Financial Services is the most important industry for the New York City economy and the biggest job creator in the region. As Chair of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee and as the senior New York Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, I believe one of my chief tasks is to maintain the preeminence of New York City as the world’s financial center. Since coming to Congress, I have advocated modernization of financial services regulation, state-of-the-art consumer protection and vigilant oversight of the safety-and-soundness of the banking sector. I have consistently worked to ensure the broadest possible access to financial institutions for all sectors of our society.

The Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee that I chair has jurisdiction over all financial regulators, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve, all matters pertaining to consumer credit including the Consumer Credit Protection Act and access to financial services, as well as the safety and soundness of the banking system.

In the 110th Congress I was proud to pass the National Security Foreign Investment Reform and Strengthened Transparency Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-49). This legislation strengthens and reforms the process by which the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reviews foreign direct investment for national security issues. The need for this reform was made evident in early 2006 when CFIUS failed to raise red flags about a deal that would have put commercial control of several key U.S. ports into the hands of a company owned by the government of Dubai. This Act establishes CFIUS in statute rather than as a creature of Executive Order, implements mandatory 45-day investigations for all deals involving foreign governments, requires high-level review of such transactions, gives the Director of National Intelligence a greater role in the CFIUS process, and improves congressional oversight, among other provisions.

I have also worked towards an extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). The original passage of TRIA, which provides a federal backstop for catastrophic loss following a terrorist attacks, was perhaps the most helpful thing that Congress did to help New York City recover after 9/11. A long-term extension of TRIA is vital for the New York economy.

Previously, I have served as the Ranking Member on the Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology Subcommittee (DIMP) with jurisdiction over international finance, banking, and monetary organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The Subcommittee is also responsible for issues involving monetary policy, economic stabilization, and trade in financial services. In my role as the ranking member I strongly supported multilateral debt cancellation for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries and have worked for several Congresses to support Congresswoman Waters' Jubilee bill. I was pleased at the progress made by the G-8 and the IMF in that regard in 2005, but we still have a long way to go. I also support the United States' replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA-14), the African Development Fund (AfDF-10), and the Asian Development Fund (ADF-8) subject to important governance, anti-corruption, and transparency-related reforms which our Subcommittee has agreed on. These reforms are essential to improving the effectiveness of development assistance to poor countries, and the policy objectives are a good start in the right direction.

The DIMP Subcommittee also was the focus of hearings in the 109th Congress on human trafficking. The End Demand Act, which I cosponsored with DIMP Chairman Deborah Pryce, is the domestic counterpart to H.R. 972, a comprehensive trafficking reauthorization bill. The End Demand amendment complements and strengthens H.R. 972 by giving the U.S. better tools to fight trafficking in our communities, focusing on ending demand.(see Sex Trafficking section).