Financial Services
The Financial Services Committee has jurisdiction over all issues that affect the banking system, housing, insurance, and securities and exchanges. My responsibility on this Committee is to improve and strengthen regulatory processes, ensure we implement strong consumer protection standards, and monitor financial reporting tools that safeguard our national security. The Financial Services Committee is responsible for some of the most critical financial legislation over the last 20 years, including the Dodd-Frank Act, which was enacted after the 2008 Financial Crisis.
The Financial Services Committee is working hard to implement strong, practical solutions that keep families and households safe from financial schemes, safely expand access to credit, banking, and housing, maintain financial stability and market integrity, and preserve financial technology businesses’ potential to innovate responsibly.
Learn more about the work of the Financial Services Committee here.
Housing
Throughout my life, I have maintained a strong commitment to solving the unique housing problems of our state and our country. Unfortunately, Connecticut’s renters and homebuyers face some of the most unaffordable housing markets in the country, and our residents’ demand for affordable housing units exceeds the supply. As a former employee of an affordable housing non-profit, I believe that we must do all we can to ensure affordable, quality housing for all Americans.
The federal government should use the tools at our disposal to incentivize communities to build more housing where it’s needed the most. That’s why I introduced the bipartisan Build Now Act which would spur housing construction by rewarding the most expensive and supply-constrained communities with a boost in federal Community Development Block Grant funding when they build more housing.
We also need to encourage more types of affordable housing. My bill, the Property Improvement and Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act, would expand the Federal Housing Administration’s Title I loan to boost manufactured home availability – one of the largest sources of unsubsidized affordable housing in the United States and among the most scalable forms of new housing production. It would also extend Title I financing to accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as “granny flats” or “in-law suites”, a versatile and cost-effective means of expanding America’s housing supply in existing neighborhoods
Digital Currency
In June 2022, I released a white paper discussing the need for a Centrally Backed Digital Currency. Along with many other benefits, the implementation of digital currency by the U.S. government could play a critical role in preserving the dollar’s role as the global reserve currency of choice. Read my proposal here.