News

This week, there were bicameral and bipartisan committee hearings with financial regulators on the state of the economy. Both hearings provided bipartisan conversation surrounding a recent bank capital proposal and shared bipartisan concerns with the proposal’s impacts to not only the economy but families and small businesses.

The top four bipartisan takeaways from the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee & House Financial Services Committee hearings are:

• Housing affordability. As housing affordability issues continue to plague Americans across the country, there was bipartisan concern that the proposal could further reduce mortgage lending, especially for low-and moderate-income households making the American dream of owning a home even more unattainable.
• Renewable energy. There was bicameral policymaker concern that as the country looks to build out its clean energy manufacturing and technology sector, the proposal, coupled with record high interest rates could increase the cost of using renewable energy and drastically hurt the growth of the nascent industry.
• Impacts to small businesses. There was bipartisan and bicameral concern on the proposal’s impacts to small businesses seeking credit and access to capital. This is particularly important as small businesses are a central component of today’s economy and labor market.
• Economic recovery. More broadly speaking, there was overarching concern across both committee’s membership with the unintended consequences of the proposal on the economy and whether it will impact the ongoing recovery efforts.

Center Forward plays a significant role in bringing policymakers, business leaders, and thought leaders to the table to discuss how best to secure an upward economic trajectory. This week’s congressional discussions highlight just how important these conversations are and the importance of educating on the potential pitfalls of stalling economic growth at a time when recovery is still tenuous and lending is constricting. Our latest project: Protect Our Economy is an important step in putting Americans and small businesses first to achieve the American dream.