At the start of the 110th Congress in 2007, Congressman Serrano assumed the chairmanship of a newly created Appropriations Subcommittee. He became the first Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government. He has remained the Chairman of this Subcommittee during the 111th Congress and has continued his efforts to make sure that the American people benefit and are provided with real services and assistance from the government agencies under his Subcommittee’s jurisdiction.
This Subcommittee has wide ranging jurisdiction and responsibility for the Department of the Treasury, the District of Columbia, the Judiciary, the Executive Office of the President, including the Office of Management and Budget, the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Election Assistance Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Inspector General, the Federal Election Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Federal Trade Commission, the General Services Administration, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Morris K. Udall Scholarship, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Credit Union Administration, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, Office of Government Ethics, the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Special Counsel, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Selective Service System, the Small Business Administration, the United States Postal Service, Payment to the Postal Service Fund, Postal Regulatory Commission and Office of Inspector General, and the United States Tax Court.
As Chairman, Congressman Serrano is continuing to prioritize consumer issues and to provide funding for initiatives that bring our federal government closer to the people. The very first appropriations bill that was passed by this new Subcommittee during the first session of the 110th Congress was a pro-consumer bill that increased the government’s protection of consumers in significant ways and brought the priorities of the agencies within his jurisdiction closer in line with the needs of the citizens, especially the most disadvantaged. He has continued during his chairmanship to increase funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission in order to help keep dangerous products out of the hands of children. The Federal Trade Commission has received increases to continue its ongoing work to help address the problem of identity theft and deceptive lending practices as well as to protect consumers and investigate unfair practices in the areas of foreclosure rescue and credit repair services, payday loans, and debt collection. As Chairman, he has continued to provide significant increases for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund in order to expand economic development and affordable financial services for distressed communities.
Congressman Serrano has supported IRS outreach and education services for taxpayers and small businesses, and tax return preparation services at Taxpayer Assistance Centers. Specifically he has increased funding for Tax counseling for the Elderly, low-income taxpayer clinic grants, and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Grants.
Congressman Serrano’s philosophy is that the District of Columbia should be treated with respect. He made sure that the District of Columbia could use its local funds to support needle exchange programs that have proven successful in the fight to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. This puts the District of Columbia in the same position as other jurisdictions around the United States. As Chairman, he has made sure that the District of Columbia may move forward and make its own decisions with respect to medical marijuana. He discontinued a ban on the use of funds in this bill for domestic partnership registration and removed the longstanding restrictions on the use of local funds by DC leaders in support of voting representation in Congress. He will continue throughout his chairmanship to defer to the wishes of the elected government in the District of Columbia when overseeing their budget.
Congressman Serrano also believes that all United States territories should be accorded respect. Because of this belief, he made sure that quarters with designs from Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the District of Columbia would be issued in 2009 to honor and raise awareness of the diverse places that fly the American flag. The agencies under his jurisdiction will be directed to treat the territories with fairness. For example, Puerto Rico is now eligible to receive the same proportionate share of election assistance grants that states receive.
Congressman Serrano is a strong believer in the value of financial education and has funded efforts aimed at elementary and high schools at the Department of the Treasury. He increased the budget at the Securities and Exchange Commission to support investor education and protection. He will continue to look for opportunities to expand upon these educational opportunities.
He also understands the important role that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must play during this time of financial crisis. Included in the financial services section of the 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill, were significant increases to make sure that the rules governing investments and the financial markets were strengthened and that the SEC would have sufficient resources to detect and prosecute fraudulent activities.
Congressman Serrano is pleased that he is able to help care for our national heritage though his responsibility for the budget of the National Archives. One of his first actions as Chairman was to restore research hours at the Archives and to expand the workforce of professional archivists. Protecting these historic documents and the important work that is done at the Archives remains a priority.
During his Chairmanship, Congressman Serrano has advocated for and provided funding for small business assistance. For example, he has consistently allocated funding for microloan technical assistance. He has increased funding for Small Business Development Centers, which are located throughout the United States and provide counseling, training, and technical assistance to small businesses. He has designated additional funding for PRIME, a program that provides technical assistance to low-income small business owners.
He has worked hard to make sure that our federal workers whose jobs are threatened by privatization will have protections and be treated fairly. Specifically in the financial services section of the 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill, he included provisions requiring all civilian agencies to create an annual inventory of service contracts and then evaluate whether it makes sense to bring the work performed by the contractor “in house.”
As more and more problems are reported about our election system, Congressman Serrano will continue to work hard on behalf of election integrity. He is supportive of funding to assist the States in ensuring accurate and reliable elections. He has provided funding for the Help America Vote Act, and funds for grants to carry out research on voting technology improvements to ensure accessibility for voters with disabilities.
Congressman Serrano has worked hard to make sure that the provision protecting six day mail delivery continues to remain in this financial services appropriations bill over which he has oversight. He understands how important postal delivery is to people throughout the United States.
Congressman Serrano’s philosophy of helping and respecting people will continue to mark and shape the appropriations bills that emerge from the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee during his Chairmanship.
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