Financial Services Committee

I am honored to serve on the exclusive Financial Services Committee. I currently sit on the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. The role of the Committee is to oversee the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking and housing industries. The Committee also oversees the work of the Federal Reserve, the Treasury, the SEC and other financial services regulators.

For nearly ten years I served as president of the Houston Branch of the NAACP. In that capacity I worked hard to make sure that every American has equality of opportunity. I continue this fight on the Financial Services Committee. As long as I am in Congress, I will be a champion to protect programs like the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) and Section 8 and increase funding for fair housing programs.

I will also be a strong advocate to protect consumers from predatory lending practices. Predatory lenders cost homeowners and buyers more than $9 billion per year. That is why we must stop the predatory lending practices that occur in the sub-prime lending industry. One of my top priorities will be to protect the millions of potential homeowners who may become victims of these unethical lending practices.

More than 72,000 Houstonians are employed by 8,000 Houston firms in the finance, insurance, real estate and banking industries. As a Member on the Financial Services Committee, I will continue to participate actively in the growth of our dynamic financial services industry as well as address issues important to Houstonians. I will work to expand access to financial services so that all Americans have the opportunity to realize the American dream.