House Financial Services Committee

The House Financial Services Committee chair vowed to stay focused on the HEROES Act after the panel's top Republican said lawmakers should instead debate bills with bipartisan support.

Many commercial property owners are locked out of existing coronavirus relief by financing terms that bar them from taking new loans. Under a House bill, they would receive government-backed equity investments.

The National Defense Authorization Act, approved in a vote late Tuesday, includes measures to require companies to disclose their true owners at the point of incorporation and to improve information-sharing between banks and the government.

The coronavirus relief law allows forbearance plans for up to a year on federally backed mortgages, but House Democrats say homeowners have had difficulty getting relief.

Republicans still receive more money overall from bankers, but the gap is narrowing ahead of the November elections. Experts say that the trend corresponds with signs of a “blue wave” and that many in the industry prefer Democrats on nonregulatory issues.

Rancor between Democrats and Republicans has made it hard to enact subsequent bills. But the 2018 reg relief package and more recent legislation offer hope for efforts to reach across the aisle.

The Senate had passed the bill Tuesday, shortly before the Small Business Administration was to stop accepting new loan applications.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said about 300 lenders have signed on to the program and that the central bank is committed to making adjustments that could attract more borrowers.

While the resolution sends a message of disapproval of the OCC’s reform of the anti-redlining law, the Republican-controlled Senate is not expected to consider the measure.

A key Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Carolyn Maloney has a slim lead over a primary challenger, Suraj Patel, a progressive political activist and New York University professor.