The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is one of twenty Senate committees tasked with conducting Senate business related to specialized areas of legislative interest. Although the Senate has a longstanding history of writing and passing legislation focusing on our nation’s banks, the Senate Banking Committee was not formally established until 1913, with Senator Robert Owen of Oklahoma, sponsor of the landmark Federal Reserve Act, as its first Chairman; since then, the Committee has undergone various transformations and reorganizations. Now known as the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to underscore the diversity of issues under its purview, the Committee plays an integral role in managing legislation that affects the lives of many Americans. These areas of jurisdiction include, but are not limited to: banking, insurance, financial markets, securities, housing, urban development and mass transit, international trade and finance, and economic policy (an official list of these legislative and policy issues can be found in the “Jurisdiction” section of our website). Further information about how Senate Committees generally operate can be found here.
The Committee is led by Chairman Richard C. Shelby (R-AL) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH). The Committee is currently made up of 22 Senators; 12 Republican, and 10 Democrat.
Chairman Shelby
Serving in his fifth term, Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) is the senior U.S. Senator from Alabama.
He is currently the Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and also serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Rules and Administration. He has been a member of the Banking Committee since he was elected to the Senate in 1986 and previously served as the Chairman in the 108th and 109th Congresses.
Prior to Senator Shelby's election to the United States Senate, he served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and eight years in the Alabama legislature. He also served as a City Prosecutor in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Alabama; and Special Assistant to the Attorney General in Alabama. A fifth generation Alabamian, Senator Shelby is a graduate of the University of Alabama's undergraduate and law programs.
Ranking Member Brown
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), now serving in his second term, also serves on the Senate’s Agriculture, Finance, and Veterans Committees.
Sen. Brown has introduced bipartisan legislation that would ensure the very largest money center banks have enough capital to cover their losses, so taxpayers don’t have to, and would ensure a level playing field for other financial institutions. Working with his colleagues, in 2014 he helped pass legislation to ensure that companies primarily engaged in providing insurance are subject to capital standards that are tailored toward their business, rather than the capital standards in place for bank holding companies. He also authored a bill that would streamline the privacy notification process, removing costly burdens for small financial institutions and simplifying notifications provided to consumers.
With the housing crisis emerging early in Ohio, Sen. Brown fought for reforms to ensure that small lenders and community institutions remain competitive, homeowners are protected, and that there are accessible, affordable housing options for all Americans.
Prior to serving in the United States Senate, Brown served as a United States Representative for the 13th District, Ohio’s Secretary of State, a member of the Ohio General Assembly, and taught in Ohio’s public schools and at The Ohio State University.
