IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 553 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary 

of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System should protect and enhance consumer and business access to credit by utilizing the provisions of the Federal Reserve 

Act and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, and reserving access to liquidity programs for those financial institutions that 

have maintained or increased lending activities since the height of our 

economic crisis in October 2008. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 17, 2009 

Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. CLAY, Mr. AL GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. ELLISON, and Mr. GRAYSON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 

should protect and enhance consumer and business access to credit by utilizing the provisions of the Federal 

Reserve Act and the Emergency Economic Stabilization 

Act of 2008, and reserving access to liquidity programs 

for those financial institutions that have maintained or 

increased lending activities since the height of our economic crisis in October 2008. 


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•HRES 553 IH 

Whereas our country is currently in the middle of a foreclosure crisis, with an average of 6,600 foreclosures occurring each day; 

Whereas since the initial credit disruption of 2007, our national unemployment rate has risen above 8 percent, 

leading to 5,700,000 lost jobs; 

Whereas approximately 145,000,000 Americans presently 

have credit cards, with the average household carrying 

more than $8,000 in credit card debt; 

Whereas with gas and food prices rising to record highs, 

many families are using credit cards to make up the difference between today’s higher prices and their stagnant 

or lost wages; 

Whereas even credit cardholders with accounts in good standing, have seen their credit limits reduced; 

Whereas otherwise creditworthy borrowers have been denied 

credit; 

Whereas the costs of accessing the capital markets remain 

too steep for many small and mid-sized companies, preventing them from obtaining needed capital for day-today expenses and expansion; 

Whereas domestic businesses are increasingly drawing on 

their lines of credit to repay debt, meet payroll costs, and 

expand core product areas; 

Whereas reductions in a business’ ability to access credit is 

causing an increase in unemployment and a decrease in 

economic growth, as evidenced by a drop in gross domestic product of 6.1 percent for the first quarter of 2009; 


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•HRES 553 IH 

Whereas reductions in a consumer’s ability to access credit 

is causing significant financial hardship to the average 

American family; 

Whereas since 2007, the United States Government has provided banks and financial institutions access to 

$700,000,000,000 through the Troubled Asset Relief 

Program (TARP); 

Whereas the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program implemented by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Board 

of Governors of the Federal Reserve System demonstrates that our largest bank holding companies have 

enough capital to resume normal lending activities; 

Whereas despite receiving more than $1,000,000,000,000 in 

Government assistance, improvements to system-wide liquidity, and signs of receding market risk, financial institutions continue to tighten restrictions on consumer and 

business access to credit; and 

Whereas the inability of potential homebuyers to obtain mortgages is prolonging the housing and economic crises: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that the Secretary of the Treasury and the 

3 Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Re4 serve System should— 

5 (1) protect and enhance every American con6 sumer’s and business’s access to credit; 

7 (2) encourage credit card issuers, banks, and 

8 other creditors to recognize longstanding customers 


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•HRES 553 IH 

1 who are in good standing by not cutting their credit 

2 lines or raising their interest rates; and 

3 (3) reserve access to programs under the Fed4 eral Reserve Act and the Emergency Economic Sta5 bilization Act for those institutions that are working 

6 to increase consumer and business access to credit. 

Æ 


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