Billionaire corporate landlords have increased their wealth by $24 billion and have raised over $245 billion as millions of American families face a wave of evictions.
In a significant reversal, the Department of Labor (DOL) today announced they will not enforce the anti-sustainable investing rules that were hastily published in the final days of the Trump administration. The two rules, which went into effect in January 2021, would have made it much harder for retirement plans to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks into their investment practices.
A South Carolina tire factory owned by a global corporation received a substantial loan from the Small Business Administration for pandemic relief while many genuinely small businesses — especially those owned by people of color and women — were unable to access the program.
Wall Street billionaires have escaped paying their fair share of taxes for decades, thanks to laws they themselves have had an outsize influence in shaping. This bill requiring the ultrarich to pay some tax on their wealth, which was too often accumulated through predatory business models that extracted wealth from workers and communities, is an important step forward for economic justice.
Today, Americans for Financial Reform released a record of votes during the 116th Congress regarding consumer protections and Wall Street accountability. During the 116th Congress, the Democratic-led House of Representatives advanced a number of measures to strengthen consumer protections and to put in place enforcement tools to hold bad actors in the financial industry accountable for abusive, discriminatory, and fraudulent practices.
Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) and 20 consumer, civil rights, small business, and other public interest partners submitted a comment letter to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRB) on its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
AFR congratulates Rep. Maxine Waters on her renewed position as chair of the House Financial Services Committee, an important panel with jurisdiction over a broad range of issues with profound impacts on people and communities across the country. We are heartened that the committee will continue to be led by a champion of economic and racial justice, one who does not hesitate to call Wall Street CEOs and predatory lenders on the carpet when necessary to protect the public interest.
“Facing the most economic distress and illness, low-income families and communities of color are most at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure without relief. The Homeowner Assistance Fund is a necessary measure to stem the impending foreclosure crisis and prevent devastating losses for families and neighborhoods.”
The Biden Administration today issued an Executive Order initiating an ambitious government-wide effort to tackle the climate crisis. Just one week into his term, President Biden has already re-entered the U.S. into the Paris Agreement and appointed strong climate leaders. What we need next from the Administration is a more detailed plan for how our federal financial regulators should engage in this effort. Financial regulation and supervision are pivotal tools the Biden Administration can use to help address the climate crisis in an equitable way.
“This bill is an important step in restoring the real economy for white, Black and brown working families, especially in this time of rising unemployment due to the global pandemic. The Wall Street Tax Act would both help protect working people from the most acute impacts of risky Wall Street behavior and raise revenue that could be used for critical public services and investments.”