What do you suggest we
do with that, with all these programs being eliminated? What do
you suggest that I go and tell the city council of that town
from a Federal level here is where you need to go to be able to
address your needs of affordable housing?
Mr. Rackleff. Well, I can tell you that I have worked in
economic development not just in affordable housing----
Senator Tester. I got it. You got a town in Montana. This
is not an Indian reservation. It is 8,000 people. They cannot
recruit any businesses because they have got no place for
employees to live. Do I just say, ``Go get some low-income tax
credits''? Or do I say, ``Get a hold of HUD and there are these
programs that you will utilize'' if we do not plus those
programs up?
Mr. Rackleff. I will tell you that I have worked in small
towns doing affordable housing exactly in the scenario that you
have outlined.
Senator Tester. Yep.
Mr. Rackleff. And what you would use as the primary vehicle
for over 90 percent of the equity you need would be the tax
credit program.
Senator Tester. I see--which you have no say over
whatsoever.
Mr. Rackleff. That is correct.
Senator Tester. OK. So what is the purpose of HUD?
Mr. Rackleff. The purpose of HUD----
Senator Tester. What is the purpose of me confirming you in
this position if you do not have any programs to help with
affordable housing when your position is the Secretary of
Community Planning and Development?
Mr. Rackleff. Even though there are fiscal challenges that
we are grappling with, there are still literally billions of
dollars of Community Development Block Grant funds that are
out--that have been granted to cities across the country, and
there is a spending pipeline that takes quite a while to work
through. So there is still a great deal of work to do no matter
what happens to the Community Development Block Grant budget or
HOME budget.
Senator Tester. I got it.
Mr. Rackleff. And I will be a wise steward of whatever
resources----
Senator Tester. And I have no doubt that you will be a wise
steward of the resources that are there. But if there are no
resources there, you do not have much stewardship to do. And I
would tell you that as we move forward on this budget--and it
is a common theme, and somebody has coached you well, and
probably everybody else on this Committee--I hope not you, Mr.
Campbell--to say, ``This is a budget that I support, and this
is the way it is going to be, and this is how we are going to
move forward.'' I agree with you, we need to get the debt under
control. But I am going to tell you, if we have a substandard
economy in this country--and you have that in rural America
right now, especially with this budget--we need people fighting
for us so that the Administration is going to come in and give
us the honest to God truth that, ``Hey, you know what? This
zeroes out CDBG.'' But CDBG is important. Would you guys plus
it up? That is all I am asking for.
You have had some experience; otherwise, you would not be
here. You need to utilize that experience. I do not need to
lecture to you, and I do need to see you this afternoon, Mr.
Campbell. Thank you all very much.
Mr. Campbell. Look forward to seeing you, Senator.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you.
Senator Schatz.
Senator Schatz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to all
of the nominees and their families. Congratulations.
I want to follow up, Mr. Rackleff. You have done a number
of deals in Houston.
Mr. Rackleff. Yes, sir.
Senator Schatz. And I am wondering if you can just take me
through the capital stack of a typical project that you have
been involved in. You say it is about usually 90 percent LIHTC
and then 10 percent CDBG and other subsidies? Could you just
walk me through it? If I am getting that wrong, that is fine.
Just let me know what a typical deal would be like.
Mr. Rackleff. Sure. Of the Federal funding involved, over
90 percent would typically be Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
If you had, let us say, a 200-unit apartment complex that cost
$20 million to develop, probably 70 percent of the financial
resources would come from the sale of Low-Income Housing Tax
Credit and the equity that is derived from that.
The Federal sources of funding that we are responsible for
often become gap fillers, so some projects need $1 to $2
million of soft money from another source, and then there also
is conventional debt, which is secured in the private markets.
Senator Schatz. But that money that fills the gap is
disproportionately important. Is that accurate?
Mr. Rackleff. It can be. It really depends on----
Senator Schatz. In other words, it is the difference maker;
otherwise, it would not be----
Mr. Rackleff. There is no question that it is important.
Senator Schatz. OK. So let us just talk about LIHTC for a
moment. I understand it is not under HUD. But the challenge
with LIHTC in the context of tax reform, as people are
anticipating lower corporate tax rates and the value of the
LIHTC is going down, just anticipating tax reform. So I am
wondering how you view LIHTC's value in the context of trying
to get projects done if we lower the corporate tax rate. It
seems to me that the thing that you are saying comprises most
of the pot sweetener may be less sweet if we do tax reform in
the way that it is being contemplated.
Mr. Rackleff. Well, I can tell you that it is not clear to
me what tax reform is being contemplated at this point. But,
certainly, the markets like predictability, and the fact that
there is some discussion of tax reform has caused tax credit
equity prices to drop some. From a tax policy perspective, I
would think we do not want the tail wagging the dog, though,
and one program ought not to dictate an entire Nation's tax
policy.
I will say that as we----
Senator Schatz. Right, but if we are committed to LIHTC as
a matter of policy, if we are in the process of reducing
corporate rates and that changes the incentivization of
projects, we may end up wanting to increase the LIHTC value.
And that is not your call----
Mr. Rackleff. Yes, yes.
Senator Schatz.----it is our call for sure.
Mr. Rackleff. Yes, that is true. But it also depends on how
depreciation is considered, and there are other economic
factors that go into the pricing of tax credits.
Senator Schatz. Sure. And I guess the point, following up
on the Senators from Montana and Massachusetts, you are duty-
bound to support the President's budget, and I do not want to
get into it with you about that. But it is just very clear to
me that your whole private sector existence, your mission--and
your reputation is strong in this space--demonstrates the value
of not just LIHTC but all of the HUD programs. And so you would
be in a very difficult position to trash the President's budget
at a nomination hearing. I will not ask you to do that.
I do think it is really important that in the interactions
both at the HUD level and with OMB that you make clear the
devastating impact that some of these proposals will have. I do
not want you to comment on it because I do not want to get you
on the record declining to advocate for this, because I think
this is critically important.
Last question, Housing First. I talked to Secretary Carson
about this. I believe very strongly in Housing First. It has
worked in lots of cities and States. There is now bipartisan
consensus. What we have in Hawaii is extraordinarily
challenging. We have the unfortunate distinction of one of the
highest increases in terms of our homeless population and some
really unique challenges being the most isolated populated
place on the planet.
Can I get your commitment to help to implement Housing
First policies wherever you have a partner in a city or a State
or a county?
Mr. Rackleff. Absolutely. I am very committed to Housing
First as the most effective way to assist those who are
struggling with homelessness. That is the way that we have
cracked the code nationally and locally to figure out how to
really help those who are chronically homeless.
I will say also, though, too, that there has been a lot of
discussion recently about the importance of transitional
housing as well, housing that focuses on the needs of women who
are victims of
domestic violence, individuals with substance abuse. And I can
tell you we funded some of those programs and projects when I
was in Houston, and it was a really beautiful thing to see. We
had an organization called the ``Men's Center,'' which was
compromised of men who all were recovering alcoholics, who were
the board of directors, and who worked together to help each
other. And I really felt as I stood before those good people
that we were standing on sacred ground.
I will absolutely work with you to help implement Housing
First in your State, and, you know, I spent a little bit of
time in college there, so I have a special place in my heart
for that part of the----
Senator Schatz. I will look forward to sending you a demand
letter.
[Laughter.]
Senator Schatz. Thank you.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you, Senator Schatz.
Senator Cotton.
Senator Cotton. Thank you, and congratulations to all of
you on your nominations, and thank you for your willingness to
serve our country.
Mr. Campbell, I want to speak about stress tests under the
Dodd-Frank Act.
Mr. Campbell. Yes.
Senator Cotton. Stress tests are required of banks with
more than $10 billion in consolidated assets. Those banks then
have to provide annual reports. That does not seem like a lot
in the grand scheme of banking. In Arkansas, that is a pretty
big bank, though. We have three banks--the Bank of the Ozarks,
Arvest, and Centennial--that fall into that range. We have one,
Simmons National, which is just underneath it. Maybe they will
pass the $10 billion mark soon. Maybe they will pump the
brakes, as many banks have, specifically to avoid these kind of
regulatory burdens. But do you believe that any of those four
banks or any bank that size, you know, banks, say, in the $10
to $20 billion range pose some kind of systemic risk to our
financial system?
Mr. Campbell. Senator, when addressing this issue, I think
it is important to suggest that size is not everything in these
areas. I think it is more of the activity that the institutions
are involved in. And as you know, recently in a Treasury
report, the Secretary suggested some modifications to the
financial regulations in this area to make sure that the access
to capital from small- and medium-sized banks is more readily
available to your farmers and to businesses that need access to
capital.
If confirmed, I look forward to working closely with you
and Members of the Committee to right-size and tailor those
regulations in a way that will allow for greater access to
capital for small- and medium-sized institutions.
Senator Cotton. I think that is an important point. You
know, a bank could be much larger than any of those banks. It
could be tens of billions of dollars and engage in very
ordinary, traditional, plain-vanilla-style banking without
posing serious systemic risk.
By contrast, a financial institution could actually be
smaller than that, and because of the complexity of its
transactions, its
interlocking counterparties, its esoteric finances, it could
actually pose greater risk.
I personally do not think that requiring stress tests and
annual reporting for banks of that size in Arkansas and all
across the country is going to do much to make the financial
market--I am sorry, the financial sector all that much more
stable.
Could you give us a brief account for what you think are
the cost-benefit analysis of imposing that kind of regulation
on banks of that size? What are customers losing out on when
you have people at banks like Bank of the Ozarks or Centennial
or Arvest engaged in these fairly onerous annual regulatory
compliances as opposed to doing banking work?
Mr. Campbell. Certainly, there is an opportunity cost. You
know, every dollar a bank spends to--a cost of compliance is
one less dollar that they can give to the consumer and to allow
for access to the capital markets. And so, again, I think we
should right-size--if we are looking at financial regulations,
we should right-size and tailor them to the activities. And as
you noted, it is not--it really genuinely is not the actual
size of the bank, but it is more what the bank is doing that we
should be looking into. Again, I look forward to working with
you. I know that you have done a lot of research on this. And,
of course, as is usually the case, a strong analysis of the
cost to the consumer needs to be done before any regulations
are promulgated.
Senator Cotton. Thank you for that, because in the end what
we are talking about here are customers of banks, you know,
consumers, businesses, and so forth. So if you are a farmer
trying to get a loan for your seed, or you are a young married
couple with a child on the way that wants to get into a home
for the first time, or you are a small business that wants to
expand a factory or maybe you want to create a factory where
you are going to employ Arkansans, what you want are those
banks competing for your business. And trust me, they compete a
lot, even if they have an aligned interest when it comes to not
complying--or not having to comply with so many onerous and
needless regulations. And that is where I think our focus
should be.
In the time I have remaining, I want to turn, Mr. Compton,
to you and specifically ask you about the Affirmatively
Furthering Fair Housing policy of the last Department of
Housing and Urban Development. Along with about 20 of my
colleagues, we sent a letter to Secretary Carson last week
asking him to reverse this policy, which I think is gross
social engineering, trying to impose nationwide zoning
standards on communities with very little, if any, evidence of
discriminatory intent or even discriminatory impact.
Could you give us your thoughts on the Affirmatively
Furthering Fair Housing policy?
Mr. Compton. Yes, Senator, I am glad to do that.
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing comes out of two fairly
vague and general statements in the Fair Housing Act that
direct the Department to essentially follow the spirit of the
law, and from that the prior Administration's Affirmatively
Furthering Fair Housing rule, while the rule itself is not very
long, certainly the promulgating releases have a great deal of
complexity. And I think one of the challenges that we see in
the rule looking at it on its face is that everyone could pass
or everyone could fail. And so I think that is--in terms of
given that that is a regulation that is on the books today and
that the Department is charged with implementing it, this
initial implementation of it is really key to ferreting out
whether it is viable.
Senator Cotton. Well, thank you. My time has expired. I
just want to say that I, like you, like Secretary Carson,
oppose discrimination in all forms and want to make sure that
that is not happening. But at the same time, we should not be
using vague and general housing laws to impose a social
engineer's vision of what communities should look like from
Washington, DC. That is why we have State and especially local
governments.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you.
Senator Cortez Masto.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you, and thank you to the
nominees for your willingness to serve. Welcome. Welcome to
your family members. And thank you also for meeting with me. I
know some I have had the opportunity to meet with. Some of you
have met with my staff. I really appreciate that opportunity.
And then for the two of you that I have already talked with on
Commerce, I am not going to direct my questions to you because
I have already had the opportunity.
Let me start with Mr. Rackleff. Mr. Rackleff, on July 5th I
sent a letter, along with 28 of my colleagues, requesting
information about LGBTQ nondiscrimination guidance that
apparently had been pulled down from HUD's website. This
guidance was arrived at in consultation with direct service
providers and is meant to help grantees comply with the law.
When Secretary Carson had been asked about this during
House and Senate Budget hearings, he said that the Department,
and I quote, ``was looking at it and determining whether it was
effective.''
As head of Community Planning and Development, you will be
entrusted with ensuring that the CDBG, the HOME Program, and
homelessness service providers obey their nondiscrimination
obligations under the law. If confirmed, will you commit to
promptly restoring the resources to HUD's website?
Mr. Rackleff. I am not familiar with the details of that
situation, and so, if confirmed, I can commit to you that I
will look into it and do what I think is right.
Senator Cortez Masto. And can you commit to a timeline
within which you will take a look at that and get an answer
back to us?
Mr. Rackleff. Yes, ma'am. I would look at that within 2
weeks.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you very much. I appreciate
that.
And then, Ms. Farias, if confirmed, you will be the Fair
Housing Chief at HUD. Do you commit to bringing cases enforcing
against LGBTQ discrimination if the evidence demonstrates that
there has been a violation of HUD's equal access rules?
Ms. Farias. Yes, I do.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. And then, also, HUD
conducted the first ever study of discrimination faced by LGBTQ
people in the rental market. Will you commit also to continuing
this research during your tenure, if confirmed?
Ms. Farias. Yes, I do.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you very much. I appreciate
that.
And then let me just follow up with the conversation you
had with my colleague, Senator Schatz. I, too, think the
Housing First model is very appropriate, so I appreciate your
comments and continuing to support it and work through those
issues. So thank you very much.
Mr. Campbell, I have a few questions for you as well.
Mr. Campbell. Yes.
Senator Cortez Masto. When the Treasury Department released
its report seeking to identify ways to roll back financial
protections, Secretary Mnuchin noted that about 80 percent of
the report's recommendations could be implemented
administratively, without Congress. This came as troubling news
to some of us who think a much more nuanced approach narrowly
addressing community financial institutions and balancing the
need for consumer protection is more appropriate.
As a long-time staffer of the legislative branch, you have
made it clear that you respect the rollback of Congress in
exercising its will and providing an important counter-weight
to the executive branch. If confirmed, will you commit to
working with Congress in a bipartisan manner when it comes to
financial rules rather than pushing through 80 percent of its
report's recommendations without input from Congress as
proposed?
Mr. Campbell. Senator, I know from my 17 years working up
here in this body, the most lasting change that could be made
is a bipartisan change through the Senate and through the
Congress. I am aware of some quiet conversations that are
bipartisan to try to find a path forward, a bipartisan path
forward to readdressing some regulations that we could perhaps
find consensus on.
If confirmed, I look forward to working with you and
Members of the Committee that are interested, and their staffs,
to helping facilitate those conversations and trying to find a
bipartisan legislative path forward to right-size and tailor
where appropriate regulations related to financial markets and
financial institutions.
Senator Cortez Masto. I appreciate that. And then the
report also, to my chagrin, included no mentions of ways to
bolster consumer and investor protection, though it has dozens
of proposals for ways to weaken rules for some of the largest
banks. And I understand that future reports from the Treasury
are forthcoming, and you would be in a position to work on such
reports in your new rule.
If confirmed, will you work with Congress to incorporate
recommendations related to needed consumer and investor
protections in subsequent Treasury reports?
Mr. Campbell. Senator, I think, if confirmed, there is no
more important job that I would have than the protection of
consumers. And, absolutely, you have my firm commitment that I
will work with you, Members of this Committee, and off this
Committee to better understand your priorities and, where
possible, fold those priorities into the reports that are
forthcoming.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. And I notice my time is
almost up. Let me just say thank you all again, incredible
resumes, incredible backgrounds. And your willingness to serve,
I so appreciate it. Also, please excuse me for bouncing back
and forth. I have an Energy Committee going on at the same
time. But thank you again, and thank you to your family members
for being here as well.
Ms. Farias. Thank you, Senator.
Mr. Campbell. Thank you.
Mr. Compton. Thank you.
Chairman Crapo. Thank you very much, and that concludes the
questioning for the hearing. We have a number of letters in
support of various candidates, and I ask unanimous consent to
include those letters in the record. Hearing no objection, that
is ordered.
Chairman Crapo. I again want to thank each of you for
coming and participating today in the hearing, and I thank you
for your service and your willingness to assist our country.
For Senators, all follow-on questions need to be submitted
by the close of business on this Thursday, July 20th. And for
our witnesses, the responses to those questions should be
turned in by Monday morning if you can. So please respond
quickly.
With that, the hearing is adjourned.
Senator Brown. Thank you, everybody.
Chairman Crapo. Senator Brown and I have to run to another
hearing together.
[Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
[Prepared statements, biographical sketches of nominees,
responses to written questions, and additional material
supplied for the record follow:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD C. SHELBY
Mr. Chairman, I believe we have a distinguished group here from Mr.
Compton to Mr. Campbell. Everybody is ready to go to work. The
Administration needs these people. I call this a sterling group. I
would like to say a few words about Mr. Compton. He is well-known in my
State in the area of housing. As he said in his opening statement, he
has been involved in development of low-income housing and community
development. He knows this industry and the related case law. We are
proud that he is taking a job at HUD, and I am also proud of all of the
nominees for accepting the responsibility of Federal service. I look
forward to supporting all of you. I would ask--I have a number of
questions, but I would submit those for the record and I would like for
my opening statement to be made a part of the record. Mr. Chairman, I
hope you and Senator Brown can expedite these nominees as soon as
possible.
______
PREPARED STATEMENT OF PAUL COMPTON
To Be General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development
July 18, 2017
Thank you, Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, and this entire
Committee for the opportunity to testify before you today. I am honored
to have been nominated by the President and, if confirmed, to have the
privilege to work with and for Secretary Carson.
I want to begin by introducing my wife of almost 30 years, Dana,
and our three children: Catherine, Jerome, and Anne. I also would like
to introduce my son in law, Cameron Pulsifer, who is making his first
visit to our Nation's capital.
Mr. Chairman, when I was in law school at the University of
Virginia I had the distinct honor of visiting with Justice Lewis
Powell, who had just retired from the Supreme Court and was spending a
semester at the law school. When I asked him where I should practice
the law, his response was: ``Go somewhere you can make a difference.''
I followed that advice. I returned to my native Alabama, where I
have practiced law with the same firm, Bradley Arant, for 28 years.
Back in the early years, as a young attorney, I was initially attracted
to the banking area of legal practice. Increasingly, however, I found
myself focusing on housing issues. It proved to be a natural fit. I
realized I could make a profound difference by using the law to help
create shelter and security for vulnerable people while builders and
investors reinforced the local economy. So I became more involved in
affordable housing--and jumped at the chance when asked to find a way
for a local bank to be an equity partner in a planned apartment
building to house low-income residents in Tuscaloosa--a novel question
at the time. I succeeded--with results that were gratifying--and my
career took on a new emphasis.
Over the next several years, I represented that bank in 70
transactions as it grew to become a regional institution, creating more
than 5,000 units of affordable housing throughout the southeast United
States. Since then, I've worked on hundreds of affordable housing
transactions, with other investors, developers, lenders, and public
housing authorities in public-private partnerships that benefited low-
income housing residents. I've often noted that the complexity of
transactions goes up exponentially with the number of parties and
programs involved. And some of these transactions were indeed
enormously complicated, but we almost always found a way to succeed. I
encouraged clients to think of themselves as repeat players, to focus
on their long-term reputation, and to look for win-win solutions. I
think because of that approach, I was tapped to serve as the outside
General Counsel to the Alabama Affordable Housing Association.
Which brings me to the present day and my nomination to serve as
HUD's next General Counsel. As I look back on Justice Powell's advice
to me all those years ago, I can't help but think I'm still heeding his
words to this very day. HUD is a place where I can make a difference
for our fellow citizens. If confirmed, I will strive each day of my
tenure to ensure that the Department and its 8,000 dedicated employees
operate in a legal and ethical manner. I will work to apply the law
thoughtfully, vigorously and as Congress intended. And I pledge to work
with all the Members of this Committee to find solutions to our
Nation's housing challenges, and to eliminate barriers to affordable
housing.
Mr. Chairman, I'm grateful to this Committee for holding this
hearing on my nomination, and what I hope are my two future HUD
colleagues. I look forward to addressing your questions.
PREPARED STATEMENT OF ANNA MARIA FARIAS
To Be Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity,
Department of Housing and Urban Development
July 18, 2017
Thank you, Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, and all the
distinguished Members of this Committee.
I would like to thank President Trump for nominating me to serve as
HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity and
Secretary Carson for his strong support of my nomination.
I would also like to recognize the person who has been the most
important part of my life, my mom, Ofelia Gutierrez, who is not here
today because she is 89 years old and disabled. But she will be
watching us. I am an only child and my cousins will watch the
proceedings later because they are working and that is exactly where I
want them--working.
I would also like to recognize the Honorable Kim Kendrick, former
Assistant Secretary under President George W. Bush, and my fellow HUD
nominees here on the panel. If confirmed, I look forward to working
with them.
The mission at HUD is to provide access to safe, affordable housing
to all Americans and my job would be the Chief Enforcer of the Nation's
fair housing laws. I am fully, strongly committed to those laws. FHEO
leads the Nation in the development, enforcement, and public
understanding of the FairHousing Act.
I come before you with over 20 years of Federal Government
experience, including eight at HUD.
But, before that, you should know that I am a product of public
housing. I grew up in the Housing Projects of Crystal City, Texas, a
small town of 8,000. I am the only child of a single mother with a
third grade education making $12-$20 working 6 \1/2\ days per week as a
domestic.
My mother insisted that I get an education. She always said that
her work was honorable and honest but she wanted something different
for me.
My mother was willing to sacrifice in order to give me an
opportunity to succeed and I quickly realized that hard work in my case
could achieve success, not just survival.
As my high school valedictorian, I received a full scholarship to
Boston University where once again I was blessed to come across someone
who had my best interest at heart, a young philosophy professor who
became my mentor. His name: William J. Bennett.
When he became Secretary of Education, I left a safe Government job
and spent 4 years working alongside him--never a dull moment.
In between Administrations, I did the one thing I said I was never
going to do--go back to a small town. I became the Executive Director
of the housing developments where I grew up and became one of the first
Executive Directors in the country to agree to live in the housing
developments. The Board of Commissioners assigned me to what was then
called Project Terror, the site of some murders, rapes, child
prostitution, child pornography and drug dealing. My job was to clean
it up.
I was able to do so only because the majority of the residents
wanted the same things for their children and grandchildren that my
mother had wanted for me when I was a child--safety and an education.
Working with the residents, the Housing Authority received over a dozen
awards and I was inducted into the Texas Woman's Hall of Fame.
Mr. Chairman, FHEO is an extremely important office to millions of
Americans. If confirmed, my approach will be what it's always been. To
follow the statute, the rules, and the facts. I will seek to enforce
the fair housing laws vigorously and in an impartial manner. And I
pledge to work in a bipartisan manner with this Committee and all of
Congress to meet the housing challenges facing our Nation.
I thank the Members of this Committee for the honor and opportunity
to appear before you today. I stand ready to answer your questions.
PREPARED STATEMENT OF NEAL RACKLEFF
To be Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development,
Department of Housing and Urban Development
July 18, 2017
Thank you, Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, and all the
Members of this Committee for inviting me to testify today.
I am delighted to introduce my wife of 29 years, the lovely Christa
Rackleff. She is the pillar of strength in our family, my best friend,
and in every way my better. Two of our great children, Eve and Karen,
are with us today. Our other two children, Stephen and Annie, and our
son-in-law Brett, were unable to attend. My family is the most
important thing to me in time and eternity.
Mr. Chairman, I am honored to be nominated to serve as Assistant
Secretary of Community Planning and Development at the Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
For over 20 years I've worked at the intersection of the public and
private sectors, doing real estate development focused on resurrecting
ailing communities and providing high quality housing for hard working,
good people who--despite their best efforts--are still in need.
I started on this path as a young city attorney in the mid-90s.
Downtown Houston was in trouble, property values were declining and
population was fleeing to the suburbs. Under the direction of a
visionary Mayor, I served on the team that successfully implemented
public-private partnerships to redevelop historic downtown properties
and revitalize a public housing complex that had been mired in
litigation for years.
Houston not only turned around, but came roaring back, after these
projects ignited a downtown renaissance. I was blessed to learn from
some of the brightest legal and real estate experts in the city's
history. We used private sector creativity and innovation to achieve
results with the public sector that neither sector could have
accomplished alone.
Public-private partnerships can affect incredible change. For
example, a terribly blighted apartment complex plagued a Houston inner-
city community. For more than 10 years, local, State and Federal
officials tried to condemn and demolish the structure, but a wily slum
lord successfully slipped from their grasp. My team took a different
approach--we analyzed the market forces at work, then partnered with
the local school district and used funds, from a tax increment finance
district and the school district, to purchase and demolish the slum
property. An elementary school stands today on the former epicenter of
blight that was dragging down an entire neighborhood.
My faith has been a formative factor in focusing on families in
need. I served as the Bishop of an inner-city congregation for many
years and saw first-hand how hard so many people struggle to meet basic
needs. And I became convinced that most people struggling with poverty
desire a hand up rather than a hand out. So I decided to do what I
could to be part of the solution in helping people become self-reliant.
That faith motivated me to leave my private law practice at Locke
Lord and return to the city to serve in the Housing and Community
Development Department. I hoped to be able to ``give back'' in some way
to the great city that had afforded my family such great opportunities.
When I took the reins as Director, the department was struggling.
Looming over it were 102 HUD findings and over $80 million in potential
fines. But a great team pulled together and not only cleared every
finding--we transformed our department to one of the most effective in
the Nation.
During my tenure, the department financed completion of 7,800 high-
quality affordable multifamily housing units, with another 2,700 in
progress. And we assisted 1,700 single-family homeowners with
reconstruction of hurricane-damaged homes, financial assistance for
low-income home buyers, and emergency home repairs.
Houston has an unstoppable ``can-do'' spirit. During this same
timeframe, the city, Harris County, the for-profit and nonprofit
sectors, partnered with HUD to alleviate homelessness. Within a few
years, we reduced chronic homelessness by more than 70 percent and
became the first major city in the country to effectively eliminate the
homelessness of veterans.
Unfortunately, Houston's spirit has been tested by nature's
catastrophic forces. I am grateful that during my tenure at the Housing
and Community Development Department, we turned around a troubled $109
million Disaster Recovery Round 1 program. We also received an
additional Disaster Relief grant of $178 million in Round 2. I am very
proud of this work to help the people of Houston as we confronted the
aftermath of nature's fury.
I've become convinced that the democratization of data is key to
more effective governance. In the aftermath of severe flooding, I
worked with a coalition of faith-based and nonprofit groups to
alleviate suffering in Houston. We mined the city's fire, police and
public works databases, to generate GIS maps enabling churches and
civic groups to locate and serve the elderly and disabled who
desperately needed help. We then utilized an open-source social media
platform to share data and avoid duplication of efforts as the various
philanthropic groups worked together in the same space.
I have been amazed to see the successes that are possible in
ameliorating suffering when people put aside differences and ideologies
in a united effort to help their neighbors. Love has animated the work
I have been a part of and I have loved serving others. The reason I am
offering to serve at HUD is that I hope to have the opportunity of
doing more to help my fellow Americans.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to appear before you.
Thank you to the entire Committee. I welcome your questions.
PREPARED STATEMENT OF RICHARD ASHOOH
To be Assistant Secretary for Export Administration, Department of
Commerce
July 18, 2017
Thank you Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, and distinguished
Members of the Committee. I am honored to have this opportunity to
appear before you today, and am grateful to the President and the
Secretary of Commerce for their confidence in me to serve in this
capacity. I would like to acknowledge and thank the members of my
family who are joining us, as well as the many friends in the room.
Their support means a great deal to me. I would also like to
acknowledge the memory of Senator Warren Rudman, who was a boss, mentor
and friend. His example of fidelity to the country, to his colleagues,
and to the Constitution still stands as guiding principles in my own
life.
Everyone in America is familiar with the Boston Tea Party. But you
would have to hail from New Hampshire as I do to have any idea of the
Pine Tree Riot. Briefly, the Pine Tree Riot was a pre-revolutionary
protest in New Hampshire against the British Crown's attempt to
regulate the colonial pine tree trade. This is significant because
these mighty pine trees made the best ships' masts, and the King
reserved them for the Royal Navy, allowing Great Britain to project
power all over the world. The colonists rejected this intrusion into
their economy and livelihoods, and the Pine Tree Riot was one of
several incidents that led the way to Revolution.
Why this obscure history lesson? Those pine trees were the turbofan
engines of their day--technology that was vital both to national
security and civilian commerce. The Crown's behavior was in effect an
export control--one that didn't work out very well for the King. The
point is the need to weigh the national security implications of our
technology trade has been with us since before we were a Nation.
The position to which I have been nominated sits at the
intersection where national security, technology, and the economy meet.
Never has this juncture been more critical. The number and nature of
the threats facing our nation--from state and nonstate actors alike--
has grown. Meanwhile, the pace of technology has not only accelerated
dramatically--it has shifted. The national security establishment once
led areas of technology development that are now driven by the
commercial sector. The responsibility for eliminating the
vulnerabilities to our Nation presented by these dynamic shifts--while
encouraging robust trade in the technology sector--rests squarely with
the Bureau of Industry and Security. The workload at BIS--which has
increased and will continue to do so--further reflects these trends.
Both my desire and readiness to serve in this capacity is a product
of a career spent advancing key elements of this mission. Early in my
career as a Senate staffer, I was privileged to work on issues
concerning technology transfer--both illicit and inadvertent--to
adversary nations. It is noteworthy that the global parties of concern
at that time--specifically China, the Soviet Union, and Iran--occupy
more or less the policy priorities BIS faces today. After more than two
decades of experience in the aerospace industry, where I was able to
work on behalf of some of our Nation's most advanced technology
enterprises, the strictures of the U.S. export control regime were, and
still are, well known to me. I understand better than most both the
challenges and necessities associated with technology development,
believing that our success as a Nation is underpinned by our ability to
remain ahead of our adversaries in this area, both commercially and
strategically.
These experiences have imparted to me countless lessons that can
help advance the critical mission of the Bureau, especially in these
challenging times. Should I be honored with confirmation, I would look
forward to working with you as we endeavor to meet these challenges.
Thank you again for the privilege of being with you today, and I
look forward to your questions.
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF ELIZABETH ERIN WALSH
To be Assistant Secretary for Global Markets and Director General of
the United States and Foreign Commercial Services, Department of
Commerce
July 18, 2017
Thank you Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Senator Brown, Members of
the Banking Committee. I am grateful for the opportunity to appear
before you today. I am very honored to be here as the President Trump's
nominee for Assistant Secretary for Global Markets and D.G. for the
U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service.
And I am so honored to have my family with me on this special day.
If you don't mind, I would like to take a moment to introduce them. My
mother, June and my father Michael a retired attorney--they both served
in the Reagan and Bush administrations. My sister Molly, currently
serving at the Department of Defense and my beloved sister Anne. While
my parents met in Washington, we grew up in Portland Oregon.
I bring to this nomination over 30 years of public and private
sector experience. During this time, I have built a strong track record
in four key areas: Strategy and Program Development for market entry/
expansion, political and/or policy advancement; Design-Build Scalable
Models to promote products or programs regionally or globally; Complex
Negotiations; and Public-Private Partnership Creation at local,
national and international levels. I have extensive knowledge of
foreign affairs in Asia, Middle East, and Africa and have traveled or
worked in 100 countries.
I earned my undergraduate work at Georgetown University and started
as an intern for 3 years at the White House before landing a full-time
position in the Office of Political Affairs. I also worked at the
Department of Energy, and from there had the opportunity to join the
U.S. Department of State and serve as the Deputy Manager and then
acting Manager of Blair House, the President's guest house. During my
tenure there, we hosted over 60 heads of State and Governments. I was
then asked by Ambassador Thomas Pickering to come to the U.S. Mission
to the U.N. and serve as Chief of Protocol. It was an incredible 5
years in the world's largest diplomatic community. But starting in 1992
I started to see cables come across my desk that seemed unimaginable.
Particularly after witnessing the revolutionary fall of the Berlin wall
in 1989 and the euphoria that came with it. These cables referred to
the conflict in Bosnia. As I continued to read the news and the cables
I felt I had to go to see for myself. I resigned my position at USUN to
join UNICEF as head of emergency operations in Tuzla during in 1994. I
later left Bosnia to attend graduate school at the London School of
Economics and then returned to Sarajevo to work with the U.N. as an
Economic and Political Affairs Officer. In preparing for post war
conflict operations, there was an enormous gap in the lack of focus on
economic development and investment. Over 20 years later, we can see
the outcome and results today. No economic development, high
unemployment and the presence of ISIS in Europe.
After returning from Bosnia, I came home and wrote a proposal
focused on Education, Technology and job creation and got an offer from
Cisco. The firm provided a platform allowing me to build a strong
partnership organization to bring the Cisco Networking Academy Program
to 90 countries, in Africa, Asia Pacific, central America and included
41 of the Least Developed Countries in the world. In the late 1990s we
began to strong Chinese investment in these areas. Times were changing
and so was the playing field.
After several years in the private sector, I returned to the State
Department in 2005 to serve as Senior Advisor in the Bureau of Near
Eastern Affairs. I was recruited to formulate and execute a strategic
plan to advance U.S. policy interests, strengthen alliances and
establish and/or expand programs focused on women across 16 countries
in the Middle East and North Africa. I also served on the U.S.-Saudi
Arabia Strategic Dialogue, Human Development Working Group.
I was then hired by Goldman Sachs to lead the firm's philanthropic
activities in Asia Pacific. I developed a long-term strategic platform
in Asia, seeking to foster economic growth and opportunity, through
investment in the community, public engagement and partnership
building. I incorporated global Goldman Sachs Foundation programs and
Goldman Sachs Gives, and created a portfolio of multi-year, regional
and country specific programs aligned with the firms focus and the
economic/development goals of 11 countries where investments had been
made. Major programs included: Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative
(40 percent of women from Asia); China Breast Cancer Initiative.
From what I have seen first-hand the role that the private sector
can play in facilitating and enhancing America's prominence abroad and
in advancing U.S.
values.
I know the critical role the U.S. Government plays in leveling the
playing field to ensure U.S. companies can compete abroad, and to
ensure that our foreign competitors abide by their commitments and play
by the same rules.
I have also seen what happens when U.S. policy is not carried out
or implement in a way that facilitates business.
I am passionate about the mission of the Department of Commerce and
can think of nothing more meaningful or impactful than creating jobs
through promoting U.S. exports or attracting foreign direct investment
into the United States. In addition, I believe the direction that
Secretary Ross is taking to ensure we have fair and reciprocal trade
with our partners will ensure America's continued growth and vitality.
I am deeply grateful to President Trump and Secretary Ross for
their leadership. I am honored to be nominated by the President and am
grateful to the Secretary for his confidence and support.
In the past couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to meet
with a number of the dedicated civil servants and foreign commercial
officers who constitute the leadership of the International Trade
Administration's Global Markets, and the U.S. Foreign Commercial
Service, and I find in them a kindred spirit, one that is driven to
help American companies succeed. Because they share my belief that
there is nothing more meaningful or powerful than helping to create
jobs that put people to work. Trade, exports and FDI are a powerful
engine for economic growth. With 95 percent of the world' population
outside of the United States and more than 1 in 5 American jobs
supported by trade, the Office of Global Markets has a critical role to
play. Last year alone, for every $1 appropriated to Global Markets, an
estimated $192 was returned to the American economy in the form of
increased exports and foreign direct investments for a total impact of
$62.2 billion, which supported approximately 300,000 U.S. jobs.
If confirmed I look forward to having the opportunity to lead this
organization, and will bring to it my global experience and business
background as well as my knowledge of how to leverage Government
resources to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness. Thank you for
your time today and for your consideration of my nomination.
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL
To be Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, Department of the
Treasury
July 18, 2017
Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, and distinguished Members of
the Senate Banking Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear
before you today and for considering my nomination to be Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions. I am deeply
honored and humbled to have been selected for this position and am
grateful to President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin for this opportunity
to continue my career in public service in a different venue.
Before I get too far into my statement, I do want to recognize the
members of my family who are in attendance today. With me today are my
sister Michelle, my brother-in-law Richard, my brother Eric and my
sister Catherine. I also want to acknowledge my two other siblings that
could not make it here today, my brothers Scot and Marc. My mother also
would surely like to be here today, however she is too ill to travel.
But, I know she is watching from home. While my father passed away a
few short years ago, I know that he would have been proud to sit in
today's audience as well. I also want to acknowledge the many friends,
colleagues, and former colleagues who are here, many of whom have flown
in for the occasion.
I want to thank every one of them for being here and for their love
and support. One does not receive opportunities like this without years
of help from many, many people, and that is certainly the case for me.
I come from the humblest of beginnings. I lived most of my
childhood in poverty, really never thinking that I would be afforded
the opportunities that have been presented to me over the last two
decades.
The first great opportunity that came my way was the chance to join
Senator Orrin Hatch's campaign for President as the National Field
Director. I think Senator Hatch would agree that, after that initial
experience in politics and public service, there was nowhere to go but
up.
Despite the results of that particular campaign, the Senator asked
me to run his 2000 Senate reelection campaign. This was, to say the
least, a lot of responsibility for a relatively inexperienced kid, but,
thankfully, the campaign was a huge success and I have worked with
Senator Hatch in a variety of capacities since that election, most
recently as Staff Director for the Senate Finance Committee.
I am, of course, grateful to Senator Hatch for his support and
encouragement over these many years. He has been a mentor to me and I
certainly would not be here if not for his skillful tutoring.
During my time in the Senate, I have worked very hard to cultivate
a reputation for three things.
First and foremost, I have sought to be known as an effective
advocate and strategist for achieving the goals of my employer, whether
it is the Senator or the Committee.
Second, I have worked to be known as one who prefers and
effectively facilitates bipartisan cooperation. Throughout my career, I
have begun every effort with the presumption that a bipartisan result
would be preferable and more enduring than a partisan one, and have
worked to achieve those types of outcomes.
Finally, I have endeavored to build a reputation for being a good
manager and leader. On the Finance Committee, Chairman Hatch and I have
put together an effective and professional staff. Leading this team has
been one of my proudest professional achievements.
Our committee has the broadest jurisdiction of any in Congress,
encompassing every page and word of the tax code, all major Federal
health programs, huge portions of the social safety net, including
Social Security, and our Nation's trade policy. Overseeing the
Republican efforts on the committee has required not only policy
knowledge and experience, but also the ability to manage different
people with varying skillsets and expertise.
And, I believe we've been successful. In the last Congress alone,
the Finance Committee reported a record number of bills--several dozen
in fact--all of them bipartisan. And, the vast majority of those bills
were eventually signed into law.
I can't take credit for everything the Finance Committee has
accomplished while I've been there. The credit belongs to Chairman
Hatch, Ranking Member Wyden, and Senator Baucus, who was chairman when
I first started there, and all of the Members on both sides of the
dais.
But, once again, during my time on the committee--and throughout
all my time in the Senate--I have sought to leave a mark and build a
reputation for being an effective advocate, a bipartisan facilitator,
and a strong leader.
Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, I have had to privilege to
work closely with both of you, as well as with many other Members of
this Committee. As you consider my nomination, my hope is that my
efforts to build that kind of reputation have been successful and that
I have displayed to you those types of characteristics.
The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions
is responsible for leading Treasury's efforts to monitor and regulate
our Nation's banks and securities markets and to ensure our financial
sector is resilient in times of crisis. In addition, it is responsible
for coordinating, among other things, Treasury's work on financial
education, consumer protection, community development, affordable
housing, and cybersecurity.
In other words, the position has a broad focus, dealing with our
largest banks and investment companies as well as small community
organizations. This is not unlike the broad jurisdiction of the Senate
Finance Committee. Successful leadership from this position will
require great management skills and the help of the talented career
staff at the department. In addition, it will require the ability to
balance what are, at times, competing interests of financial
institutions--large and small--their customers and practices, and the
American taxpayers. I believe that my experience has prepared me well
for this position.
I think it's safe to say that few, if any, nominees considered by
this Committee have ever been more cognizant of the need for
cooperation between Congress and agencies in the executive branch. If
confirmed, I will look forward to working with the Members of this
Committee to ensure safety and soundness of financial institutions and
practices, fairness, and avenues through which the financial sector
works to facilitate economic growth and opportunities for all
Americans.
Distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for consideration
of my nomination and I look forward to answering your questions.
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR BROWN FROM PAUL
COMPTON
Q.1. There is broad agreement in the courts that the Federal
Fair Housing Act applies to discriminatory practices of
homeowners' insurers. In the more than 20 years since the Fair
Housing Act was amended and HUD issued interpretive
regulations, every court to consider the issue has held that
the Fair Housing Act prohibits acts of discrimination by
homeowners' insurers. Specifically, courts have found that the
discriminatory practices of homeowners' insurers violate 42
U.S.C. 3604(a), (b) and 3605.
Courts have found that because the ability to obtain
insurance is inexorably linked to the ability to obtain
housing--i.e., adequate insurance is necessary to own or rent
housing--insurance discrimination violates the ``otherwise make
unavailable or deny'' provision of section 3604(a).
Given the strong case law concerning the applicability of
the Fair Housing Act to the insurance industry, what is your
position on HUD's Discriminatory Effects rule and its
applicability to the insurance industry?
A.1. If confirmed, I would be responsible for the Department's
enforcement and litigation involving the Discriminatory Effects
rule. As I have been informed by HUD staff that there is
currently pending litigation, it would be inappropriate for me
to comment on this matter.
Q.2. Do you support HUD's Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
(AFFH) rule, and will you commit to implementing it?
A.2. Based on my reading and understanding of it, and without
the benefit of any discussions with HUD personnel, the AFFH
rule seeks to integrate communities by requiring States,
municipalities, public housing authorities and every other key
recipient of HUD funding to develop a plan to move affordable
housing resources into areas deemed to have a higher quality of
life or otherwise bring other resources into lower income or
more segregated areas.
The AFFH rule appears to be closely linked to disparate
impact analysis, though it in principal part predates the
Supreme Court's guidance in Texas Department of Housing and
Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project. Inc. The
AFFH rule appears to presume that geographic units that are not
reflective of the broader community's make up, in terms of
protected classes of persons under the FHA, are indicative of
violations of the FHA's admonition to HUD to ``affirmatively
further the policies of the FHA''. This would require the
funding recipients in these areas to take the actions that HUD
has approved in the recipient's plan to change this situation.
The AFFH rule, which does not set forth objective standards
but instead sets forth a planning process with HUD data and
discretionary approval authority, likely requires localities
receiving HUD funding to change their own policies, ordinances
and local funding priorities in order to achieve the purposes
the goals set forth in their plan once it has been approved by
HUD.
The Supreme Court in its Inclusive Communities opinion has
given HUD a roadmap for use of disparate impact analysis under
the Fair Housing Act. Statistics, without more, are not enough.
The Court has called for findings of robust causality.
Disparate impact data can be a powerful tool in identifying
discriminatory intent but, as with all tools, should be used in
appropriate circumstances.
If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I believe that
implementation of the AFFH rule will need to reflect the
interpretation of the Fair Housing Act by the Supreme Court in
Inclusive Communities, be mindful of principles of federalism
and not place undue bureaucratic burdens on local
municipalities and public housing authorities, among others. We
will have to see the results of implementation of the current
regulation in order to better evaluate the policy. Fair housing
should, in my mind, be about ensuring individual rights.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTION OF SENATOR SHELBY FROM PAUL
COMPTON
Q.1. Mr. Compton, you have practiced housing law for almost 30
years. With that experience, you surely understand many aspects
of the housing industry.
If confirmed, what actions will you take at HUD to increase
the efficiency and productivity of the Office of the General
Counsel?
A.1. If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I will seek to
ensure that headquarters and regional office OGC staff
communicate clearly and frequently to ensure that HUD's laws
and regulations are interpreted and enforced consistently and
effectively.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR REED FROM PAUL COMPTON
Q.1. The Office of General Counsel is responsible for working
with senior policy officials and staff to develop and draft the
Department's legislation and major regulations, notices of
policy statements, and other key notices of the Department. How
do you intend to work with senior leadership and across program
areas to design and implement legislative and regulatory
changes, and what changes will you prioritize during your
tenure at HUD? Further, what changes if any do you intend to
make to HUD's fair housing, LGBT, and Lead Paint regulations?
How might the Presidential Executive Order on Reducing
Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs impact your ability
to execute this agenda?
A.1. If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I will work
collaboratively with the program offices to ensure that
implementation of legislative and regulatory changes is
completed expeditiously and within the bounds of the law. If
confirmed as the General Counsel, I would apprise the
appropriate program offices on the Office of General Counsel's
assessment of the legality of any proposed changes to HUD
programs, including, but not limited to, fair housing, LGBTQ
and Lead Paint regulations. It is my understanding that HUD has
established a taskforce to review regulations and I look
forward to understanding, and constructively participating in,
streamlining burdensome regulations to help HUD better achieve
its important mission.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR MENENDEZ FROM PAUL
COMPTON
Q.1. In 2013, you told the Weekly Standard regarding HUD's AFFH
efforts, ``It's a real shift in emphasis from ensuring that the
private sector and participants in Federal programs don't
unlawfully discriminate to defining the existence of racially
and ethnically `segregated' neighborhoods to be in themselves a
violation of fair housing.''\1\ Keeping in mind that you
affirmed to the Committee during your nomination hearing that
you intend to implement the AFFH rule, could you please explain
what you meant in your comments to the Weekly Standard in 2013?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ http://www.weeklystandard.com/huds-power-grab/article/759151.
A.1. As the AFFH rule was in the process of being promulgated,
I was one of a number of persons a journalist asked to comment
on it. As I read and understood the promulgating release at the
time, without the benefit of any discussions with HUD
personnel, the AFFH rule sought to integrate communities by
requiring States, municipalities, public housing authorities
and every other key recipient of HUD funding to develop a plan
to move affordable housing resources into areas deemed to have
a higher quality of life or otherwise bring other resources
into lower income or more segregated areas.
The AFFH rule appears to be closely linked to disparate
impact analysis, though it in principal part predates the
Supreme Court's guidance in Texas Department of Housing and
Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. The
AFFH rule appears to presume that geographic units that are not
reflective of the broader community's make up, in terms of
protected classes of persons under the FHA, are indicative of
violations of the FHA's admonition to HUD to ``affirmatively
further the policies of the FHA.'' This would require the
funding recipients in these areas to take the actions that HUD
has approved in the recipient's plan to change this situation.
The AFFH rule, which does not set forth objective standards
but instead sets forth a planning process with HUD data and
discretionary approval authority, likely requires localities
receiving HUD funding to change their own policies, ordinances,
and local funding priorities in order to achieve the purposes
the goals set forth in their plan once it has been approved by
HUD.
The Supreme Court in its Inclusive Communities opinion has
given HUD a roadmap for use of disparate impact analysis under
the Fair Housing Act. Statistics, without more, are not enough.
The Court has called for findings of robust causality.
Disparate impact data can be a powerful tool in identifying
discriminatory intent but, as with all tools, should be used in
appropriate circumstances.
If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I believe that
implementation of the AFFH rule will need to reflect the
interpretation of the Fair Housing Act by the Supreme Court in
Inclusive Communities, be mindful of principles of federalism
and not place undue bureaucratic burdens on local
municipalities and public housing authorities, among others. We
will have to see the results of implementation of the current
regulation in order to better evaluate the policy. Fair housing
should, in my mind, be about ensuring individual rights.
Q.2. In the 114th Congress, I introduced the Senate version of
the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA). The
legislation was passed unanimously in both the House and
Senate, and it was signed into law on July 29, 2016. HUD has
begun the process of implementing some of the provisions, but
many rulemakings remain outstanding. As General Counsel, you
will play an important role in the rulemaking process. What
will you do to prioritize rulemakings mandated by HOTMA?
A.2. HOTMA enacted several important reforms for HUD, including
streamlining and burden-reducing changes to the Section 8 and
Public Housing programs, creating a special assistant for
veterans affairs in the Office of the Secretary, and updating
the distribution formula for the Housing Opportunities for
Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program. HUD has already implemented
some of these provisions where permitted by notice, which
included receiving public comment on that implementation. This
public comment will inform future rulemaking efforts.
Senator, I will remain mindful of your interest in this and
the broad congressional support for this legislative
initiative.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR BROWN FROM ANNA MARIA
FARIAS
Q.1. There is broad agreement in the courts that the Federal
Fair Housing Act applies to discriminatory practices of
homeowners' insurers. In the more than 20 years since the Fair
Housing Act was amended and HUD issued interpretive
regulations, every court to consider the issue has held that
the Fair Housing Act prohibits acts of discrimination by
homeowners' insurers. Specifically, courts have found that the
discriminatory practices of homeowners' insurers violate 42
U.S.C. 3604(a), (b) and 3605.
Courts have found that because the ability to obtain
insurance is inexorably linked to the ability to obtain
housing--i.e., adequate insurance is necessary to own or rent
housing--insurance discrimination violates the ``otherwise make
unavailable or deny'' provision of section 3604(a).
Given the strong case law concerning the applicability of
the Fair Housing Act to the insurance industry, what is your
position on HUD's Discriminatory Effects rule and its
applicability to the insurance industry?
A.1. My understanding is that there is pending litigation, to
which HUD is a party, concerning this matter. As such, it would
be inappropriate for me to comment until those cases are
resolved
Q.2. There are approximately 495 full-time employees at HUD's
office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the lowest
staffing level since 1989. According to the President's budget
request, HUD would receive $2.2 million less for salaries and
expenses for FY 18. In 2008, the bipartisan National Commission
on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity led by former HUD
Secretaries Jack Kemp and Henry Cisneros recommended that FHEO
needed at least 750 FTEs for the fair housing office. This work
includes reviewing and investigating complaints of sexual
harassment by landlords, explicit preferences landlords make
saying no children are allowed in an apartment, and other forms
of housing discrimination no one should ever have to
experience.
As FHEO Assistant Secretary, what would you do to increase
FHEO staffing to address fair housing enforcement and
education, or meet the existing investigation, policy, and
technical assistance requirements of the office?
A.2. I support the Secretary's plan for reforming Government,
which calls on us to find efficiencies to maximize the impact
of our staff. The dedicated employees in FHEO may be better
aided in their enforcement, education and compliance work
through improved technology or skills enhancement. If confirmed
as Assistant Secretary, one of the first things I will do is
look at FHEO's processes and procedures to ensure we are
getting the most value out of our spending. I will look at how
roles and responsibilities are organized to ensure they are
aligned to achieve maximum benefit. I will also ensure
employees that underperform are held accountable. Finally, I
will talk to the employees of HUD, who, no doubt, have many
ideas for improving the Department's operations.
The mission of the Office of FHEO is critical to the
Department and the country, and, if confirmed as Assistant
Secretary, I will do everything I can to ensure it has the
resources it needs and that those resources are used to maximum
effect.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTION OF SENATOR REED FROM ANNA MARIA
FARIAS
Q.1. According to HUD's website, ``the Fair Housing Act
protects people from discrimination when they are renting,
buying, or securing financing for any housing. The prohibitions
specifically cover discrimination because of race, color,
national origin, religion, sex, disability, and the presence of
children''--also colloquially known as the Fair Housing Act's
protected classes. If confirmed, will you treat each of the
protected classes equally in vigorously enforcing the Fair
Housing Act?
A.1. Senator, you have my commitment that, if confirmed, I will
vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act and always treat each
of the protected classes equally.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR MENENDEZ FROM ANNA
MARIA FARIAS
Q.1. HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity has a
critical role to play in disaster recovery funding. In New
Jersey after Superstorm Sandy, it wasn't just homeowners
impacted by the storm. Renters, a higher-share of whom are
African Americans and Latinos, were subjected to long waiting
lists, lengthy delays, and denial of assistance without ever
finding out why. Complicating matters, there were reports that
the State's Spanish language website contained incorrect
instructions and wasn't corrected until it was too late to
apply. We also saw reports of disproportionately higher
rejection rates for African Americans and Latinos. Even if
there was no intentional discrimination, a disparate impact is
still cause for significant concern. What will be your approach
to investigating such claims should they arise in the future,
and how will you ensure fair and equitable treatment in
disaster recovery funding for all individuals?
A.1. Based on HUD's experience during Superstorm Sandy, we know
we must be especially alert to any differences in services
provided to people, based on race or national origin. At the
first mention of such allegations, I will investigate and take
steps to make sure everyone is treated fairly. This includes
making sure recipients of HUD funds provide the same
information to all persons about their rights and the relief
available. In communities where significant populations speak
languages other than English, like Spanish, we will make sure
recipients provide all the same information in those languages
(on websites and in other forms), so they can timely benefit
from all the same services and relief. The primary goal is to
prevent such problems from occurring in the first place. As
Assistant Secretary, I would do all I can to provide guidance,
technical assistance, and best practices so that when
governments are reacting to a disaster they can easily comply
with the law.
Q.2. HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity is
responsible for enforcing fair housing laws and ensuring fair
access to housing for all Americans. For many new Americans and
others for whom English is not their first language, fair
access to housing includes having resources and translations
available to them that are clear, consistent, and accurate, as
well as protection from discriminatory housing decisions based
solely on their limited English language abilities.
Can you describe what your approach would be at HUD
regarding limited English proficiency access?
Can I have your commitment to make this a priority
if you are confirmed?
A.2. Over 25 million people in the United States, approximately
9 percent of the overall population, are limited in their
English proficiency. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
and Executive Order 13166 require that Federal agencies ensure
that people with limited English proficiency (LEP) have
meaningful access to programs that receive HUD funding. The
responsibility for ensuring the Department and its recipients
comply with that important civil rights responsibility falls to
the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. If confirmed
as Assistant Secretary, I would review the language access
services presently available in the Department and engage in
extensive outreach to make sure all populations know how to
utilize the services HUD provides.
Q.3. In September, HUD issued new guidance on protections under
the Fair Housing Act for people with limited English
proficiency. As explained in the guidance, housing providers
are prohibited from using limited English proficiency
selectively or as an excuse for intentional housing
discrimination. In addition, the guidance clarifies that
landlords are prohibited from using limited English proficiency
in a way that causes an unjustified discriminatory effect.
Do you agree with the contents of this guidance?
A.3. Yes, the Fair Housing Act protects individuals from
discrimination based on their national origin. One common proxy
for national origin discrimination is discrimination against
persons based on their English proficiency. This discrimination
is illegal regardless of the form--discriminatory treatment or
discriminatory effect. If confirmed as Assistant Secretary for
Fair Housing, I will follow this guidance to ensure all
individuals are protected from discrimination.
Q.4. It is estimated that each year more than four million acts
of discrimination occur in the rental housing market alone, but
only a small fraction of these acts are reported.
Q.4.a. How will you ensure fair housing education, testing, and
enforcement are priorities for HUD?
A.4.a. Even one family denied housing because of their race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or familial
status is too many. I believe it is imperative that the
Department do a better job in educating housing providers about
the Fair Housing Act in order to prevent discrimination and
educate the public about their rights and the advocacy services
available so they can get redress for their injuries if
discrimination occurs.
But education is not enough. We must be prepared to
vigorously enforce the law through our enforcement authorities
at HUD. We must also support State and local enforcement by our
State and local partners through the Fair Housing Assistance
Program, and support the work, including testing, by the Fair
Housing Initiatives Program organizations.
Q.4.b. How do you plan to operate and oversee fair housing
programs to deliver capacity and resources to local
governments, fair housing agencies, and other key stakeholders?
A.4.b. I see the work of FHEO as part of a three-pronged plan
that supports fair housing in this country. First, there's HUD.
Then, we are joined in this effort by our partners in the Fair
Housing Initiatives Program, where nonprofits assist
individuals informally and ensure that the general public and
housing providers are educated about fair housing rights and
responsibilities. Third, we have our State and local partners
in the Fair Housing Assistance Program, who provide a local
face for civil rights enforcement and investigate 80 percent of
Fair Housing Act cases in the country.
For FY 2018, the funding the President requested for fair
housing programs was equal to the amount provided by Congress
for 2016 and 2017. This Administration is committed to
upholding fair housing. If confirmed, I will continue that
strong support for State and local governments and fair housing
organizations.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR BROWN FROM NEAL
RACKLEFF
Q.1. The mayors of small towns in Ohio say that CDBG grants are
critical in improving their infrastructure and meeting their
community and economic development goals.
Would you agree with their assessment that CDBG is an
important tool in their efforts to ensure that small town
America is not left behind in our economy? How have you seen
CDBG used to help small towns and rural areas in their
community and economic development efforts?
A.1. In my experience, CDBG funding can be used to effectively
improve infrastructure in meeting community and economic
development goals.
In Texas, a great deal of the CDBG funding administered by
the State is used to help small towns and rural areas improve
infrastructure through projects such as road construction and
improvement or expansion of water and sewer facilities.
Q.2. Mr. Rackleff, it is no secret that the President's FY 2018
budget would eliminate many of the programs that you would
administer at CPD, if confirmed. That proposal was deeply
disappointing. Many of my colleagues and I are working to make
sure that does not happen.
Can you tell us how you used these programs in your housing
and community development work in Houston?
A.2. In Houston, we used the CDBG grant funds we received
effectively to promote community development, eliminate blight,
repair and replace housing damaged from weather disasters and
to provide public services and facilities to Houstonians in
need. Nearly all the CDBG funding expended on housing did not
come from traditional annual CDBG grants but rather from
special congressional appropriations related to disasters.
The traditional CDBG fending the city of Houston received
was reduced dramatically during my tenure. In 2011, Houston
received $35.8 million in CDBG funding--by 2015 that amount had
dwindled to $22.9 million--a 36 percent reduction.
Q.3. In recent months, HUD has withdrawn two Notices and
removed from its website several resources intended to carry
out its policies to ensure housing rights for LGBTQ
individuals. This includes LGBTQ youth, who make up nearly 40
percent of all homeless youth. The withdrawn Notices were
designed to 1) require HUD-participating housing providers to
display information regarding the rights of LGBTQ individuals
and 2) collect information necessary to evaluate the
effectiveness of an LGBTQ youth homelessness demonstration
program.
If confirmed, will you work to reinstate these notices and
guidance? If not, why not?
A.3. Senator, I have not had the opportunity to examine this
particular matter yet. As I stated during my confirmation
hearing, in response to a question from Senator Cortez Masto,
if confirmed, I pledge to look into this issue within my first
2 weeks.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR SHELBY FROM NEAL
RACKLEFF
Q.1. Mr. Rackleff, your work in the city of Houston involved
serving many families using HUD grants. Your new role at HUD
will involve oversight of the Community Development Block Grant
program.
Q.1.a. What is your experience with the Community Development
Block Grant program in Houston?
A.1.a. In Houston, we used the CDBG grant funds we received
effectively to promote community development, eliminate blight,
repair and replace housing damaged from weather disasters and
to provide public services and facilities to Houstonians in
need. Nearly all the CDBG funding expended on housing did not
come from traditional annual CDBG grants but rather from
special congressional appropriations related to disasters.
The traditional CDBG funding the city received was reduced
dramatically during my tenure. In 2011, Houston received $35.8
million in CDBG funding. By 2015 that amount had dwindled to
$22.9 million--a 36 percent reduction.
Notable projects include development of a grocery store in
a food desert and redevelopment of a vacant historic office
building in downtown Houston, which is now a beautiful JW
Marriott hotel. On that project, we made an approximately $7
million loan to the hotel and were fully repaid with interest
within about 2 years. We invested $9.3 million total in these
two projects, creating 278 jobs and leveraging a total
investment of $85.7 million.
Q.1.b. How did the program help you and the city of Houston?
A.1.b. The program enabled us to create jobs, redevelop
historic and blighted properties and provide housing and
infrastructure for Houstonians. Additionally, 16.77 percent of
the nondisaster CDBG funding we received was used to provide
public services, such as aid to the homeless and victims of
domestic violence, and programs designed to improve job
opportunities and assist at-risk youth to focus on their
education. We also used the program to construct public
facilities such as health clinics, food pantries and a charter
school. Finally, we used the program to improve infrastructure
to reduce risks of flooding in inner-city communities.
As mentioned in my hearing, should I be confirmed, I pledge
to use whatever resources may be entrusted to me wisely and
effectively.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR REED FROM NEAL
RACKLEFF
Q.1. In reviewing your nominations materials, I was pleased to
read about your experience in using the Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) program, which President Trump has proposed
zeroing out for FY 18. This would be a $3 billion cut overall
and a $15.2 million cut for Rhode Island in 2018. Please
describe your personal experience working with CDBG. In
particular, I would like to learn more about how you used CDBG
to overcome a food desert in Houston.
A.1. In Houston, we used the CDBG grant funds we received
effectively to promote community development, eliminate blight,
repair and replace housing damaged from weather disasters and
to provide public services and facilities to Houstonians in
need. Nearly all the CDBG funding expended on housing did not
come from traditional annual CDBG grants but rather from
special congressional appropriations related to disasters.
The traditional CDBG funding the city received was reduced
dramatically during my tenure. In 2011, Houston received $35.8
million in CDBG funding. By 2015 that amount had dwindled to
$22.9 million--a 36 percent reduction.
Regarding overcoming a food desert in Houston, we
incentivized the development of a brand new grocery store in an
area considered a food desert. Total development cost for the
store was $4.9 million. We provided a $1.9 million CDBG grant
to help make the project economically viable. The grocer was
required to do the following: 1) create 25 full-time equivalent
jobs; 2) properly maintain the store; and 3) include a
specified amount of linear shelf space stocked with fresh
fruits and vegetables and other nutritious groceries designed
to ensure the store would be a grocery store rather than a
convenience store. If the owner adhered to these requirements
the grant would burn off at a rate of 10 percent annually, but
if the conditions were violated then the balance of the grant
would convert to a repayable loan with interest, amortized over
15 years. This ``clawback'' mechanism was instituted to ensure
the city received the benefit of the incentive after it was
provided to the owner.
Q.2. Also in your nominations materials, you made reference to
a fair housing situation in Houston in which you helped
negotiate a win-win solution. Could you please provide
additional details?
A.2. When I became Director of the Department of Housing and
Community Development, the city of Houston was struggling to
comply with the terms of a previous Hurricane Ike CDBG-DR Round
1 grant. The single family component was behind schedule. We
got it back on track and completed. Additionally, Houston was
chosen to receive a Round 2 grant of an additional $178
million. Fair Housing advocates had litigated against the State
of Texas and with HUD regarding the disposition of these funds.
They had a Conciliation Agreement with HUD and the State of
Texas allowing them significant influence over how and where
such funding could be spent. They threatened to sue the city of
Houston if we did not comply with their desires to focus the
$178 million in areas they considered ``high opportunity''
rather than in inner-city neighborhoods that had concentrations
of minority and low-income residents. I felt strongly that we
should not turn our backs on the very inner-city communities
HUD was created to strengthen. So, we were at a significant
impasse. I was faced with a choice--litigate the matter--which
could easily take 3 to 5 years, during which time none of the
families we were entrusted with serving would receive any help,
or instead try to find common ground and negotiate a solution
allowing us to use the resources entrusted to us to help those
we serve as quickly as possible.
I chose to negotiate. We brought the activists and
grassroots housing proponents to the table and found common
ground. We proposed that rather than moving families out of the
neighborhoods they loved and away from their families, churches
and other support groups and institutions, that we should focus
our resources on two to three specific inner-city communities
and rather than just doing housing in a vacuum, we would
dedicate other resources to improve infrastructure and promote
economic development. The advocates agreed with this approach.
So, together we conducted a comprehensive planning, market and
demographic analysis to
target communities where gentrification was likely. We wanted
to use our resources to jumpstart revitalization of these areas
but also ensure that high quality affordable homes would be in
such neighborhoods to avoid displacement of lower-income
families as the tide of gentrification swept over these
historically underserved neighborhoods. We involved the
community in choosing the areas to a degree never done before
in Houston. We had 13 public meetings with over 500
unduplicated participants to refine our focus on the right
communities. Then I went with the activists to the State of
Texas officials responsible for the program and we received
permission to proceed. Four out of five of the multi-family
developments we proposed are under construction, and I believe
all the single-family homes have been completed. In contrast,
most of the other local governmental entities in the Houston
area did not choose to bring the activists to the table and are
still trying to work through issues that will allow them to
eventually proceed with their desired projects.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR MENENDEZ FROM NEAL
RACKLEFF
Q.1. The President's FY 2018 budget request included the
proposed elimination of the Community Development Block Grant
program and the HOME Investment Partnership Program. When asked
about these proposed eliminations during your nomination
hearing, you confirmed that these programs demonstrated a
measurable impact in Houston.
Q.1.a. If this budget were to be enacted in its current form,
would it increase housing instability and homelessness?
A.1.a. If Congress funds HUD at the level proposed in the
President's FY 2018 budget, it would take some time for HUD to
spend down the existing unobligated budget authority. If
Congress maintains this level of funding beyond the short term,
these are concerns that will need to be monitored.
Q.1.b. Do you support the elimination of the Community
Development Block Grant program as proposed in the budget? If
you do support the budget, please explain what specific
alternative funding mechanisms will be provided to States,
cities, and localities to fill the void created by the
elimination of the program.
A.1.b. I'll be the first to tell you that in Houston we saw the
positive outcomes that occur when a city uses CDBG funds in an
efficient and effective manner. But I also know that where we
used CDBG wisely, many other localities do not. Instead, they
use these precious dollars to plug budget holes. As the
President's nominee, I of course support the Administration's
proposed budget, which balances priorities across the Federal
Government. If confirmed, I will bring my many years of
experience as a housing practitioner who used CDBG funding to
achieve successful outcomes in Houston to future internal
budget deliberations.
Q.1.c. Do you support elimination of the HOME Investment
Partnership program as proposed in the budget? If you do
support the budget, please explain what specific alternative
funding
mechanisms will be provided to States, cities, and localities
to fund the creation of affordable housing for low-income
households.
A.1.c. As I noted in the above answer, as the President's
nominee, I support the Administration's proposed budget. HOME
is a program with which I have extensive experience, and we had
great success with it in Houston. I also know the program has
been criticized for misuse of funds. And the prior
Administration made reductions to HOME as well. As I stated at
my confirmation hearing, if confirmed, I will faithfully
administer any Federal funds with which I am entrusted by
Congress. I also will work with the Congress, State and local
governments, and private sector partners to identify mechanisms
and means to support the development and preservation of
affordable housing.
Q.2. The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) is an
independent agency tasked with coordinating the Federal
response across 19 Federal member agencies to address
homelessness. In 2010, USICH spearheaded the Federal
Government's first comprehensive strategic plan to prevent and
end homelessness. Since that time, there has been an overall
reduction in nationwide homelessness by 14 percent, family
homelessness by 23 percent, chronic homelessness by 27 percent,
and veteran homelessness by 47 percent. The President's FY 2018
budget outline proposes to completely eliminate funding for the
USICH.
Q.2.a. Do you support the elimination of the U.S. Interagency
Council on Homelessness as proposed in the budget? If you do
support the budget, please explain how States, cities, and
localities will fill the void created by the elimination of
this independent agency.
A.2.a. HUD is committed to working across agencies and State,
local, and private partners to leverage other programs to end
homelessness. One of the United States Interagency Council on
Homelessness' biggest accomplishments was the promotion of
interagency collaboration to combat homelessness. USICH helped
pave the way for collaboration across agencies, and now such
collaboration across agencies has become more common place and
can continue without a distinct Council.
Q.2.b. CPD plays an important role in fighting homelessness by
administering HUD's homeless assistance programs, which provide
grants to aid State and community efforts to prevent and end
homelessness. How would the elimination of the U.S. Interagency
Council on Homelessness affect the progress made in ending
homelessness?
A.2.b. As I stated above, I believe HUD is well positioned to
continue collaborating with other departments and agencies to
combat homelessness.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR HEITKAMP FROM NEAL
RACKLEFF
Q.1. HUD Budget: As the Assistant Secretary for Community
Planning and Development, you will oversee many important
programs that were eliminated in the Administration's FY 18
budget, including CDBG, the HOME program, and the Housing Trust
Fund. These programs are so important to North Dakota's
communities. When the budget blueprint was first released
earlier this year, I reached out to city and State officials in
North Dakota to get a complete picture of where they used these
funds and received an overwhelming response imploring me to
speak up for these programs. As you know from working with CDBG
in Texas, those funds alone are used for everything from dental
centers for the disadvantaged to senior centers to affordable
housing for families.
You maintained in your nomination hearing that you support
the Administration's proposed elimination of these programs.
While it is the job of Congress to determine the budget, are
you prepared to be an advocate for these programs?
A.1. Senator, I can commit to you that whatever resources
Congress sees fit to provide to HUD's Office of Community
Planning and Development, I will utilize those resources wisely
and effectively. Furthermore, if confirmed, I will bring my
many years of experience as a housing practitioner who used
CDBG funding to achieve successful outcomes in Houston to
future internal budget deliberations.
Q.2. Transitional Housing: In recent years, HUD has strongly
favored the ``housing first'' model--prioritizing rapid
rehousing over transitional projects. While rapid rehousing can
be effective for many cases of homelessness, transitional
housing with built-in services like substance abuse counseling
and job training still serves an important purpose for specific
targeted groups, including victims of domestic violence, at-
risk youth, individuals struggling with substance abuse
(including opioids), and the recently incarcerated. As the head
of CPD, you will oversee many of HUD's homelessness programs.
I appreciated that you mentioned transitional housing in
the hearing and look forward to working with you to improve
transitional housing policy should you be confirmed. Can you
tell me more about your opinion on transitional housing as it
fits into the arsenal of housing and intervention options for
combating homelessness in our most vulnerable communities?
A.2. HUD has focused its allocation of resources to alleviate
homelessness on those programs and agencies that have yielded
the most successful outcomes. That emphasis on results has, in
my opinion, been a significant reason for the emphasis on the
housing first model. However, transitional housing programs are
also often very effective in alleviating homelessness and
providing effective and compassionate assistance for groups,
such as victims of domestic violence and those struggling with
substance abuse challenges.
I advocate a balanced approach in which both housing first
and transitional housing models are employed. In Houston, we
supported both models. For example, we funded transitional
housing projects for a group formerly called ``The Men's
Center'' which has been renamed ``Recenter'' (http://
recenterhouston.com) and for a wonderful organization called
The Women's Home (https://www.thewomenshome.org/).
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RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTION OF SENATOR BROWN FROM RICHARD
ASHOOH
Q.1. You will be overseeing a sensitive area of the Bureau of
Industry and Security's national security and nonproliferation
work, including remaining issues on the export control reform
initiative undertaken by the prior Administration. Beyond
completing that reform initiative, what are the main national
security priorities you will bring to this position, and how do
you intend to pursue them? What do you see as the major
challenges in this area--i.e., what will keep you up at night--
in terms of your national security portfolio?
A.1. Existing challenges to our Nation's security, such as WMD
proliferation, will continue to occupy BIS as a top priority
concern. If confirmed, I will devote serious attention to
cybersecurity software and emerging technologies. Their dual
use nature creates a more complex challenge for our regulatory
system. Further, the rapid and often secretive pace of
advancement of emerging technologies places pressure on BIS to
remain ahead of these threats in ways conventional weapons have
not in the past.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR MENENDEZ FROM RICHARD
ASHOOH
Q.1. What changes can we expect from BIS regarding new Cuba
regulations the Administration announced in June?
A.1. It is my understanding that BIS anticipates incorporating
a reference to a list to be published by the Department of
State that will identify certain entities and sub-entities that
are under the control of, or act on behalf of the Cuban
military, intelligence or security services. I further
understand that BIS anticipates revising lists of officials of
the government of Cuba that are ineligible for certain license
exceptions to correspond with the revised definition of
``prohibited officials'' to be published by the Department of
the Treasury.
Q.2. Can you ensure that new regulations will prohibit the
export of goods and services that directly benefit the Castro
regime, the Cuban military, or Cuban state-owned enterprises?
A.2. Current BIS regulations include a general policy of denial
for the export or reexport of items to the Cuban military,
police, intelligence and security services. A general policy of
denial is also in place for the export or reexport of items for
use by Cuban state-owned enterprises, agencies, and other
organizations that primarily generate revenue for the state,
including those engaged in tourism and those engaged in the
extraction or production of minerals or other raw materials. If
confirmed, I will ensure that BIS will continue to work with
the Department of State and other interagency partners to
implement the President's Cuba policy through its licensing
process.
Q.3. When will we see finalized Cuba regulations?
A.3. It is my understanding that BIS has initiated the process
to review and adjust, as necessary, the current regulations
regarding exports to Cuba. This process is being coordinated by
the National Security Council. I am informed that BIS is
working closely with interagency partners, including the
Departments of State and the Treasury, to ensure that it
promptly implements the President's Cuba policy, and expects to
publish any necessary changes in the coming months.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTION OF SENATOR BROWN FROM ELIZABETH
ERIN WALSH
Q.1. You will be managing a broad portfolio of export promotion
and efforts to encourage foreign investment into the United
States at the ITA in Commerce, working with hundreds of
Commerce employees and foreign service officers in embassies
all over the world to promote U.S. products, services and job
creation. Should you be confirmed, what do you see as the major
challenges facing you both in pressing entry for U.S. firms
into foreign markets and in promoting foreign investment in the
United States--and what will be your priorities and strategy
going forward in managing those challenges?
A.1. U.S. exports face significant challenges in many markets.
The causes of market obstruction and closure are numerous
including: high tariffs; subsidies provided to foreign
producers giving them unfair advantage over their U.S.
competitors; blocking or unreasonably restricting the flow of
digital data and services; theft of trade secrets; as well as
other nontariff barriers--such as unnecessary regulations on
particular items--to limit competition, including in the
services sector.
If confirmed, I will work tirelessly to increase exports by
breaking down long-standing trade barriers and fostering
increased access for American goods in foreign markets. I
intend to work closely with my colleagues within ITA and the
Secretary to use all possible tools to encourage other
countries to give U.S. producers fair, reciprocal access to
their markets.
In addition, if confirmed, I intend to focus on improving
efficiency. I believe Global Markets will need to rely on
technology to deliver services efficiently to exporters to
achieve this goal.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR MENENDEZ FROM
ELIZABETH ERIN WALSH
Q.1. Our competitors around the world are dedicating greater
resources toward economic diplomacy and are aggressively
helping their companies increase exports. Unfortunately, U.S.
companies cannot count on the same level of support from the
U.S. Government. Too often, this dynamic prevents American
firms from competing on a level playing field, and as a result,
we export less and fail to capitalize on valuable opportunities
in foreign markets. The Administration's budget will make this
situation even worse. It threatens to cut 38 Foreign Commercial
Service Officer positions and close 10 domestic and 35 overseas
offices. This is going to make it more difficult for American
companies who want to export and need advocates in foreign
markets to promote the value of U.S. goods and services.
Q.1.a. How is this budget approach consistent with the
Administration's goal of reducing the trade deficit?
A.1.a. The Administration's budget places a greater emphasis on
enforcement of trade laws as a means to ensure a level playing
field. All of Global Markets including the United States and
Foreign Commercial Service will continue its mission of
advocating for U.S. business abroad in as many key markets as
possible.
Q.1.b. Which foreign offices does the Administration plan to
close?
A.1.b. Due to my pending confirmation, I have not been a part
of any conversation related to specific closures and am unable
to answer this question.
Q.1.c. In the past, I have called for deploying more FCS
officers to Latin America. Do you agree that Latin America
represents a largely untapped opportunity for increased U.S.
exports and should be a priority area of expansion for the
Foreign Commercial Service?
A.1.c. I share your opinion that Latin America presents
important growth opportunities for the United States. The
President has met with many of his counterparts in the region.
That the United States is seeking to bring the NAFTA into the
21st century demonstrates the Administration's commitment to
the Americas. Modernizing and rebalancing our trading
relationship with Mexico is an important first step in further
expanding opportunities for U.S. exports in Latin America.
Q.2. You noted in your testimony that last year, for every $1
appropriated to the Office of Global Markets $192 was returned
to the American economy through increased exports and foreign
direct investment, which supported approximately 300,000 U.S.
job. Given that multiplier effect, what do expect to be the
impact on exports, foreign direct investment, and U.S. jobs, of
the Administration's proposed cut of over $43 million for
Global Markets?
A.2. If confirmed, this will be my top concern. As part of this
statistic, I was attempting to underscore how important I
believe it is that Global Markets will need to partner with
technology to deliver services efficiently to exporters. I do
not yet know the impact of Global Market's future efforts to
improve efficiency nor the proposed cuts on the Return on
Investment of taxpayer dollars.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTION OF SENATOR BROWN FROM CHRISTOPHER
CAMPBELL
Q.1. One of your responsibilities will be to advise the
Secretary in his capacity as the administrator of the
Multiemployer Pension Rehabilitation Act, and his capacity as a
member of the board of the Pension Benefit Guarantee
Corporation. What actions do you propose the Administration
take to address the crisis confronting multiemployer pensions?
A.1. Multiemployer pension plans are facing serious issues and
I understand that Treasury has been meeting with relevant
stakeholders to discuss these issues. If confirmed, I am
committed to working with Congress and other stakeholders to
develop a fiscally responsible solution to these issues.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR SHELBY FROM
CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL
Q.1. Mr. Campbell, in your role, you will work to appropriately
regulate American financial institutions. Currently, our
financial regulatory regime is far too burdensome for small and
regional financial institutions, which pose much less risk than
larger institutions to the American economy. Regulations must
be tailored to appropriately reflect a financial institution's
risk. For example, I have advocated for raising the $50 billion
asset threshold for enhanced prudential standards required by
Section 165 of Dodd-Frank, while also maintaining a criteria
based system that takes into account the institution's assets
and unique features.
In your opinion, would such reforms benefit our
financial system?
Under your leadership, in what ways will Treasury
prevent redundant and nontransparent financial
regulations?
A.1. I agree that an appropriately tailored regulatory regime
is a critical element of an effective financial system. I think
there are a number of important changes that can be made to
improve the current tailoring of regulations, particularly for
smaller and less complex regional and community banks.
Amending the $50 billion asset threshold for enhanced
prudential standards required by Section 165 of Dodd-Frank and
replacing it with a more tailored approach should result in a
number of improvements to the regulation of our financial
system: removing excessive regulations for less complex
regional banks so that they may better focus time and resources
on lending and serving customers; addressing inappropriate
incentives for smaller banks created by the current asset
thresholds; and allowing for a better allocation of regulators'
time and resources.
As the recent Treasury report on Core Principles for
financial regulation makes clear, after 7 years of continuous
rulemaking, it is time for a rationalization of regulations.
The Treasury report outlines a number of ideas to make our
regulatory system less redundant and more transparent, which
can be implemented through a combination of legislation as well
as administrative action by the financial regulatory agencies.
If confirmed, I look forward to working with the team at
Treasury, Members of Congress, and our Federal and State
regulators to improve our financial system by further tailoring
regulations and preventing redundant and opaque rulemakings.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTION OF SENATOR REED FROM CHRISTOPHER
CAMPBELL
Q.1. Following President Trump's Meeting with Russian President
Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, he delivered
the following statement via Twitter: ``Putin & I discussed
forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election
hacking, & many other negative things will be guarded.'' Later
that day, he followed up with this statement, also via Twitter:
``The fact that President Putin and I discussed a Cybersecurity
unit doesn't mean I think it can happen. It can't . . .''
Secretary Mnuchin, however, has also expressed support for the
President's original idea of cybersecurity cooperation between
the United States and Russia. During your confirmation hearing,
Ranking Member Brown asked you to commit that the Treasury
Department's cybersecurity organization, which would be under
your purview if you are confirmed, will not establish any such
cooperative unit with Russia. You did not provide a clear, yes
or no answer to Ranking Member Brown's question. Will you
please answer, in yes or no terms, whether you will commit that
the Treasury Department's cybersecurity organization that would
be under your control if you are confirmed by the Senate, will
not establish or participate in any joint cybersecurity program
with the Russian government?
A.1. It is my understanding that the Administration has made
supporting the security and resiliency of the U.S. financial
system, and reducing the risk of a significant cybersecurity
incident impacting the financial sector, a key priority. I
believe that effective coordination with other countries, where
those discussions can yield positive results, is an important
part of this work.
If confirmed, I will work with the staff at Treasury to
pursue appropriate and productive international engagements
that support and promote effective cybersecurity and ensure all
American interests are properly protected.
------
RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR MENENDEZ FROM
CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL
Q.1. Have you discussed housing finance reform with any member
of the Administration? If so, can you provide an overview of
the Administration's specific priorities on housing finance
reform?
A.1. I am aware that housing finance reform is a priority of
the Treasury and of the Administration. As Secretary Mnuchin
has stated publicly before this Committee, our housing finance
policy should promote borrower access to mortgage credit while
protecting taxpayers from costly bailouts. I understand that
Treasury is engaging with stakeholders inside and outside the
Government in advance of developing housing principles and
providing recommendations.
Q.2.a. Throughout his time on the campaign trail, the President
highlighted neighborhoods and communities throughout the
country that seldom reap the benefits of economic expansion but
are reliably and disproportionately burdened by economic
downturns. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)
have stepped up for the better part of a century to inject
capital, create jobs, and provide mortgage credit, small
business loans, and banking services in these forgotten
communities. In 2016 alone, CDFIs made over 39,000 loans and
investments totaling more than $3.6 billion, financed over
11,000 small businesses and over 33,000 affordable housing
units.
As Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, the CDFI
Fund will fall directly under your oversight. Do you support
the elimination of the CDFI fund as proposed in the budget? If
you do support the budget, is it your conclusion that we no
longer need to
promote access to capital and economic growth in economically
distressed areas?
A.2.a. My understanding is that the CDFI Fund budget eliminates
discretionary grant funding to reflect the Administration's
priority to support fiscal responsibility and to focus
resources on activities that promote national security and
public safety.
However, the budget continues to provide funding for the
CDFI Fund to continue to operate the nongrant programs, like
the New Markets Tax Credit Program, which provide support for
CDFIs and other community organizations lending and investing
in economically distressed communities across the country.
Since 2001, the New Markets Tax Credit Program has allocated
$50.5 billion in tax credits in urban and rural areas.
The budget also proposes to reauthorize the Bond Guarantee
Program to allow $500 million in new guarantees in FY 2018.
This program provides capital to CDFIs, at no cost to the
taxpayer.
Q.2.b. Assuming Congress rejects the Administration's request
to eliminate the CDFI Fund, what will you do to ensure that the
CDFI Fund has the tools and resources it requires to continue
providing funds and technical assistance to CDFIs throughout
the country?
A.2.b. If confirmed, I will work with the team at Treasury to
be sure that all CDFI programs are operating consistent with
all applicable laws, rules, and Administration policies.
Additional Material Supplied for the Record
LETTERS SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF THE NOMINATION OF PAUL COMPTON
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