Today, the House of Representatives voted to pass H.J. Res 90, which disapproves of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC’s) new Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rules. If the resolution is passed into law, it would make the CRA final rule null and void.
Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, made the following statement:
“Going alone, the OCC pushed out a final CRA rule that hardly anyone wanted. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic set our economy on a downward spiral, the final rule was a bad idea. Now, it is morally corrupt. At exactly the wrong time, when families and communities are suffering from an unprecedented health and economic crisis, the new rules reduce resources to low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities, families and communities of color. We encourage the Senate to follow the lead taken by the House and pass this resolution.
“Even most banks didn’t want these new rules put into place right now, and they still are unsure what it will take to implement them.
“The new rules weaken requirements for banks to lend to lower-income borrowers and communities, which is the whole point of the law. The timing couldn’t be worse, in the middle of a health and financial crisis that is far from over.
“Congress and the President really should overturn this plan so all three banking agencies can work together on true modernization of CRA. We need that, struggling communities need it, and the OCC rules don’t help.”
