House markup postponed after Waters again tests positive for COVID

Abstract

Lawmakers had been scheduled to discuss bills that would fund housing initiatives, limit the use of industrial loan company charters and introduce new limits on banks' ability to collect overdraft fees. Shortly after 1 p.m. ET, the committee announced that Chair Maxine Waters, D-Calif., had tested positive for COVID-19. Her last positive test came in April, when much of the Democratic Party's leadership tested positive. One bill, submitted by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, would increase funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Fair Housing Initiatives Program and introduce grants to study housing discrimination. Another bill, sponsored by Waters, would authorize $100 billion for a new HUD program to fund down payments by first-generation home buyers. Beyond housing, the committee would have discussed a number of bills that would impact the banking industry. One measure, sponsored by Rep. Jesús "Chuy" García, D-Ill., would close the so-called regulatory loophole that allows industrial loan company banks to be owned by commercial companies, rather than bank holding companies.