[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 110 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3097-H3099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LGBTQ BUSINESS EQUAL CREDIT ENFORCEMENT AND INVESTMENT ACT
Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 486, I call
up the bill (H.R. 1443) to amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to
require the collection of small business loan data related to LGBTQ-
owned businesses, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 486, in lieu of
the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the
Committee on Financial Services printed in
[[Page H3098]]
the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the
text of Rules Committee Print 117-7 is adopted and the bill, as
amended, is considered read.
The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:
H.R. 1443
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``LGBTQ Business Equal Credit
Enforcement and Investment Act''.
SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS LOAN DATA COLLECTION.
Section 704B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C.
1691c-2) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``LGBTQ-owned,'' after ``minority-owned,''
each place such term appears;
(2) in subsection (e)(2)(G), by inserting ``, sexual
orientation, gender identity'' after ``sex''; and
(3) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the following:
``(7) LGBTQ-owned business.--The term `LGBTQ-owned
business' means a business--
``(A) more than 50 percent of the ownership or control of
which is held by 1 or more individuals self-identifying as
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer; and
``(B) more than 50 percent of the net profit or loss of
which accrues to 1 or more individuals self-identifying as
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer.''.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for
1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Financial Services or their respective
designees.
The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) and the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. McHenry) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
General Leave
Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on H.R. 1443 and to insert extraneous material thereon.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1443, the LGBTQ Business
Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act, for the second time this
month.
As we discussed on the floor last week, this bill, led by
Representative Ritchie Torres, would provide much-needed transparency
in lending to LGBTQ-owned businesses by updating the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act to ensure financial institutions report the sexual
orientation and gender identity of applicants for business loans.
This legislation is needed because research shows that LGBTQ
individuals have experienced discrimination when applying for a
mortgage or other forms of credit. However, due to a lack of data
collection, we do not know the extent of discrimination when it comes
to business loans, who has been affected, and, more importantly, how it
can be corrected.
According to one estimate, there are approximately 1.4 million LGBTQ-
owned businesses across our country. These entrepreneurs should be
treated fairly, and the data collected on small business owners by Mr.
Torres' bill will help to identify and prevent discrimination and will
enable communities, policymakers, and lenders to support the
development and investment needs of LGBTQ-owned businesses.
I thank Representative Torres for his leadership on this important
bill.
But I also want to express my disappointment that so many of our
Republican colleagues decided to vote down this bill last week when it
was considered under suspension of the rules. This bill passed the
committee on a voice vote, and we worked with the ranking member, Mr.
McHenry, to address concerns he had.
I thank Ranking Member McHenry for working with us and for his
support.
I hope my colleagues who voted ``no'' will reconsider their position
and vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1443. Whether or not they do, let me assure
our friends, neighbors, constituents, and colleagues in the LGBTQ
community that, one way or the other, this House will pass this bill.
After all, this is the people's House, and we simply cannot let lending
or other forms of discrimination against any of our people stand.
As we discussed last week, this is Pride Month and a time to
celebrate all the wonderful contributions the LGBTQ community has given
to our economy and our country.
So, Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, we can all agree that data is important, but we need
to recognize, particularly as it relates to obtaining data on
companies, that each one is unique.
Mandatory reporting metrics do not accurately measure progress. Just
look at the mandatory disclosure bills that we had on the floor last
week. The only outcome we can expect to see is higher compliance costs
on companies, leaving fewer resources to build our workforce and invest
in research and technology to compete globally. Simply put, one size
fits all does not work.
However, this bill, the bill we have before us today, does not impose
a mandatory reporting regime. Data is collected on a voluntary basis.
Any loan applicant who does not want to provide information can decline
to provide it, meaning there are fewer concerns over privacy because it
is voluntary and fewer concerns over one-size-fits-all data reporting.
I appreciate my Democratic colleagues having offered a solution to
promoting diversity inclusion without imposing requirements on
businesses or business owners that do not effectively measure their
success.
Thus, Madam Speaker, I support the bill, and I reserve the balance of
my time.
Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, it has been a preeminent privilege
to serve under Chair Waters' leadership on the Financial Services
Committee. I think I can say without question, reservation, hesitation,
or equivocation that, under the gentlewoman's leadership, we have seen
great change. But I also know this: that under her leadership, there is
greater change to come. It is my honor to serve under the gentlewoman's
leadership.
And still I rise, Madam Speaker, and I rise today to support H.R.
1443, the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act.
And I rise to thank the ranking member for his support of this
legislation. He has been steadfast, and he has been true to his word.
I am honored to support this legislation, and I think that it is
appropriate for me to address, first, the question of whether invidious
discrimination exists.
Madam Speaker, if you deny that invidious discrimination exists, then
you have to deny the existence of the KKK. To deny the existence of
invidious discrimination would necessitate a denial of those who were
in Charlottesville screaming: ``Blood and soil,'' ``Jews will not
replace us.''
I believe the case is self-evident: invidious discrimination exists.
Currently, we have a system that allows us to collect the empirical
evidence necessary to not only identify the invidious discrimination
but also help us to prevent the invidious discrimination. This
legislation is absolutely necessary to acquire the empirical
intelligence so that we may go forward and prevent invidious
discrimination.
By acquiring this intelligence, I might add, we will also deter some
of the people who have good sense such that they won't commit invidious
discrimination because they will be aware of the intelligence
acquisition.
How do we do this? Here is how it happens: Currently, when you make
your application, Madam Speaker, there is a place for you to indicate
whether you are a minority person. If I
[[Page H3099]]
am filling out the application, I would probably indicate that I am a
minority person, although I don't like the term. I use it only to
communicate. I do not like the term ``minority.'' But for the purpose
of communicating today, I would indicate that I am a minority person.
The only thing this bill will do, as it relates to acquiring the
intelligence, is give us another space so that we can now indicate
that, if you so choose, Madam Speaker, you are a member of the LGBTQ-
plus community.
In filling out this form, if I chose not to indicate I was a minority
person, I wouldn't have to. I would just sign it, completing the other
aspects of it, and I would be done with it.
It only allows for the placement of additional language on the
document so that persons who desire to--and it is important to note,
Madam Speaker, that you must have the desire; it is with
intentionality, and you voluntarily do this--would indicate, if you
choose to, that you are a member of the LGBTQ-plus community.
{time} 1315
I must say, candidly, I really don't see how this can become the
debate that it has become. At some point in this country, we have to
understand that discriminating against people because of who they are
is inappropriate. It is unlawful.
I am the son of a segregated South, where I was lawfully
discriminated against. I know what it looks like. I know what it smells
like. I know what it sounds like. I know what invidious discrimination
tastes like. I drank from filthy colored water fountains in my
lifetime.
I don't wish any of this type of behavior that I had to endure on
anyone else, so I rise today in support of this legislation as a
continuation of my mission to do all that I can to help others avoid
the horrors of invidious discrimination.
I am so grateful to Chairwoman Waters for all she has done. She has
always been a friend, not only to me, but to those who are among the
least, the last, and the lost. And I thank the gentlewoman for all that
she has done.
Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I think my colleague Mr. Green outlines this well.
This is not a mandatory reporting bill, but data collection. Though the
terms may not be perfect to Chairman Green's points and perhaps we need
to look at the language of this reporting, for sure, but this is not a
mandatory reporting bill. This is voluntary information that borrowers
can offer up or not. Data is a good thing, especially if it is provided
voluntarily.
For those reasons, I support this bill and I urge its adoption.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, this bill takes necessary action to help ensure that
LGBTQ-owned businesses are treated fairly by financial institutions and
protected against lending discrimination. The bill passed unanimously
out of the House Financial Services Committee with a voice vote. So I
am pleased that the majority leader has worked with me to bring this
bill back up for a vote quickly.
This bill is supported by the Human Rights Campaign, the National
Center for Transgender Equality, Out Leadership, the National Gay and
Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and many others.
Although some of my colleagues did not support this bill last week, I
urge them to reconsider, to support all small businesses this week, and
vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1443.
I would like to thank the ranking member for his consideration, his
support. In closing, I would just like to add that, as Mr. Green
identified, I, too, am a victim of discrimination for most of my life,
and all of my family and my dear friends and sometimes the entire
neighborhood that I have lived in.
So we know what it feels like, and we know that there is, for
example, today, a huge wealth gap because of discrimination, a lack of
being able to borrow from the banks that were making credit available
to so many others. It was not made to us. So oftentimes we were not
able to buy a home. We were not able to get a loan for the basic kind
of things that any family would need.
So we cannot, and I cannot be a part of public policy and systems and
protocols that would exclude the LGBTQ community from being able to get
loans in the ways that others are doing. It is pure discrimination. It
must stop.
Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
to vote ``yea'' on H.R. 1443, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. TORRES of New York. Madam Speaker, in the United States, there
are 1.4 million LGBTQ businesses contributing more than $1.7 trillion
to the American economy. We have a vested interest in sustaining and
strengthening these businesses with equal access to credit, which is
the beating heart of the American economy.
As a former New York City Council Member, I partnered with the
National LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce to establish the nation's largest
municipal certification program for LGBTQ business enterprises,
enabling those businesses to enjoy equal access to a $25 billion pool
of government procurement.
The legislation before us, H.R. 1443, builds on a foundation laid by
several statutes and regulations. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act
(ECOA) prohibits credit discrimination, including but not limited to
sex discrimination. A new interpretive rule from the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB) clarifies that the ECOA's prohibition against
sex discrimination applies to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which exists to enable and enhance
the enforcement of the ECOA, requires financial institutions to report
information about the race, ethnicity, and sex of credit applicants who
serve as principal owners of small businesses. My legislation would
expand the 1071 reporting requirements to include not only sex but also
sexual orientation and gender identity. It would enable anti-
discrimination enforcement where none might exist.
Even though the United States has made substantial strides toward
LGBTQ equality, the mission is far from accomplished. Seventy percent
of the LGBTQ community remains unprotected by anti-discrimination laws.
When it comes to credit, according to the Williams Institute, more than
7.7 million LGBTQ adults live in states that offer no protection
against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
It is often said that knowledge is power. Knowledge affords us the
power to detect discrimination that might otherwise go undetected.
Take, as an example, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, which is
analogous to the legislation before us. Both the National Community
Reinvestment Coalition and Iowa State University reviewed data from the
HMDA and found that same-sex couples were denied loans at higher rates
than heterosexual couples, despite having comparable creditworthiness.
It also found those same-sex couples paid higher fees and interests.
The lesson of the HMDA is that sunlight can be a powerful disinfectant
against discrimination.
H.R. 1443 would make credit more accessible, credit laws more
enforceable, and creditors more accountable. It would represent a
triumph of transparency in the service of economic opportunity for all,
regardless of who you are and whom you love.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 486, the previous question is ordered on
the bill, as amended.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question
are postponed.
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