U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives
The U.S. House approves the Semi-Quincentennial Time Capsule Act (S3705), burying a bipartisan capsule in 2026 for 2276’s opening, alongside H.R. 5616, minting a $2.50 coin to celebrate independence while rejecting Trump’s imagery. Rep. Hill’s Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644) tackles shortages—3.85M units—with reforms like streamlined HUD reviews and banking support, amid 57% home price surges since 2023. Meanwhile, FSOC Improvement Act (H.R. 3682) restores oversight after Trump-era cuts, and Protect Taiwan Act (H.R. 1531) seeks to exclude China from global financial bodies if Taiwan’s security is threatened. Bipartisan bills like Brave Burma Act (H.R. 3190) extend sanctions against Myanmar’s junta, targeting oil/gas revenue and airstrikes amid alleged genocide. Congress prioritizes legacy, housing, and geopolitical deterrence over partisan divides. [Automatically generated summary]
Senate 3705, an act to provide for the creation of a congressional time capsule in commemoration of the semi-quincentennial of the United States and for other purposes.
Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from Oklahoma, Ms. Beis, and the gentleman from New York, Mr. Morelli, will each have control 20 minutes.
The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Oklahoma.
unidentified
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include additional material on the bill.
Today, I urge my colleagues to support S3705, the semi-quincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act.
This is the Senate companion to H.R. 6243, introduced by my colleagues, Representatives Bonnie Watson-Coleman, Robert Outerholt, Maria Salazar, and Dwight Evans.
This nonpartisan legislation would authorize the burial of a time capsule in the Capitol Visitor Center to mark the 250th anniversary of our nation's independence.
This time capsule is one way that Congress will participate in the nation's year-long celebration of liberty and independence.
Amidst our toughest challenges of the day, this legislation reminds us that we can all work together.
Under the bill, leaders from both parties will work alongside the architect of the Capitol to compile the capsule's contents.
This will include a letter from congressional leadership, books, manuscripts, relics, memorabilia, and more.
I'm optimistic that the contents of this capsule will reflect what makes this country great, as well as the challenges we face during this time.
The capsule will remain sealed until July 4th, 2276, and the burial site will be marked by a plaque approved by the Committee on House Administration and the Senate Rules Administration Committee.
I thank the ranking member, Mr. Morelli, for working with me on this effort, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S3705, which is, I believe, the original companion to H.R. 469.
And I want to thank my friend and fellow House Administrator, fellow House appropriator, Ms. Beiss, for her comments and her support of this important legislation.
As I have previously noted on the floor, this bipartisan legislation would authorize the architect of the Capitol to bury a time capsule commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 2026, to be opened on our nation's 500th anniversary in the year 2276.
The items in the capsule will be determined by bipartisan, bicameral congressional leaders and include written materials relating to the anniversary representations of notable legislative and institutional milestones, and a message from this Congress to our future colleagues in the 244th Congress.
I did say last year I'd hope to be there at the opening.
I'm not sure that's possible, but I'm going to do everything I can.
But this year's celebration of America's anniversary offers an opportunity to reflect on the resilience of the American experiment.
Our nation has faced countless tests to our strength and our unity, including a Civil War, two world wars, natural disasters, and more.
Yet through each of these profound challenges, this country has endured and continued to strive toward the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago.
During this time of deep division and heightened partisanship, this anniversary reminds us of our shared responsibility to uphold the values of liberty and equality that have defined this nation for two and a half centuries.
I again want to thank the semi-quincentennial Commission for its leadership in planning for this momentous occasion, and I particularly commend my colleague, Congresswoman Watson Coleman, for her leadership in advancing the bill.
And I also want to recognize the service of a fellow New Yorker, former House Representative Joe Crowley, whose time and talents have made an indelible mark on the Commission's achievements.
I look forward to seeing the items chosen for the time capsule, which I may not be able to see when they're opened.
But I do encourage my colleagues, this is an important measure.
It's an important part of our history and our legacy, and I look forward to its passage.
I'd like to yield three minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from the great state of New Jersey and the author of this bill, Member Bonnie Watson-Coleman.
Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to my colleague.
Madam Speaker, the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776 marked a turning point, not just in our nation's history, but in the global pursuit of democracy and self-governance.
The work remains unfinished, and each generation has been tasked with carrying it forward.
As we approach the 250th anniversary of that moment, Congress has a responsibility to reflect honestly on where we've been and what we will choose to pass on.
This legislation authorizes the architect of the Capitol to create a time capsule to be sealed and buried in the Capitol Visitor Center, where it will be unsealed on our nation's 500th anniversary on July 4th, 276.
And while we won't be there to open it, we should be there to see what goes into it.
The capsule will include items, as has been mentioned, that capture the institutional history of Congress, significant legislative milestones, and a message from the 119th Congress to those who will serve long after we're gone.
As a co-founder and co-chair of the American 250 Caucus, I'm proud to see this legislation move forward as a part of our nation's 250th anniversary.
As I said, none of us will be here when this capsule is open.
That is the point, our responsibility to the generations who will inherit the consequences of our choices.
What we do in this chamber every day is history.
What we choose to speak up for and speak out against, it defines us.
And it will be the legacy that we leave for every governing body that holds this space for years to come.
And I want to mention my colleague, Mr. Murilli, referenced opening the capsule in 2276, and I too would love to see the contents.
Although I do wonder if our future colleagues would look at the contents and think, why did they put books in here?
Because it may be a little bit technologically behind by the time it's open.
Madam Speaker, I'd like to yield as much time as may be consumed to the gentleman from Alabama, my fellow appropriator, Mr. Adelholt, to speak on the bill.
I rise today to speak on the Bill 3705, the semi-quincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act that was led by Congresswoman and fellow Commissioner on the Semi-Quincentennial Commission, Bonnie Watson-Coleman, and also by Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina.
This bill, of course, makes technical changes to Representative Watson-Coleman's bipartisan House Pass Bill, House Bill 469, to create a congressional time capsule in the commemoration of the semi-quincentennial.
I think it should be clearly pointed out here that this bill is truly bipartisan, and it is bicameral.
It's a piece of legislation that requires the four corners of the congressional leadership to agree on the contents of the capsule, including a joint letter.
And I look forward to the final products of this legislation and look forward to seeing what will be in it.
Again, this will be something that we all can agree on, and it's great to be working at a time where we can all work together and celebrate our nation's birthday for this 250th celebration.
So at this time, I yield back and ask my colleagues to vote yes on the legislation.
Madam Speaker, I think for all the reasons that have been described, this is an important part of maintaining the history of the last 250 years and making certain that we preserve this so that future generations will know how we got here and how we see the world.
H.R. 5616, a bill to amend Title 31, United States Code, to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $2.50 numismatic coins and $2.50 circulating coins and for other purposes.
I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the purpose of this bill.
I rise today in support of my good friend, Mr. Outerholt's bill, the $2.50 for America's 250th Act.
The greatest experiment in the history of the world, the United States of America, is still going stronger than ever.
And 2026 marks our nation's 250th birthday, an incredible feat as our founders came together, found common ground, and voted to declare independence from Great Britain.
Over the past 250 years, America has embodied the shining city on the hill that John Winthrop envisioned in his famous 1630 sermon.
Grounded in the ideas at the heart of the Declaration that all men are created equal and that governments derive their power not from the divine right of kings, but from the consent of the people, the United States has made the world more free and more prosperous over our two and a half centuries.
To celebrate our semi-quincentennial, H.R. 5616 would authorize the United States Treasury Department to issue special $2.50 pneumatic coins.
This continues a long tradition of marking significant milestones with coins that give everyday Americans tangible reminders of these historic moments.
Mr. Adderholt and I are both old enough, Madam Speaker, to recall the bicentennial tradition of that feature of special coin or printed bill issuance and how our grandfathers instilled in us American history and the love of country.
We were not there for the first $250 coin authorized under the legislation that we have today because it marked the 150th anniversary of the United States a century ago.
America is the land of freedom and the beacon of hope for many around the world, something that all of us have the privilege and honor of living here, should never take for granted, and certainly no one on this House floor who have the privilege of representing our citizens take for granted.
Every day I wake up proud to be an American and I thank Mr. Aderholt for his contribution in celebrating 250 years of independence.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill and I reserve the balance of my time.
I rise to speak on H.R. 5616, the $2.50 for America 250th Act, sponsored by Representative Adderholt.
This legislation directs the Treasury Secretary to mint and issue a $2.50 collectible coin to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence last year.
Under this bill, the Treasury would also conduct a study to evaluate minting and issuing a separate $2.50 coin for wide circulation in the United States for starters.
I'm glad this legislation now considers the cost-effectiveness of a potential $2.50 bill circulating coin.
This is important, especially as President Trump's abrupt decision to stop production of the coin last year without any meaningful plan created problems that retailers, banks, and consumers are still dealing with today.
This is the mess we are now forced to clean up.
Additionally, to be clear, I was deeply concerned by the language in the introduced version of this legislation, which may have been interpreted by the Treasury Secretary to allow him to select a new design for a $2.50 coin.
We're already witnessing how Secretary Bisson has exploited loopholes and ignored existing laws, resulting in the Treasury minting a $1 coin bearing Trump's image.
The Treasurer's decision to put Donald Trump's face, a living president, on our currency, is illegal and reminiscents of a monarchy which 250 years ago our country firmly rejected.
I was happy to see that this bill makes it explicit that Trump's face cannot be on this collectible coin.
Furthermore, as we speak of the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, we would be horribly amiss not to recognize the violence taking place in this country.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has established a legacy of violence and cruelty.
Trump's administration has empowered and unleashed brutal attacks against Latino, black, and countless other communities.
They have locked up children and killed innocent people without fear of consequences.
And they celebrate this cruelty and unapologetically mock the victims.
Therefore, as we attempt to commemorate the founding principles of this country, we must not turn a blind eye to the very real destruction that is taking place right here, right now.
Madam Speaker, I'd like to submit for the record a CBO estimate for this bill.
Madam Speaker, I'd now like to recognize the author of this bill for our semi-quincentennial, the gentleman from the 4th District of Alabama, the chair of the House Labor and Health Subcommittee on Appropriations, Mr. Adhard.
And I rise today to speak on the bill that, as the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee just mentioned, I was privileged to introduce.
It's a bicameral, it's a bipartisan $2.50 for America's 250 Act in partnership with Congresswoman and fellow U.S. Semi-Quincentennial Commissioner Bonnie Watson-Coleman, as well as Commissioners Congresswoman Maria Salazar and Congressman Dwight Evans.
I do want to thank the chair and the ranking member of the Financial Services Committee for their support for this piece of legislation as we have tried to put it together.
This bill authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a $2.50 collectible anniversary coin and a viability study for a potential circulating $2.50 coin for everyday use for every American.
The collectible coin will feature the historical design originally issued for America's 150th anniversary.
This coin will memorialize and celebrate our moment in American history.
I'm grateful for the partnership of my House and Senate colleagues, especially as the America 250 Caucus is now the largest congressional caucus in U.S. history with bipartisan leadership in both chambers.
As a founding member of the U.S. Semi-Quincentennial Commission that was tasked in preparing for our nation's 250th anniversary celebration, it has been a privilege over the past decade to work on bipartisan legislation to honor 250 years of America's independence.
Before I go on, I must recognize what a privilege it has been to serve with my Democrat sponsor of this legislation, Bonnie Watson-Coleman.
Unfortunately, she is retiring after this Congress, following an incredible trailblazing career.
She will be missed, and her voice will be missed in committee, in this chamber, and the entire institution.
And I want to thank her for her service to our nation and to the America 250 Commission in particular.
Madam Speaker, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was a turning point in the history of the United States and also of the world, one that warrants national recognition.
I'm honored to speak in support of the bill that recognizes this landmark moment of our collective history through a coin that links our nation's past to its present and to its future.
In particular, as someone who fondly remembers, as the chairman mentioned, the bicentennial celebration, even though we were very young at the time, these coins were issued for that occasion at that time.
And these coins gave parents, gave families, gave community members the opportunity to obtain a physical keepsake to pass down for the next generation.
This is exactly what this legislation would do as well.
I know that my parents passed some of this circulating coin down to me, and I still have them as well.
This legislation will also carry on the example by the 68th Congress that celebrated our nation's 150th anniversary by authorizing the United States Mint to commemorate the 150th anniversary of America's independence.
Beside me right here is an image of the historical design that was used back in 1926.
This bill puts strict design parameters around the new $2.50 coin to continue that tradition.
The only changes that will be made to update that will be updated is to reflect and celebrate another century that has passed since this coin was put into circulation 100 years ago.
As America marks its 250th anniversary this year, the coin will honor the same ideas and the values that was recognized back then for the sesquicentennial in 1926.
Every citizen deserves the opportunity to acquire such a coin as a means to connect the founding principles to liberty, democracy, and self-government, self-governance.
The 250th anniversary coin for the 250th anniversary provides an opportunity for the American people to engage with and to take personal ownership of their national heritage through a tangible and lasting tribute.
In addition to the congressionally authorized activities already planned by the Mint, this new anniversary coin will serve not only as a lasting tribute to the founding generations, but to the ideals that we share with them to this very day.
But it also is a unifying and an educational gesture on the occasion of the 250th or the semi-quincentennial that we celebrate.
In this day and age, I can find no issue more worthy of Congress' attention than an initiative that codifies our unity and reminds us that there will always be more that unites us than divides us.
Again, I want to thank my colleague Bonnie Watson-Coleman and her work with me on this piece of legislation.
I urge my colleagues to vote for this initiative and to follow in the footsteps of our predecessors in the 68th Congress in 1926 that set an example that will last for generations to come.
I now yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from New Jersey who has put a lot of work in on this, Ms. Watson-Coleman, and she is a co-chair of the 250 caucus and she serves on the semi-quintennial commission.
Thank you, Madam Speaker, and thank you to my colleague Rep. Walters from the great state of California.
And let me just say I enjoyed working on this endeavor with my colleague across the aisle, Mr. Adderholt.
It has been a pleasure.
Madam Speaker, in 1776, the Declaration of Independence put into writing a set of ideals that reshaped this nation and influenced the world.
Every major anniversary since has given Americans a chance to reflect on those principles and what they require of us.
The $2.50 coin for America's 250 Act continues a long tradition of commemorating our nation's milestones through coinage.
This bill authorizes the Treasury to issue a circulating and collectible $2.50 coin modeled on the design first issued for the America's 150 anniversary.
That earlier coin connected Americans to their shared history through something tangible and accessible to all.
This legislation does the very same as we prepare for the semi-quincentennial.
As a co-founder and co-chair of the America 250 Caucus and a member of the America 250 Commission, I am so grateful for the partnership with Rep. Adderholt and my House colleagues on this bipartisan basis as we prepare the nation's celebration of America's 250 birthday, which I pray is bicameral, bipartisan, and able to be enjoyed by all the people in this country.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time.
This legislation gives us an opportunity to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the ideals and founding principles of our country, like the rule of law and separation of powers.
Individual freedom, dignity, and equality are ruthlessly being undermined today by this administration.
I hope this chamber's commitment to America's founding principles is not merely symbolic, like somewhat like the CON, but will be represented in our commitment to protect these principles and exercise our responsibilities to democracy in the Constitution.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I'd like to thank Ms. Watson-Coleman for all of the work that she has put on America's 250.
I really want to thank Mr. Adderholt for, again, using this historic precedent to, again, have a numismatic memory of our semi-quincentennial with this $2.50 coin.
I commend him for his work, for his loyalty to his country, and for his service to the people in Alabama.
And for all those reasons that I explained earlier, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and I yield back the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentleman from Arkansas yields.
The question is: will the House suspend the rules and pass H.R. 5616 as amended?
Those in favor say aye.
Those opposed say no.
In the opinion of the chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended.
The bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.
Without objection, the title is amended.
For what purpose did the gentleman from Arkansas seek recognition?
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support today of our collaborative, bipartisan bill entitled Housing for the 21st Century Act.
Americans across our nation have faced the tough reality of out-of-control costs because of the recent spike in inflation coming out of the pandemic.
President Trump has prioritized addressing affordability, and the Financial Services Committee has been working on solutions in our committee's area of jurisdiction.
Alongside Ranking Member Waters, Chairman Flood of our Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, Ranking Member Mr. Cleaver of our Housing and Insurance Subcommittee,
together we have introduced the Housing for the 21st Century Act to deliver a straightforward approach to housing, building more homes, removing barriers standing in the way with an eye towards driving down that marginal cost of a new unit.
Housing 21 will streamline approvals and simplify federal and local housing process to give rural and urban communities the tools they need to build homes faster.
And importantly, our bill helps banks access stable deposit funding, streamlines the exam process that's tailored particularly for our vital community banks, and helps promote more community banks to do what they do best: lend locally, support their communities.
I think it's important, Mr. Speaker, that all of us know on this House floor, without our community banks, without vigorous lending, homes don't get built.
Our communities and regional banks play a key role in that housing construction ecosystem.
When there are not enough homes, prices go up.
Housing for the 21st Century Act includes real bipartisan solutions to expand supply, lower costs, and more importantly, give our families more options.
Let's deliver this real solution and return the housing market back to working for the very people that it should serve, the very people we do serve in the People's House.
And I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentlemen and Reserves, the gentleman from California is recognized.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6644, the Housing for the 21st Century Act, sponsored by myself and, of course, by Chairman Representative Hill, Cleaver, and Flood.
Our housing and homelessness crisis has reached a breaking point as millions of Americans each night struggle to find a decent and stable and affordable place to live.
The struggle has real faces of our children, teachers, working mothers, veterans, and of course, children from all over the country.
And this struggle is in our rural towns, urban areas, and suburban neighborhoods across America.
On any given night, 800,000 people are experiencing homelessness in the United States of America.
Rents nationwide have soared by 47%, and home prices have skyrocketed 57%.
Incomes haven't kept pace with these increases, which means housing eats up more and more of a family's paycheck.
As the lead Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, it has been my mission to fight to end this homeless and housing crisis.
And the Housing for the 21st Century Act is a critical first step in that mission.
Passed in committee with overwhelming bipartisan support, H.R. 6644 sets the stage for building and preserving more affordable homes in our neighborhoods.
It makes many long overdue improvements to housing programs, expands local development opportunities, and broadens access to home ownership.
H.R. 6644 also includes a dozen bipartisan provisions to help small banks like Community Development Financial Institutions, that is the CDFIs, and minority depository institutions, the MDIs, helps meet the housing and other needs of our constituency.
The bill also addresses concerns from the 2023 bank crisis that will now promote a safe, sound, and competitive banking system, one that doesn't threaten our housing markets or our economy.
This package represents a historical bipartisan agreement, and I'm proud that Mr. Hill and I, along with Mr. Flood and Mr. Cleaver, has been able to work together to prioritize the housing needs of millions of Americans and advance this legislation.
I also want to highlight House and Committee Democrats who worked tirelessly with me on this package.
H.R. 6644 includes 25 provisions that come directly from bills championed and introduced by House Democrats and another 16 provisions that House Democrats co-led.
I'm excited that it includes my bill, H.R. 5767, which would allow cities to use CDBG funds towards affordable housing construction.
It also includes H.R. 6774, which would finally create a pilot program at the Federal Housing Administration to offer small dollar mortgages.
And it includes my bill, H.R. 6773, to direct cities across America to finally publish a database of their unused land so that developers may be able to bid on it and build more housing.
I'm pleased that it includes my bill, H.R. 4544, to encourage the formation of new banks, including CDFIs and MDIs, so that borrowers will have more options when they want to buy a home.
And while we come today to pass this final initial bill, let me be clear.
Much more work is needed.
We can't pass this bill, call it a night, and then claim this affordable housing and homelessness crisis is over.
A significant problem warrants a significant response, which means we need significant federal investments to solve this crisis.
So I hope that this administration is watching today and learns something about true bipartisanship and getting things done for the American people.
Our bill is the type of bipartisan work that's needed to tackle the crisis facing Americans and meaningless tweets, empty promises and costly tariffs and ridiculous policies like the 50-year mortgage.
While this affordability crisis rages on, Congress can act tonight to support Americans looking for real housing solutions.
That is why I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
unidentified
Jill Warman reserves her time.
Distinguished gentleman, the young chairman of the committee from Arkansas is recognized.
Mr. Speaker, from Los Angeles, California to the capital city in Arkansas, Little Rock, we've heard directly, Mr. Cleaver's heard directly from Kansas City.
Our members hear directly about what's wrong at HUD.
How can we improve these programs and make them work for the American people?
How can they have more accountability, more effectiveness for the taxpayer dollars that are expended?
And that's at the heart of the work that Mr. Cleaver and Mr. Flood have done.
As I say, benefiting a big city like the Los Angeles Basin all the way to a capital city like Little Rock, Arkansas, and certainly to Lincoln, Nebraska, where I'm so pleased to have the leadership of Mike Flood, who serves as the chair in this Congress of the Housing Insurance Subcommittee.
Mr. Flood has spent a lot of time working with Mr. Cleaver to do exactly that.
How do we make these programs more effective, effective for the American people?
I yield three minutes to the author of the bill, Mr. Flood of Nebraska.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to Chairman Hill, Ranking Member Waters, and my counterpart on the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, Ranking Member Cleaver, for all of your work on this package.
This is how Congress is supposed to work.
We all worked hard to bring forth a bipartisan housing bill that addresses housing affordability.
The Housing for the 21st Century Act cuts costs, slashes red tape, and will increase housing supply.
There is no question the legislation before us is a historic rewriting of our housing laws to bring our housing market in to the 21st century.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the median annual existing home price in 2024 was up 69% relative to 1995, and that figure is adjusted for inflation.
The realtors also have data showing the median age of a first-time homebuyer is 40 years old, an absolutely astounding figure.
Some estimates put the gap between housing supply and demand at about 3.85 million, while other estimates show it to be 5 million units.
This housing affordability challenge affects everyone, from young people saving up for their first home to middle-class workers working as hard as they can to provide for their family, just trying to make the rent.
There's no silver bullet for fixing this problem, but I think this bill, this legislation, includes a range of meaningful housing reforms that will add to housing supply and ultimately decrease housing costs.
I'd like to take a moment to highlight a few provisions that I think will make a difference.
Section 104 and 105 of the bill works to right-size the environmental reviews on both HUD and USDA housing projects to properly reflect their impact on the environment.
This legislation ensures that these environmental reviews are properly tailored to the real impact of a project going forward, and this change will ensure more housing projects break ground on time and on budget.
Section 201 includes reform of the Home Investment Partnership, the largest block grant program at HUD dedicated to building affordable housing.
This bill would change home by slashing environmental reviews, easing labor cost burdens like the ones created by Section 3 HUD requirements, and providing greater flexibility for cities and towns across the country to use home dollars to promote home ownership.
Section 301 makes important changes for manufactured housing.
Special thanks to Congressman John Rose and his extremely important bill that would remove the requirement that a manufactured home be built with a chassis.
That saves money.
That one change is going to enable significant growth for manufactured housing and it will reduce the cost of manufactured homes.
Finally, Title VI of this bill adds meaningful community banking reforms to this legislation.
It eases the burdens for de novo banks so new banks can get off the ground.
It tailors regulatory requirements for the smallest community banks and it reforms the bank resolution process to ensure a larger and 30 more seconds.
Bottom line, the Housing for the 21st Century Act is a comprehensive, bipartisan housing reform package that will increase housing supply, slash government regulations that keep housing costs high and unleash our community banking sector.
I want to thank everybody that worked on this bill, especially the gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Cleaver, Chairman Hill, and Ranking Member Waters.
I now yield three minutes to the gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Cleaver, who is also the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.
Mr. Cleaver, along with Mr. Flood, worked hard to reauthorize and reform home, which is in this bill.
unidentified
Gentlemen's recognized.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Beatty.
I rise to support H.R. 6644, also known as the Housing for the 21st Century Act.
This legislation, introduced by Chairman Hill, Ranking Members Waters, Chairman Flood, and me, advanced out of the Financial Services Committee by an impressive 50-to-one vote.
This legislation reflects input from Democrats, Republicans, and hundreds of organizations nationwide.
If enacted, the Housing for 21st Century Act would streamline regulations, expand affordable housing financing, and modernize federal housing programs to significantly expand the nation's housing supply.
Passage of this bill would be historic, not because it's extraordinary, but because it's overdue.
For decades, chronic underbuilding in the United States has driven up housing costs, priced millions out of home ownership, strained household budgets, and constrained employers' ability to attract workers.
Americans want their representatives to act on the rising cost of living.
For most American families, the monthly housing payment is their single largest expense.
Representing about one-third of the consumer price index, housing is also the single largest component of overall inflation.
I commend Chairman Hill, Ranking Members Waters, Chairman Flood, and others for prioritizing good policy over bad politics on this important matter.
I'm especially proud that the Housing for 21st Century Act includes the Home Reform Act, which represents the most significant update to the home programs since its increation.
This bill may not increase spending, but it ensures that every dollar we do spend goes further.
And although this legislation is significant, we must view this legislation as the beginning of a new era of accommodating the American movement of housing for all.
In the Senate, the introduction of the Road to Housing Act highlights growing bipartisan cooperation on housing.
I look forward to negotiations with the Senate on a bicameral product that can make it to the President's desk for signature, and above all, a product that will deliver tangible results from the American people.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Gentlemen, does the gentleman wish to reserve her time?
I want to thank Mr. Cleaver for his work with Mr. Flood on this bill and his leadership in trying to find bipartisan solutions.
I met last week, Mr. Speaker, with the community development folks from Little Rock, Arkansas.
Kevin Howard, my friend who runs housing and community development for the city of Little Rock, was in, singing the praises of this bill, how it will make their work so much more effective were the 21st century housing proposal enacted into law today.
And I'd like to insert in the record, Mr. Speaker, ask unanimous consent that a list of over 70 organizations that support this bill being enacted be entered into the record.
Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to yield two minutes to the gentleman from Michigan, the Vice Chairman of our full Committee of Financial Services, Mr. Heizer, for remarks on this bill.
Housing is vital in every state and in every one of our communities.
And as of 2025, my home state of Michigan was short more than 141,000 homes, leaving many qualified homebuyers on the sidelines.
The Housing for the 21st Century Act will help increase home production, which to date has failed to keep pace with rising demand, leading to more affordability challenges for all Americans.
Additionally, today's legislation rightly focuses on modernizing housing policies, which increasingly affordable housing and accelerating development, while increasing affordable housing and accelerating that development.
Affordability is a key word here.
And in fact, I have a professional background in construction, housing development, and home sales.
And my own family has been involved for over three generations in construction, which now my cousins are doing in their Ready Mixed Concrete company and I do in our aggregate businesses and home development.
And I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, we've seen firsthand how government at every level, local, state, and federal, has put up barrier after barrier to affordable housing.
In fact, based on recent analysis, the average home in Michigan costs almost double to build than what the average family can afford.
The Housing for the 21st Century Act would help reduce federal barriers to building housing by expanding the federal and local housing systems.
Now, the American people need the same level of commitment from their state and local governments too.
So I urge my colleagues to support this well-crafted, bipartisan bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield two minutes to the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Foster, who is also the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions.
unidentified
The gentleman from Illinois is recognized for two minutes.
I rise in support of H.R. 6644, the Housing for the 21st Century Act, which makes improvements to federal programs that will support housing development and affordability.
This bipartisan bill will broaden access to home ownership, expedite new construction, and lay the foundation for a more cost-effective housing development across the nation.
This legislation includes 25 housing provisions that were introduced by Democrats and 12 banking provisions that passed our committee with broad bipartisan support.
To support local lenders and access to financing, this bill includes bipartisan reforms to strengthen our community banks, credit unions, CDFIs, and MDIs.
And as ranking member of the Financial Institutions Subcommittee, I support the inclusion of these reforms, including the SMART Act and the Lease Cost Exemption Act, which I'm proud to co-lead.
The banking provisions are narrowly tailored to help our small community financial institutions, to provide regulatory relief for well-managed institutions, to increase access to insured deposits, and to establish safeguards to prevent the largest too-big-to-fail banks from growing even larger during times of economic stress.
This legislation is a strong bipartisan effort to spur new housing development, improve affordability, and increase access to financing.
I encourage a yes vote on this bill.
And thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I yield back.
unidentified
Gentleman yields back his time.
The gentleman from Ohio reserves her time.
The distinguished gentleman from Arkansas is recognized.
I appreciate the work also of my friend from Illinois on this bill, the important work he's done both in the housing portion and on the work we've done together on non-bank designations.
Appreciate his leadership.
Mr. Speaker, he mentioned the importance of community banks from Texas to California to Arkansas across this country.
And the reasons why it's so important to link housing, housing, lowering housing costs, it's so important to link those policies, these HUD-related policies, to banking because our banks under $10 billion, Mr. Speaker, make about 60% of all the home construction loans in our country.
And therefore, that's why the ranking member and I, our committee, has chosen to come to this House floor and talk about some specific housing measures.
But I want to make sure that the American people know that we know that that supply of housing has to be financed.
And some 60% of that is done by our local community banks and credit unions spread across this country.
So let me, with pleasure, ask the gentlewoman from South Texas, Ms. Dela Cruz, the author of Section 106 in this bill, please come and give some remarks.
She's recognized for two minutes, Mr. Speaker.
unidentified
Gentlewoman from Texas is recognized for two minutes.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 6644, the Housing for the 21st Century Act, sponsored by Chairman Hill.
This legislation includes dozens of common sense bipartisan housing solutions that meet the needs of the housing crisis everyday Americans are dealing with.
I am particularly proud to see three key provisions of mine included to update the FHA's mortgage insurance loan limits for residential multifamily construction to bring more homes on the market,
ensure veterans are made aware of the VA loan products they are eligible for, and strengthen the coordination of our federal housing agencies to maximize the impact of our current federal housing programs.
H.R. 6644 is a critical step towards putting our housing sector back on the right footing, and I urge my colleagues to join me in support.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6644, the Housing for the 21st Century Act.
And I certainly applaud Ranking Member Waters and Chairman Flood for working together and for the inclusiveness of this package.
And I am proud to have five affordable housing bills included in this overwhelmingly bipartisan package.
One of my provisions makes key provisions to the home program at HUD to ease compliance for small properties and to recognize community land trusts as eligible home fund recipients.
The package also expands foreclosure mitigation counseling to delinquent borrowers and raises the public welfare investment or PWI cap to 20% to free up capital for historic investments in affordable housing and community development.
Among other community bank reforms, H.R. 6644 includes my bill to modernize the treatment of reciprocal deposits to help small and mid-sized banks like Fifth Third Bank, Huntington Bank, Key Bank improve liquidity and better compete for large accounts.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, it includes a measure that I have long championed in Congress, a bill to codify the financial agent mentor protégé program at Treasury to help small banks and minority deposit institutions or MDIs survive.
We also have one a Delphi bank in my district and I'd like to be sure to thank them for all the work that they've done with that.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Rose, who has authored the very important manufactured housing provisions, which will immediately help our consumers, our families across this country, have a more affordable housing option.
Mr. Rose, I recognize him for three minutes.
unidentified
The gentleman from Tennessee is recognized for three minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman from my good friend from Arkansas for yielding me time today.
I rise in strong support of the Housing for the 21st Century Act.
This legislation will lower housing costs for millions of Americans, including tens of thousands of Tennessee families that I represent.
I am proud that my bipartisan bill, the Housing Supply Expansion Act of 2025, was included in the Housing for the 21st Century Act.
My bill removes an outdated federal chassis requirement that has stifled manufactured housing construction for decades.
When we hear the term manufactured home, many people still think mobile home.
That's because federal law has forced us to adhere to a permanent chassis requirement.
Since 1974, manufactured homes have had to be built on a permanently installed steel chassis, even after the home is placed on a site never to be moved again.
This bill will give millions of Americans a path to home ownership without going over budget.
It will provide young and low-income families with the opportunity to build equity instead of being locked into rising rents year after year.
You don't have to be a trained economist to understand why home prices and rental rates have skyrocketed.
Demand continues to outpace supply in our cities, our suburbs, and even in many rural communities across this country.
The simple truth is we need more homes.
This bill takes meaningful steps toward making that happen.
We are reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers, removing financing roadblocks, and modernizing HUD programs.
Municipalities across the country have restricted or outright banned homes built on permanent steel chassis.
The result has been less construction, higher costs, and fewer opportunities for working families to own where they live.
Yet manufactured housing is one of the most effective ways to expand housing supply quickly and affordably.
And by removing this outdated federal restriction, more homes will be built.
And ultimately, prices will come down for everyone.
The experts in the manufactured housing space tell us that allowing manufacturers to design a single-family home without a permanent chassis will bring about modern, low-profile builds, multi-story construction, and urban-friendly designs.
It will also improve efficiency and eliminate unnecessary steel, waste, and cost.
We cannot sit by while 50-year-old policies prevent folks from signing on the dotted line.
Imagine if the federal government had mandated that every vehicle coming off of Henry Ford's assembly line had to remain permanently attached to a trailer in order to be owned.
We all know that didn't happen because the trailer was a means of transportation, not a permanent feature.
Housing should work the same way.
There's a reason why this bill has so much bipartisan support.
I think Mr. Rose certainly talked about cost savings due to the deregulatory nature of this bill, lowering costs.
All of us know here that we've learned in our committee work that 25% of the price of a new home in America is due to regulatory calls, state and local and federal.
So our bill has that as a theme.
It's now a pleasure for me to recognize the gentleman from Iowa, Mr. Nunn, and he has worked hard at making sure that these improvements in the 21st Century Housing Act fully apply to housing in rural areas, not just urban areas.
And I yield to my friend two minutes.
unidentified
Gentleman from Iowa is recognized for two minutes.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Chairman Hill and the team here, for a bipartisan bill that helps rural America have a successful pathway to housing in the 21st century.
My legislation includes the Rural Housing Service Reform Act, the most meaningful update to rural housing in decades.
Whether you're in Des Moines or Ottumwa, the number one expense islands are facing is housing.
The American dream of housing ownership is starting to slip away.
In Iowa, renters spend 40 percent of their income just making sure they have a roof over their head, and the average home buyer is now in their mid-40s.
But it doesn't have to be like this.
This bipartisan legislation, led with my colleague, Representative Cleaver, a Democrat from Missouri, makes common sense changes to fixing the housing programs that have been broken for far too long.
My bill means a young couple in Creston, Iowa can buy their first home, and seniors in Osceola, Iowa can stay in their communities.
This will help hundreds of thousands of Iowans and millions of Americans into homeownership and continued homeownership.
Let's restore the dream of homeownership for all of our country.
This is a win for everyone.
It is affordable, it's achievable, and let's get it done.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from California, Ms. Kim, a great member of our House Financial Services Committee and a senior member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
I rise today in support of the Housing for the 21st Century Act.
After years of inaction, my home state of California has earned an F in housing affordability.
Under Gevin Newsome and Sacramento leadership, hardworking families are being left in the dust.
That's why I'm taking action to help address this crisis for my constituents in Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties.
Earlier this Congress, I worked with President Trump to secure historic salt relief for Southern Californians.
That relief, combined with the provisions in the Housing for the 21st Century Act, will bring the dream of home ownership closer to reality for working families in my district.
For far too long, working-class Americans have been priced out of the housing market.
The Housing for 21st Century Act confronts that problem head-on by exploring where our housing system has left these families behind.
For the first time since 2006, we are finally increasing the capital that financial institutions can invest in affordable housing and community development projects.
There is finally the willingness to tackle this housing crisis head-on.
The Housing for the 21st Century Act builds on the success of the working-class families' tax cuts and deserves swift passage so we can deliver results for American families.
H.R. 6644 represents an important first step, a strong bipartisan one that in our fight to ensure affordable, decent housing for everyone in America.
And it provides a critical foundation for us to do so and to end this affordable housing and homelessness crisis.
This bill would update and improve existing federal housing programs by expanding local development opportunities and modernizing existing housing programs in communities across the country.
It would also support community financial institutions to meet the housing needs in their communities.
I am pleased to advance this legislation to the floor with ranking members Waters, Chairman Hill, Mr. Flood, and Mr. Cleaver, and proud that it includes 20 housing provisions and five banking provisions championed by committee Democrats.
A true testament, Mr. Speaker, to bipartisanship.
I again urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
First, Mr. Speaker, I have to say a big thank you to Ranking Member Waters, the Ranking Member of our subcommittee, Mr. Cleaver, and the tireless leadership of Mike Flood, the chair of our Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.
They've collaborated for a year to bring these proposals to the House floor today.
I reiterate the linkage of housing and community banking is two sides of the same coin that leads to a better outcome, more choice, more accessibility, more affordability, more housing choices for the American people.
And this bill has important HUD oversight, which I think is critical to make sure that those that are tenants in HUD programs have the care, oversight, safe, and sound conditions they deserve.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle for their work in putting this bill together, particularly on the majority side, Ed Scala, Mara Woolsey, for their collaboration on the banking provisions with their minority colleagues and the community banking provisions.
I urge members on both sides of the aisle to provide a yes vote for this important banking and housing legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentleman yields back.
The question is, will the House suspend the rules and pass the bill H.R. 6644 as amended?
Those in favor say aye.
Those opposed, no.
In the opinion of the chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the rules are for gentleman from Arkansas.
Union calendar number 316, H.R. 3682, a bill to amend the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to require the Financial Stability Oversight Council to consider alternative approaches before determining that a U.S. non-bank financial company shall be supervised by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and for other purposes.
unidentified
Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Arkansas, Mr. Hill, and the gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Beatty, will each control 20 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.
I rise today in support of this fine bill offered by Mr. Foster, Mr. Heisega.
It's a bipartisan bill, Mr. Speaker, the Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act.
After a decade of collaboration across four presidential administrations, that has led to the consensus on this measure.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, FSOC, created in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, plays an important role in understanding and examining non-banks.
And that's because many non-banks, large non-banks, are not subject to the same regulations and supervision as a traditional bank.
So the Congress created this process.
But unfortunately, by its own structure, as composed by political appointees, it can inhibit the Council's ability to effectively critique fellow agencies or itself when monitoring potential systemic risk to financial stability by a large non-bank.
H.R. 3682 requires the FSOC to explore alternatives to designating a non-bank for enhanced supervision by the Federal Reserve.
This is at the heart of the collaboration in this bill.
If a non-bank were improperly designated, it could hinder innovation and make the United States financial system less competitive as a result.
This bill will impose rigorous procedural guardrails, enhanced due diligence protections, and a stronger analytic framework before a firm can be designated systemically important, a CIFI.
And I thank again the gentleman from Illinois, the gentleman from Michigan for their collaboration in producing this solid bipartisan bill that will protect U.S. competitiveness, deliver financial stability consistent with FSOC's mission, but do that in a thoughtful, analytic way that can support a review of systemic risk.
I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentleman from Arkansas Reserves, gentlewoman from Ohio.
I rise in support of H.R. 3682, Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act of 2025, sponsored by Representative Foster.
Let me start by thanking the bill sponsor and our ranking member for our Financial Institution Subcommittee for his leadership on these matters.
Representative Foster has helped raise the alarm regarding the financial stability threats posed by AI Boom.
He has introduced additional bills that would strengthen our financial stability, including one to reverse Trump's dangerous budget and staffing cuts to the Financial Stability Oversight Council and Office of Financial Research.
Mr. Foster introduced another bill to close a regulatory gap to oversee third-party vendors by credit unions and GSEs.
I know Republicans have some concerns with the former, but the latter bill has bipartisan support in the Senate and is timely.
Given how our community financial institutions increasingly rely on these vendors, helping them access technology to compete, the least we can do is ensure that there is good oversight to address vulnerabilities like cybersecurity threats.
Turning to this bill, H.R. 3682, let's step back and remember why we have a Financial Stability Oversight Council in the first place.
Congress established FSOC following the 2008 global financial crises to close regulatory gaps and enhance oversight to large non-bank financial firms like AIG, the Lehman Brothers, that can pose a threat to our financial stability.
Congress gave FSOC various tools, including the power to designate a large non-bank company as a systemically important financial institution for enhanced oversight and regulation.
In Trump's first term, they severely weakened the non-bank designation process.
In a letter, former Treasury Secretaries Leifner, Liu, and Yellen, along with former Chair Nacke, warned, quote, these changes would make it impossible to prevent the buildup of risks in financial institutions whose failure would threaten the stability of the system as a whole.
Biden's FSOC addressed these concerns and improved procedures and destinations while importantly ensuring there is due process and opportunities to consider alternatives to destinations, destinations that might mitigate systemic risks.
They also made clear that the council should not prioritize destinations over other options.
Mr. Foster will make sure that FSOC gives a company and its primary regulators an opportunity to present alternatives to be promptly considered by the council.
Otherwise, they may proceed and follow the regular procedures to designate a firm if need be.
The bill also allows FSOC to revise and waive these considerations if doing so would promote financial stability.
Given all of that, Mr. Speaker, and Mr. Chairman, I will support H.R. 3682 and I reserve the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentlewoman from Ohio Reserves, gentleman from Arkansas is recognized.
I want to yield four minutes to the gentleman from Michigan, the Vice Chairman of our full committee, Mr. Heisinger, who is the author of this important bill.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank my friend and colleague, Mr. Foster, on the other side, for working on this.
And I rise today in strong support of Mr. Foster's legislation, the Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act, and urge its immediate adoption.
Mr. Speaker, in response to the 2008 financial crisis, Congress under the Dodd-Frank Act created the Financial Stability Oversight Council, known as FSOC, as the chairman was talking about, and tasked them with preventing systemic risk.
Absolutely a worthwhile endeavor and a needed endeavor.
However, in the early years, the FSOC was given broad-reaching authorities to designate non-banks as systemically important financial institutions, otherwise known as CIFIs.
During President Trump's first administration, the FSOC moved to an activities-based approach in 2019, which I think was an appropriate response in a post-MetLife court case world where the federal government lost because of aggressive overreach.
In fact, the judge used the phrase excessive and capricious.
Well, four years later in 2023, under former President Biden, I believe the FSOC snapped right back into using those faulty analytical frameworks for identifying and dealing with systemic risks.
And just last week now, in a testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services, Treasury Secretary Besson emphasized on multiple occasions that the so-called activities-based approach would be preferred.
Well, we agree.
Unfortunately, the back-and-forth guidance has not allowed businesses to plan for a future or make new investments.
So why does a CIFI designation actually matter?
Many people watching might ask themselves that.
Well, as history has taught us, it's a broad-reaching issue that can have some very negative consequences.
Excessive regulatory scrutiny and additional costs can change the way non-banks conduct businesses.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot continue applying bank-like regulations to non-banks that have fundamentally different business models and roles within the American economy.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act, from which I'm a proud co-lead with Mr. Foster, makes a critical improvement to the current law.
Before a vote to designate a financial company as a CIFI, the FSOC must first consult with the company and then its primary regulator to determine whether alternative actions that could be proposed would be sufficient or insufficient to address risks in the financial stability.
Well, amazingly, Mr. Speaker, those two things didn't exist previously.
There was not that consultation or discussion with the companies, and there was no consultation with those regulators.
That was a flaw.
Importantly, the council may not then vote on a proposed designation unless this determination is made.
So let me remind my colleagues that the CIFI designation process has been flawed from the start.
And first, this bill will target individual companies for designation without any process or notice.
Second, it failed to evaluate whether designation would actually mitigate risks or weigh the costs and benefits to the company, its shareholders, and ultimately the financial system.
Third, the old system failed to give CIFI designees due process or an opportunity to address the perceived risk before designation.
And as a reminder, the MetLife case took years to settle.
And lastly, it failed to incorporate the views of the primary regulator, who typically would have better insight into a company's financial standing.
So, Mr. Speaker, I believe H.R. 3682 adequately addresses these concerns and improves the Council's approach to addressing financial stability risks while creating a stronger, a more predictable, and a more stable regulatory environment for all.
So, with that, again, thank my colleague, and I urge my colleagues to support the Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act and yield back the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentlemen from Michigan Yield.
I'll reserve.
Gentleman from Arkansas Reserves, the gentlewoman from Ohio is recognized.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield three minutes to the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Foster, who is also the ranking member on financial institutions and the sponsor of this bill.
Following the 2008 financial crisis, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to protect working families, taxpayers, and the broader economy from consequences of unchecked financial risk.
Dodd-Frank created the Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, to identify risks to financial stability, to promote market discipline, and respond to emerging threats to our economy.
FSOC brings together the heads of 15 financial regulatory bodies, giving it a unique system-wide view of the American financial system.
Among its authorities is the ability to designate certain non-bank financial companies as systemically important financial institutions, or CIFIs, where their activities or potential failure pose significant risk to financial stability.
Past attempts by the FSOC to designate an entity as systemically important, however, have been controversial and short-lived.
In 2013 and 2014, FSOC designated four non-bank firms, but those designators were later rescinded following legal challenges, corporate restructuring, and policy shifts across administrations.
Since its creation, Congress and administrative officials have debated whether FSOC should focus on mitigating the specific activities that pose the greatest risk or if FSOC should take a broader entity-wide view of the firm's risk profile.
Both activities-based and entity-based approaches can be appropriate depending on circumstances.
As someone who was present on the Financial Services Committee during the global financial crisis, I recall vividly Fed Chair Bernanke referring to AIG as a giant well-run insurance company with a hedge fund grafted onto it, where the risk was concentrated.
In some cases, the risk identified by FSOC may be addressed more effectively by action taken by the company itself, by FSOC, or through its primary regulator.
My bipartisan bill, the FSOC Improvement Act, promotes a more consistent and transparent process for a CIFI designation by clarifying that FSOC should work with a firm and its primary regulator to attempt to mitigate the risks of specific activities before designating the company as a whole as systemically important.
Regulators are encouraged to use the full range of available tools and proceed to designation only when other forms of activity-based mitigation are found to be ineffective.
Through activity-based mitigation, FSOC will work with firms and their primary regulators to address risks more quickly and effectively, drawing on the expertise of the regulatory bodies who work most closely with the specific firms and industries.
But importantly, this legislation fully preserves FSOC's authority to take swift action in emergency situations and does not alter the authorities of FSOC's member agencies to take enforcement actions.
If an emergency arises, FSOC can march in, with a few quick votes, designate a firm.
Gentlemen, this bill strengthens FSOC's capability to execute its mission by improving consistency, accountability, and outcomes for our financial system.
I appreciate also Ranking Member Waters' support for this bill in committee and urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
At a time when threats to our financial stability are growing, Congress should be doing more to address these concerns, including closing oversight gaps, regarding third-party vendors, advancing deposit insurance reform, and yes, holding the President accountable for all of the ways his corruption and chaos erodes trust and stability.
Again, I thank Representative Foster for his leadership on promoting financial stability.
I also appreciate the way he improved this bill, which I will support, and I yield the balance of my time.
unidentified
Mr. Hill members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the President.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois and his collaboration with the gentleman from Michigan to tackle and bring definition to something that has been a big issue for the past decade, which is what is the proper method, style, and oversight of designating a non-bank a systemically important financial institution.
I congratulate them on their bipartisan work.
And for the reasons I've stated, I urge a yes vote and I yield back the balance of my time.
unidentified
Arkansas yields back.
The question is, will the House suspend the rules and pass the bill H.R. 3682 as amended?
Those in favor say aye.
Those opposed, no.
In the opinion of the chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended.
The bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.
For what purpose does the gentleman from Arkansas seek recognition?
Union calendar number 191, H.R. 3390, a bill to amend the Federal Reserve Act to require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to carry out a review of discount window operations and to implement improvements to such operations and for the purposes.
unidentified
Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Arkansas, Mr. Hill, and the gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Beatty, each control 20 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material for the record on this bill.
I rise today in support of Ms. Dela Cruz's bill, the bringing the discount window into the 21st Century Act.
It's critical that our banks have the ability to have emergency liquidity in the case of a crisis or have a liquidity enter day in the banking day without a stigma.
These are challenges.
They were challenges before the financial crisis, but it continues today.
And this bill allows banks to keep credit flowing through the economy while reducing risk that a panic-induced bank run would lead to unnecessary bank failures.
The discount window has been underused and been burdened by operational difficulties and stigma.
We've seen that on this House floor in our economy, most recently in the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the spring of 2023, where fear of a market reaction and outdated technology delayed the use of the discount window when it was needed most.
It's critical that when the Federal Reserve learns that the Federal Reserve learned from these mistakes of the past and allow the discount window to fulfill its role as the primary tool for stabilizing the financial system in a time of stress.
Representative De La Cruz's bipartisan bill would do just that by directing the Fed to conduct a review of the discount window, submit a plan to Congress with concrete, actionable reforms, and then provide regular updates on its implementation.
For example, H.R. 3390 explicitly directs the Federal Reserve to evaluate whether extending operating hours and improving technology would make the discount window more accessible and thereby more effective.
In requiring the Fed to make changes based on these findings, H.R. 3390 goes beyond a study bill and would meaningfully address deficiencies that would make the American financial system stronger and more stable.
I want to thank the gentlewoman from South Texas, Ms. Dela Cruz, for her leadership on this important issue and make sure the Fed is ready and the discount window use is appropriate for the 21st century.
Where money now moves, Mr. Speaker, at the press of a button.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill and I reserve the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentleman from Arkansas Reserves, the gentlewoman from Ohio is recognized.
I rise in support of H.R. 3390, bringing the discount window into the 21st Century Act, sponsored by Representative Dela Cruz.
It has been almost three years since we saw the dramatic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, representing the second, third, and fourth largest bank failures in the United States history.
Silicon Valley Bank was the fastest bank run ever with $42 billion of deposits withdrawn on a Thursday and customers trying to pull out another $100 billion the next morning when the bank failed.
Upon learning of Silicon Valley's failure, Ranking Member Waters organized members, head members' briefings with the Treasury Secretary and banking regulators.
We encouraged Biden's regulators, led by former Secretary Yellen, to use their emergency tools to mitigate the damage, which they successfully did.
We worked with our former chairman, Mr. McHenry, and we launched a bipartisan investigation to conduct oversight and understand what went wrong.
We received reports and supervisory documents, and hearings were also held.
Based on the lessons we learned, I and my Democratic colleagues, including Representative Waters, Sherman, Lynch, Green, Kasten, Talib, and Peterson, introduced, Mr. Speaker, a wave of common sense bills to promote safety, soundness, and accountability.
Since then, we have been pushing for actions that's long overdue.
And I am glad that Chairman Hill agreed to include several of our post-Silicon Valley bills in the housing package.
We have other good reforms for community financial institutions in that packet, but another most critical issue Congress must address is the need to update our deposit insurance framework.
I appreciate that Chairman Heal recently held a hearing on Representative Waters bill, H.R. 4551, the Employee Paycheck and Small Business Protection Act.
And we have had a good discussion on the pros and cons of different approaches.
Another Silicon Valley Bank's failure, community banks watched small businesses move their deposits to the biggest bank to make sure that they could pay their workers in good times or bad.
There have been at least 37 bank failures since 2007, including a recent one in Oklahoma that were too small for regulators to use the emergency tools.
And unlike Silicon Valley Bank's customers, small business depositors lost money through no fault of their own.
Representative Waters' bill would take the data-driven approach that Chairman Hill prefers to study and then update our deposit insurance framework to allow more business payment accounts to be insured based on that research.
This effort has strong bipartisan support, including that of the Vice President and Treasury Secretary.
So I hope we can advance those reforms soon.
Those reforms soon for community financial institutions, for mid-sized banks, for small businesses and their workers.
Turning back to the bill that we are considering here, H.R. 3390, I have heard from minority deposit institutions and other community banks various challenges that they have had in accessing Fed facilities, including the discount window in the 2023.
This is a common sense bill to ensure the Federal Reserve improves its discount window to provide emergency liquidity to banks when they need it.
I appreciate that the chairman and sponsor worked with Representative Waters and Representative Foster to include our amendments to help ensure that we learn how technology may require faster emergency liquidity deployment, as well as understanding barriers like stigma that need to be addressed to improve the functioning of the discount window.
I urge the members to support 3390 and I reserve the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentlewoman Reserves General from Arkansas is recognized.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 3390, the bringing the discount window into the 21st Century Act of 2025, which has received broad bipartisan support in the Financial Services Committee.
H.R. 3390 addresses needed improvements for the Federal Reserve's discount window, operations, and technology to ensure it is better equipped to serve depository institutions, including community banks, which strengthens the resiliency of our U.S. financial system.
The Federal Reserve's important role as the lender of last resort is supported by the Fed's discount window.
In times when depository institutions need liquidity, they can rely on the discount window to fulfill short-term liquidity needs by pledging high-quality collaterals such as U.S. Treasuries in return for cash.
Unfortunately, as we saw most recently in the 2023 bank failures, stigma remains, which can cause the discount window to be underused or banks to delay accessing it for fear of market reactions.
The bringing the discount window into the 21st Century Act ensures that Congress acts on the bipartisan consensus to modernize the Federal Reserve's discount window operations and reduce the stigma of accessing it.
H.R. 3390 does so by requiring the Federal Reserve to conduct a review of the discount window to identify deficiencies and develop a remediation plan.
This review will identify improvements in all aspects of discount window operations, including technology, operating hours, stigma, and interaction with other providers of liquidity, including the Federal Home Loans Bank, during both normal operations and times of financial stress.
By improving efficiencies in the U.S. banking system, we are ensuring homeowners, small businesses, and farmers can access capital from their financial institutions when they need it most.
I urge my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 3390.
I now yield two and a half minutes to the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Foster, who is also the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions.
I rise in support of this legislation, which requires the Federal Reserve to conduct a comprehensive review of discount window operations, including its technological infrastructure, cybersecurity, communications, real-time monitoring, and oversight mechanisms across the Federal Reserve System.
In 2023, we witnessed the most significant banking turmoil since the global financial crisis.
During that period, record numbers of institutions turned to the discount window, borrowing at unprecedented levels, with more than $150 billion borrowed during the peak period.
The system held, in large part because of the reforms and regulatory tools provided and implemented as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, but it came under stress.
I also appreciate the willingness of the legislation sponsor to accept my amendment during the Financial Services Committee markup of this legislation.
With my amendment, this bill recognizes that bank runs will now move at the speed of mobile online banking and instant communications, and soon they won't move at the speed of agentic AI.
The bank failures of 2023 showed that the liquidity pressures can escalate in hours, not days, a speed that will only intensify with the rise of artificial intelligence and autonomous financial agents.
This legislation will require the Federal Reserve Board to develop a written plan to remedy deficiencies like those to be identified during the review process.
This review and remediation will lead to a more accessible, responsive, and secure discount window operations, and I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, this bill will help ensure smaller banks can access the federal discount window when they need it, which may be sooner rather than later, given the Trump's decision policies that are once again rising, raising the threat of another crisis.
So, therefore, I urge the members to vote yes, and I yield back the balance of my time.
I want to thank the gentlewoman from South Texas for advancing this bill.
I want to thank the minorities' work consistently to make sure that this is a bill that substantially will direct the Federal Reserve to make sure our discount window is effective and used by our financial institutions to enhance financial stability.
I urge both sides of the aisle to vote yes, and I yield back the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentleman yields.
Protect Taiwan Act00:07:23
unidentified
The question is: Will the House suspend the rules and pass the bill H.R. 3390 as amended?
Those in favor say aye.
Aye.
Those opposed, no.
In the opinion of the chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended.
The bill is passed.
And without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.
For what purpose does Judge Markinsall seek recognition?
A bill to direct certain financial regulators to exclude representatives of the People's Republic of China from certain banking organizations upon notice of certain threats or danger and for other purposes.
unidentified
Pursuant to the rule of the gentleman from Arkansas, Mr. Hill, and the gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Beatty, each will control 20 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.
I rise today in support of Mr. Lucas's bill, the Protect Taiwan Act.
China has shown no sign of slowing their aggression towards Taiwan.
The Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, continues to threaten the people of Taiwan's independence by repeatedly holding military drills, increasing economic coercion, and ramping up political pressure.
Let me be clear, Mr. Speaker, and state with no equivocation that the Chinese Communist Party's obligation under our 1979 Taiwan Relations Act sets out quite clearly that China cannot use military force or coercion or boycotts or embargoes to compel Taiwan to capitulate to the communists and become one China.
The Protect Taiwan Act will exclude Chinese representatives from international organizations like the G20, the Financial Stability Board, if the President of the United States was notified by Congress declaring any threat to Taiwan.
H.R. 1531 ensures that there will be significant financial and diplomatic consequences were China to invade Taiwan.
Full stop.
The U.S. must send a clear message that China's aggression toward Taiwan will not and is not tolerated.
And the Protect Taiwan Act does just that.
I want to thank the gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Lucas, for his work in standing up for our keen ally in the Indo-Pacific, not just Taiwan, but all of our allies in Northeast Asia.
This is a key step in deterrence to the communists in Beijing from invading Taiwan.
I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentlemen Reserves, Chair recognizes the gentlelady from Ohio.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1531, the Protect Taiwan Act, sponsored by Representatives Lucas and Gonzalez.
China continues its provocations towards Taiwan with increasingly hostile rhetoric and actions.
This includes military incursions into Taiwan's airspace and territorial waters.
Thus, I agree with the sponsors of this bill that Congress must stand up for Taiwan and its people as they confront this threat.
This is especially true given the Trump administration's naive, waffling actions regarding Taiwan's status.
It is important that this body continue to stand up for our decade-long relationship as allies and trading partners.
This bill is sensible.
It is a sensible measure to warn China that the United States is posed to act should it escalate its aggressions towards Taiwan.
If China chooses to do so, the United States would be required to use, oppose China's participation in a number of international financial organizations, including the Bank for International Settlements and the Basel Committee on the Banking Supervision.
Thus, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentlelady Reserves, the gentleman from Arkansas is recognized.
I want to yield three minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma, the chair of our monetary policy task force and the author of the Protect Taiwan Act, Mr. Lucas.
unidentified
The gentleman is recognized.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'm proud to rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 1531, the Protect Taiwan Act.
Under the Taiwan Resolution Act, the President is required to notify Congress if China poses an immediate threat to Taiwan's security.
If this notification is triggered, my bill states that it is U.S. policy to exclude Chinese representatives from key international organizations such as the G-20, the Financial Stability Board, and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
This bill sends a clear message.
If China intends to engage in conflict with Taiwan, then China should be prepared to withstand the consequences.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this body enacted a similar regime to demonstrate to the world that violating international order comes with swift and severe results.
We should have a proactive policy towards Beijing today.
As China continues to show aggression in the South China Sea, the United States must show clear resolve that aggression will not be tolerated.
The United States response to an invasion of Taiwan should be robust and include numerous sanctions and economic penalties.
Exclusion from international bodies must be a part of that response.
If China seeks to disrupt the global order, then China cannot continue to be party to international organizations that seek to preserve that order.
China's position in multilateral economic institutions will be at risk should they engage in hostilities towards Taiwan.
We simply cannot overlook the value of deterrence and preparedness.
China should understand the economic and diplomatic repercussions of threatening international financial stability and make its choices accordingly.
I want to thank my colleague from Texas, Mr. Gonzalez, for his work on this issue and co-sponsoring this legislation.
We received unanimous support in the committee, and I hope that the body will continue that tradition today.
Burma's Economic Deterrence00:10:27
unidentified
And I yield back.
Gentleman Yields, gentlemen from Arkansas is recognized.
We share economic, security, and democratic values with our friends from Taiwan.
In the face of increasingly hostile words and actions from China and predictable flimsy support from the President, it is important that Congress stands strong for the Taiwanese people.
I again urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
I noted in my remarks the only way that Taiwan and the People's Republic of China can become one is through mutual consent, not through coercion, not through embargoes, not through invasion, not through military attack.
And Congressman Lucas' bill is a common sense measure to unify American policy.
Economic deterrence, Mr. Speaker, military preparation, peace through strength, but also diplomacy and economic deterrence.
Mr. Lucas's bill is an excellent step in that regard.
I urge all members to support it on both sides of the aisle, and I yield back the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentleman Yields.
The question is, will the House suspend the rules and pass the bill H.R. 1531 as amended?
Those in favor say aye.
Aye.
Those opposed, no.
In the opinion of the chair, two-thirds being in the speaker.
H.R. 3190, a bill to amend the Burma Unified Through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2022 to extend the sunset to require a determination with respect to the imposition of sanctions on certain persons of Burma and for other purposes.
unidentified
Pursuant to the rule of the gentleman from Arkansas, Mr. Hill, and the gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Beatty, each will control 20 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend the remarks and include extraneous material in the bill.
I rise today in support of our Vice Chairman, Mr. Heisinger's bill, the Brave Burma Act.
The Vice Chairman is also a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Burma has been plagued with an ongoing humanitarian crisis for far too long.
The Burmese people have been the victims of genocide as a direct result of the military junta's use of funds that fuel abhorrent acts.
The representative from Michigan's bill addresses this crisis head-on.
H.R. 3190 requires the Treasury Secretary to limit any increase in Myanmar's influence at the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, so long as it's governed by the military dictatorship.
This bill also requires the President to annually determine whether the United States should impose stronger sanctions on the oil and gas enterprise, their economic bank, and any foreigners working in the jet fuel sector of the Burmese economy.
I commend the Vice Chairman for his hard work and leadership in fighting for the humanitarian rights in Burma by cutting off the source of the funding that's empowering these human rights travesties.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentlemen in Reserves, the gentlelady from Ohio is recognized.
I rise in support of H.R. 3190, the Brave Burma Act, sponsored by Representative Hasinga.
In February of 2021, Burma experienced a military coup that overthrew the country's democratically elected government.
The military has carried out mass violence against civilians, including genocide, mass displacement, and other crimes against humanity.
This is particularly true for the nation's Muslim ethnic minority, which bears the brunt of the illegitimate government's violent and regressive persecution.
This bill authorizes several economic levers available to the United States.
This includes potential sanctions and restricting Burma's access to support from International Monetary Fund.
These are sensible steps to demonstrate Congress's continuing support for the people of Burma.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
unidentified
Gentlelady in Reserves, General from Arkansas is recognized.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to speak on my bill, H.R. 3190, the Brave Burma Act.
I rise in support of this and ask for its immediate consideration.
Burma is a country in profound crisis.
In February of 2021, a military-led junta toppled a democratically elected government and plunged the country into civil war.
These actions, coupled with the March 2025 earthquake, created a humanitarian crisis that has left tens of thousands of Burmese dead or detained, while approximately 3.6 million people, nearly 6% of the population, is now displaced from their homes.
In response to the calls for action from the Burmese dysporia in the United States and in my district, I introduced H.R. 3190, the Brave Burma Act.
As I have mentioned many times before, issues involving Burma are near and dear to my heart, as well as to those of many of my Burmese constituents and members at the Battle Creek Burma Center in southwest Michigan.
It was here that I first heard the stories about their families and friends in horrific situations in Burma and the lack of mainstream media attention given to these issues.
However, today, we have an opportunity to send a message.
Today we have an opportunity to stand with the current residents of Burma and remind them that they have not been forgotten.
The Brave Burma Act is intentional in its action, targeting the heart of the junta's revenues, which it uses to purchase advanced weaponry from abroad.
Specifically, this bill requires the President to impose full blocking sanctions on, first, the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprises, also known as MOGI.
This is the junta's single largest source of foreign revenue, reportedly generating over a billion dollars annually.
Second, the state-owned Myanmar Economic Bank, also known as the MEB, which is operated by junta cronies and processes weapons transactions, contrary to those sanctions.
Third, any person operating in the jet fuel sector of the Burmese economy.
The jet fuel industry in Burma is a key and important target for sanctions because it directly enables the junta's unlawful airstrikes against civilians, places of worship, villages, hospitals, IDP camps, and schools.
Depleting the government's ability to control and profit from aviation fuel imports and distribution will inhibit the junta's ability to sustain violence and commit war crimes using air power.
Mr. Speaker, the urgency to act has never been greater.
Last month, it was reported that Iran had become the sole source of jet fuel to Burma.
These secret shipments had not only given Iran much-needed cash and a new market, it allowed Burma's military leaders to circumvent Western sanctions.
The deliveries of jet fuel have been powered an expansive bombing campaign by the junta that have struck more than 1,000 civilian locations, including Christian churches.
While the military ruling class pledged open and fair elections, the sham process that took place last month should be viewed as a rigged farce and nothing more.
Make no mistake, these mass atrocities will not stop until the current regime is crippled.
With the support of the Trump administration, who has continued to turn up the pressure, Congress can shape the future of Burma by leveraging sanctions and financial oversight.
The Brave Burma Act will strengthen U.S. efforts to disrupt authoritarian regimes, support democratic movements, and protect vulnerable populations.
I'd like to take a minute and thank Congresswoman Betty McCollum, my co-chair of the Congressional Burma Caucus and an original co-sponsor of this particular legislation, as well as Representatives Ann Wagner and Seth Moulton, who helped to make this a truly bipartisan effort.
Since the 2021 coup, nearly 3 million Burmese have been driven from their homes.
More than 75,000 people have been killed, and the military has swept up more than 30,000 political prisoners into detention, silencing those who oppose them.
The Burmese military has left a trail of devastation, damaging or destroying at least 343 Christian churches and numerous other religious buildings, according to the Burmese Research Institute.
The people of Burma can no longer afford for Congress to sit idly by, and the Trump administration must adopt a unified strategy for Burma, as both the State Department and Treasury Department have done.
It's time for the Department of Homeland Security to come to the same conclusion.
Democracy in Burma needs America's help.
I urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill that will have a lasting impact.
And with that, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill aims to address the ongoing humanitarian crises in Burma by cutting off revenue sources for the country's ruthless, illegitimate leadership.
Congress must do whatever possible to protect human rights, stand for democratic values, and object to the atrocities committed against the Burmese people.
So, therefore, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan for his dedicated work on our committee, as well as the Committee on Foreign Affairs, in crafting economic deterrence to bad actors.
And certainly the military junta in Myanmar is a bad actor, calling loudly for a strong, bipartisan vote in this House on the Brave Burma Act, which I hope then will be promptly considered by the Senate.
This is when the legislative branch and the executive branch work best together when we're in alignment on putting pressure against bad actors around the world.
I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan for his work.
I want to urge a yes vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Now, pursuant to clause 12A of the Rule 1, the Chair declares the House in recess until approximately 6:30 p.m. today.
unidentified
And the U.S. House today considering bipartisan legislation aimed at increasing housing supply and making it more affordable.
Also on the agenda today, a bill authorizing the architect of the Capitol to create a congressional time capsule to commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States and then to bury it in the Capitol Visitor Center to be unsealed on America's 500th birthday in the year 2276.
Off the floor, Republicans and Democrats have not yet agreed on how to keep the Homeland Security Department operational beyond this Friday's funding deadline as Democrats push for reforms over current immigration enforcement practices.
When lawmakers return, you can watch our live coverage of the House here on C-SPAN.
Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons will be testifying on Capitol Hill Tuesday as Democratic and Republican lawmakers debate whether ICE should operate under new guidelines during immigration enforcement actions around the country.
The House Homeland Security Committee will hear from him and other top DHS immigration officials.
ICE Testimony Live00:00:23
unidentified
Watch live at 10 a.m. Eastern on C-SPAN 3, C-SPAN Now, our free mobile app, and c-span.org.
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