[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 136 (Friday, July 31, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E715-E717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. MAXINE WATERS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 30, 2020

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that this legislation includes 
important funding to support individuals, families, workers, small 
businesses and communities. I urge all Members to support the following 
amendments that I have offered to H.R. 7617, the Defense, Commerce, 
Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and 
General Government, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human 
Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development 
Appropriations Act, 2021 and I urge that they all be retained during 
further consideration of this measure.


                    Managers Amendment to H.R. 7617

  I want to thank Chairwoman Lowey and Chairman Quigley for including 
the text of the Garcia-Waters amendment in the manager's amendment, 
which was adopted by the Rule. The Garcia amendment would direct the 
Secretary of Treasury to negotiate a two-trillion-dollar allocation of 
Special Drawing Rights by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Such 
an increase would have an immediate benefit to developing countries 
around the world by providing them with additional resources to address 
the pandemic. This amendment comes at no cost to the Treasury and would 
demonstrate our commitment to a global and coordinated approach to 
addressing the coronavirus.
  Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, are a reserve asset created by the 
IMF that are used to augment the international reserves of its members 
countries, and a new allocation would provide quick and much-needed 
assistance to developing and emerging-market countries as they respond 
to the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  I do not share the concerns of some opponents of a new SDR allocation 
about the possible inflationary effect of such an allocation. An 
independent study at Harvard that closely examined this question 
concluded that any possible global inflationary impact of some 
increased import demand by developing countries following an allocation 
of SDRs would likely be neutralized by the monetary policies of the 
Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and other inflation-
targeting central banks.

[[Page E716]]

  If SDRs were issued on a regular basis, I think this issue would be a 
concern--but they are not. The last general and special SDR allocation 
was issued in August 2009, and during the six months that followed--
which was an exceptionally difficult time for the world economy--less 
than 2 percent of the total SDR allocation was exchanged for usable 
currencies. Thirteen countries sold nearly their total allocation; 
three additional countries made partial sales. There was no 
inflationary impact.
  Importantly, the amendment also directs the Secretary of the Treasury 
to begin immediate efforts to reach an agreement with the G-20 group of 
nations to extend through the end of 2021 the current moratorium on 
debt service payments owed by the world's poorest countries to more 
advanced economies. This includes China, which is by far the largest 
official bilateral creditor to developing countries.


                 Waters Amendment no. 215 to H.R. 7617

  On July 22, 2020, the SEC dealt a blow to investor protection and to 
the American people, when it adopted amendments to proxy voting rules 
which, among other things, increased issuer involvement in the advice 
that proxy advisors give to their clients. Waters Amendment No. 215 
would prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from using 
funds appropriated under this Act to implement, administer, or enforce 
this newly-adopted final rule because the rule harms shareholder voting 
rights and undermines the independence of advice provided to 
shareholders.
  Proxy advisory firms play an important role in providing research and 
advice to shareholders regarding matters facing the companies they are 
investing in, and inform investors about the best way to vote in annual 
meetings. Thus, the integrity of that advice mandates that it be 
provided free of company management's conflicted input and unwarranted 
interference. Also, the regulations on proxy advisory firms, as 
adopted, may drive up costs for investors and make it more difficult 
for them to cast informed votes. The rule will also reduce the already-
tight reporting window for providing reports to investors. And, perhaps 
most importantly, the SEC's misguided rule may tilt voting advice more 
favorably towards management. My amendment would prohibit the SEC from 
using funds appropriated under this Act to implement, administer, or 
enforce the newly-adopted final rule and will prevent the resulting 
harm.
  This latest attack on shareholder rights is only compounded by the 
SEC's proposed changes to the shareholder proposal rule, that would 
make it more difficult for shareholders to offer and resubmit proposals 
for broad shareholder consideration. I appreciate that H.R. 7617 
includes language to prevent the SEC from using funding to implement, 
administer, or enforce these proposed changes to the shareholder 
proposal rule.


                 Waters Amendment No. 216 to H.R. 7617

  This amendment relates to ensuring that $68.4 million of the $273.5 
million appropriated to the Community Development Financial 
Institutions (CDFI) Fund are reserved for technical and financial 
assistance awards to minority Community Development Financial 
Institutions (CDFIs), including minority depository institutions 
(MDIs), and that the Fund report to Congress on the implementation of 
such allocation. This amount represents 40 percent of the $1 71 million 
of funding made available for financial and technical assistance awards 
for all certified CDFIs.
  We have learned in this pandemic how that minority-owned and 
minority-led financial institutions are critical to delivering access 
to capital to communities of color, the same communities that have been 
disproportionately and hardest hit. Unfortunately, following passage of 
the CARES Act, I quickly saw the problems with the Administration's 
efforts to roll out the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Not only did 
the program set unreasonable barriers for CDFIs to participate, the 
Administration seemed to look the other way as the big banks turned 
away truly small businesses and minority-owned businesses, and instead 
provided concierge services to large companies that are publicly traded 
with ample financial resources.

  When Congress began work on a second round of PPP funds, I worked 
with Speaker Pelosi and Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia 
Velazquez to ensure CDFIs would be able to access funds. We pushed for 
and successfully secured a $60 billion set aside in the law for 
community lenders, including CDFIs and MDIs, to ensure they could 
deploy PPP funds to small businesses and minority-owned businesses in 
their communities. I also worked with Secretary Mnuchin to eliminate 
barriers so that more CDFIs could participate. These actions have 
produced results--CDFIs and MDIs have provided more than 213,000 PPP 
loans to small businesses, including many minority-owned businesses, 
totaling more than $16.1 billion as of July 24, 2020. We have also 
included additional provisions in the Heroes Act--which the Senate 
should pass without further delay--to ensure CDFIs have a chance to 
help truly small businesses and minority-owned businesses in their 
communities during this pandemic. This included an emergency $1 billion 
appropriation to the CDFI Fund.
  I am pleased the underlying appropriations bill provides more 
resources than last year to the CDFI Fund, though we should ensure a 
portion of these funds go to minority-owned and minority-led CDFIs, 
including MDIs, to ensure these funds reach underserved areas. 
Unfortunately, the CDFI Fund does not track the demographics of who 
owns or runs the financial institutions receiving financial and 
technical assistance awards through its primary program. This amendment 
encourages the CDFI Fund to begin doing so, and to set aside funds to 
ensure MDIs and other minority-led CDFIs receive funds to support 
customers and small businesses desperate for a lifeline during these 
difficult times.


                 waters Amendment No. 339 to H.R. 7617

  This amendment would extend a deadline for housing counselors to meet 
a new certification requirement. In August of 2017, HUD began 
implementation of a new housing counselor certification requirement in 
which housing counselors had 36-months to pass a new certification 
examination. However, due in part to HUD's administrative delays that 
were exacerbated by the closure of certification examination testing 
sites as a result of the pandemic, we are now less than a week away 
from the certification deadline, and less than half of nearly 4,000 
housing counselors are currently certified. HUD has requested the 
authority to extend this deadline to ensure that the availability of 
housing counseling services is not suddenly and dramatically reduced.
  During the Great Recession, housing counseling services were a 
lifeline for more than 2 million homeowners. An evaluation conducted by 
the Urban Institute found that, when compared to homeowners who did not 
receive housing counseling services, counseled homeowners were three 
times more likely to secure loan modifications, received reduce 
mortgage payments, and were 70 percent more likely to remain current on 
their mortgages.
  The current crisis is no different. Every day we are hearing from 
housing counselors across the country that homeowners and renters 
continue to lack vital in-language and culturally sensitive information 
about their rights under the CARES Act, do not understand what 
forbearance is or whether it is the right option for them, are unaware 
of local rent and mortgage relief funds, and continue to be misled by 
mortgage servicers about their rights under federal law. This signals a 
potential influx of households who would benefit greatly from credit 
counseling and other housing counseling services that are crucial to 
help manage their financial health and mitigate long-term harm during 
the pandemic.
  At a time when millions of families are faced with the threat of 
foreclosure and eviction, damaged credit, and depleted savings, my 
amendment ensures homeowners and renters are not harmed by a lack of 
availability of housing counseling services during and after the COVID-
19 pandemic. The ability of these families to stay housed and the 
economic health of the nation depend on it.


                 Waters Amendment No. 150 to H.R. 7617

  Under this amendment, no funds may be used to contravene the duties 
and responsibilities of United States attorneys. In what was, 
tragically, just the latest example of the Attorney General interfering 
with the duties of a federal prosecutor, the United States Attorney for 
the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman, was forced out of 
office on June 20, 2020. Mr. Berman later revealed that the Attorney 
General repeatedly urged him to resign, a startling and suspicious 
revelation considering that Mr. Berman, in his capacity as U.S. 
Attorney for S.D.N.Y, was investigating a plethora of cases related to 
the Trump Administration, including charges against associates of Rudy 
Giuliani, investigations of Mr. Giuliani himself, and investigations 
into the finances of the Trump inaugural committee. This firing appears 
to be another example of the Attorney General using Department of 
Justice funds to benefit the president politically or personally. My 
amendment would make clear that such use of taxpayer dollars is utterly 
unacceptable and prohibited.


        Waters-Schakowsky-Dingell Amendment No. 302 to H.R. 7617

  This amendment is designed to protect residents of nursing homes. The 
amendment prohibits the use of funds to finalize, implement, or enforce 
the Trump Administration's July 2019 proposed nursing home rule, which 
deregulates nursing homes and weakens infection prevention standards in 
them. This amendment is cosponsored by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, 
who introduced H.R. 6698, the Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents 
and Workers during COVID-19 Act, and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. 
Nursing home residents have been hit especially severely by the COVID-
19 pandemic, and this is certainly no time to weaken the infection 
control standards that protect these vulnerable citizens.

[[Page E717]]

  



          Waters-Watson Coleman Amendment No. 303 to H.R. 7617

  This amendment prohibits the use of funds to require hospitals, 
hospital laboratories, and acute care facilities to report COVID-19 
data using the ``teletracking.protect.hhs.gov'' website that was 
announced by the Department of Health and Human Services in the 
document entitled ``COVID-19 Guidance for Hospital Reporting and FAQs 
for Hospitals, Hospital Laboratory, and Acute Care Facility Data 
Reporting Updated July 10, 2020''. This guidance update requires a data 
reporting process that circumvents the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) by ordering hospitals, hospital laboratories, and 
acute care facilities to send COVID-19 patient data directly to a 
database managed by TeleTracking, a private health data firm, and built 
by Palantir, the data mining company owned and operated by mega-Trump 
donor Peter Thiel. Sending COVID-19 data to a private firm instead of 
the CDC would harm our ability to track the spread of COVID-19.


            Waters-B. Lee-Chu Amendment No. 304 to H.R. 7617

  This amendment increases by $5 million the funds within the account 
of the Office of the Secretary designated for the Minority AIDS 
Initiative. It is cosponsored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the Co-
Chair of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, and Congresswoman Judy Chu. 
As a long-time leader on HIV/AIDS issues, I established the Minority 
AIDS Initiative in 1998, working with the Clinton Administration and 
the Congressional Black Caucus, and I know how important this program 
is for minority communities that continue to be severely and 
disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. These additional funds will 
allow the Minority AIDS Initiative to provide HIV/AIDS prevention, 
screening, and treatment services to additional people in affected 
minority communities.


             waters-C. Smith Amendment No. 305 to H.R. 7617

  As the Co-Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's 
Disease, I offered Amendment No. 305 to increase by $5 million the 
funds for the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act. This bipartisan 
amendment is cosponsored by Congressman Christopher H. Smith, the 
Republican Co-Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's 
Disease. This amendment increases funds for BOLD from $14.5 million to 
$19.5 million, bringing the account close to the authorized level of 
$20 million, in order to jump start the development of a public health 
infrastructure for Alzheimer's patients, their families, and their 
caregivers.


            Waters-Schakowsky Amendment No. 306 to H.R. 7617

  This amendment increases by $5 million the funds for the Alliance for 
Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) within the Maternal and Child 
Health account of the Health Resources and Services Administration 
(HRSA). The amendment is cosponsored by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. 
The AIM program assists state-based teams to improve the quality and 
safety of maternity care with the goal of reducing maternal mortality 
and improving maternal health. According to HRSA, the rate of 
pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. has more than doubled since 1987, 
and non-Hispanic Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native women are 
significantly more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than 
non-Hispanic White women. An increase in funds for AIM will help 
improve maternal health and enable more pregnant women to safely 
deliver their babies.


                               conclusion

  I want to thank the Rules Committee for making in order each of these 
amendments, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``Yes'' on each of these 
amendments.

                          ____________________