Ocasio-Cortez Joins Financial Services Committee, 'Looking Forward' to Examining ICE
Freshman Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York announced on Twitter Tuesday that she has been assigned to the House Financial Services Committee, which is chaired by California Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
The influential committee oversees the banking and insurance industries, public and private housing, and urban development among other matters.
Fox News reported that fellow freshmen Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Katie Porter of California have also been tapped for the committee.
“Financial Services is one of just four exclusive committees in the House. It oversees big banks, lending, & the financial sector,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
Financial Services is one of just four exclusive committees in the House. It oversees big banks, lending, & the financial sector.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to sit on this committee as a freshman, and look forward to working under the leadership of @RepMaxineWaters! https://t.co/kIq5iDcrTV
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 16, 2019
“I am very grateful for the opportunity to sit on this committee as a freshman, and look forward to working under the leadership of @RepMaxineWaters!” she continued.
In a subsequent tweet, the self-described Democratic socialist wrote, “Personally, I’m looking forward to digging into the student loan crisis, examining for-profit prisons/ICE detention, and exploring the development of public & postal banking. To start.”
Tlaib — who made headlines the day she was sworn-in by calling President Donald Trump a “motherf—er” and promising to impeach him — retweeted an announcement by a group called Justice Democrats confirming the committee assignment.
“Now our movement has a voice to take on the greed and recklessness on Wall Street. We’ll fight to protect tenants & families from evictions. We’ll stop them from plundering our communities,” the tweet reads.
The organization describes itself as part of a movement that helped elect Ocasio-Cortez and aims to transform the Democratic Party.
Congratulations to @RashidaTlaib for earning a seat on the Financial Services committee.
Now our movement has a voice to take on the greed and recklessness on Wall Street. We’ll fight to protect tenants & families from evictions. We’ll stop them from plundering our communities. pic.twitter.com/97J6J3rZD9
— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) January 16, 2019
Twenty-nine-year-old Ocasio-Cortez has made no secret of her progressive views when it comes regulating banks and targeting corporations as a negative influence in American life.
Her campaign website blames Wall Street banks for denying Americans affordable housing and corporations for blocking needed climate change laws.
Ocasio-Cortez strongly believes in wealth redistribution. She has called for a return of the top tax rate to 70 percent from its current 37 percent. The top rate prior to the Republican tax law passed in December 2017 had been 39.6 percent.
The liberal lawmaker wants to launch new federal entitlement programs, including Medicare for all, “housing as a human right,” a federal jobs guarantee and tuition-free public college.
Waters, who has on multiple occasions called for Trump’s impeachment, has promised to aggressively oppose his policies from her new post.
According to Fox, one of the top priorities on the congresswoman’s agenda is to counteract the Trump administration’s rollback of the Dodd-Frank legislation, which relates to regulating the banking industry.
“Make no mistake, come January, in this committee, the days of this committee weakening regulations and putting our economy once again at risk of another financial crisis will come to an end,” Waters said last year.
The Democrat, on her own, will not be able to reverse any of Trump’s regulatory changes or pass new laws, but Waters could use her power to block or demand concessions from the administration concerning its legislative agenda going forward.
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