Gregory Meeks: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Let me just say how proud I am that the House is taking up my bill today, the…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Let me just say how proud I am that the House is taking up my bill today, the Ensuring Diversity in Community Banking Act. I am especially grateful for the support from Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters and for her guidance and for working with me to make sure that we progress and move this bill. I am likewise eternally grateful to Ranking Member McHenry, who worked with us very closely to make sure that this bill had true, strong bipartisan support. As a result, it passed the House Financial Services Committee unanimously. Without that partnership, this would not have happened. So, I thank both the chair and the ranking member, and all the members of this committee, for doing this. This bill passed in committee unanimously and has gained the support of consumer advocacy groups, civil rights organizations, and the financial services industry. We tried to bring everybody together on this, and we did come up with a consensus bill. Communities of color have borne a disproportionate burden of the COVID pandemic, as measured by the infection and mortality rates, as well as jobs lost and wealth destroyed. This pandemic and the economic crisis it triggered devastated communities that had yet to fully recover from the financial crisis of 2008.…”