Economic Security
More on Economic Security
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, released the following statement today on Equal Pay Day which symbolizes when, more than three months into the year, women's wages finally catch up to what men were paid in the previous year. According to U.S. Census Data, American women still earn only 77 cents to every dollar made by a full-time working man.
Today, Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) Fannie Mae announced it has earned a fourth quarter profit of $6.5 billion in 2013 and will repay $7.2 billion to the U.S. Department of the Treasury in March. The payment will mean the company has returned $121.1 billion back to the taxpayers –returning even more than the $116.1 billion it received after being taken over by the government in 2008. This comes following a similar announcement by Freddie Mac late last year.
In today's Financial Services Committee hearing on "Why Debt Matters," Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), underscored the importance of promoting growth and reducing income inequality through short-term increases in discretionary fiscal stimulus in order to reduce the nation's debt and deficit.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) joined her Democratic colleagues in signing a discharge petition to extend unemployment insurance. This special congressional procedure allows a majority of members to bypass Speaker Boehner and force an up or down vote on the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3546). This bill would extend emergency unemployment insurance for nearly 5 million Americans looking for work through the end of the year.
As the House of Representatives stood poised to approve legislation to increase the government's borrowing authority, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, urged passage of the measure. Waters underscored the importance of the "clean" debt ceiling increase as critical to avoiding economic catastrophe. She also pointed out that once again, the Democratic party had to supply the votes necessary to protect the nation's well-being.
By Jason Lewis, Our Weekly
A federal program supplying extra weeks of benefits to the long-term unemployed expired at the end of 2013, and congressional Democrats were unable to revive the program. Many people who receive unemployment benefits, including roughly 220,000 Californians, received their last check on December 28.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) will be the featured speaker at a community rally calling on Congress to extend Federal unemployment insurance benefits on Saturday, Jan. 25. The rally, hosted by a coalition of labor unions and community organizations, will be held in the parking lot of the California Employment Development Department at 11:00am PT.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, released the following statement regarding the omnibus appropriations legislation.
"While this agreement is an improvement from the harmful funding levels called for by the sequester, I'm disappointed that the omnibus appropriations legislation fails to adequately fund our financial regulators, shortchanges many of our housing programs and declines to promote a strong global economy.
By Laura Bassett, Huffington Post
Apparently fed up with their Republican colleagues' policy priorities, a group of Democratic congresswomen sent a scathing memo to the GOP on Friday to express their frustration.
Today, on the Floor of the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, commemorated the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty by calling for the extension of federal unemployment insurance benefits. Her statement was part of a series of speeches in support of unemployment insurance by members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The Congresswoman's remarks as prepared for delivery follow: