Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the nomination of Commissioner Michelle Bowman to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The Federal Reserve is charged with ensuring financial institutions are safe and sound, promoting financial stability and carrying out U.S. monetary policy.

Decisions made by the Federal Reserve have a significant impact on the economy, businesses, and households across the Nation.

Commissioner Bowman is highly qualified to fill the Federal Reserve Board role reserved for a person with community banking experience.

Commissioner Bowman has served as the State Bank Commissioner of Kansas since February 2017.

Prior to that, she worked as a vice president at Farmers and Drovers Bank, a Kansas-based community bank with $175 million in assets.

She has also previously served in a number of government roles, including as a staffer in both the Senate and House, as well as in various roles at the Department of Homeland Security.

Commissioner Bowman learned banking from the frontlines to the back office at Farmers and Drovers Bank, an institution with which her family first became involved in 1882.

As a former community banker and bank regulator, she is intimately familiar with the business of banking, its regulatory framework, and how regulators' decisions impact banks and the communities in which they operate.

She knows firsthand the unique relationships that community banks foster with their local communities, often operating through relationship banking to provide access to credit, support employment, and promote economic growth.

In her nomination hearing, Commissioner Bowman noted, ``I have witnessed firsthand how the regulatory environment created in the aftermath of the crisis has disadvantaged community banks.''

``If confirmed, I will bring this perspective to my work at the Board to ensure that rules preserve the resiliency of the financial system, but are appropriately tailored to the size, complexity and risk of an institution.''

I am encouraged by the attention she has paid to the need to appropriately tailor regulations and the potential consequences of not doing so.

In May, the President signed into law S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.

This bill tailors regulations for midsized and regional banks and provides meaningful relief to community banks.

Commissioner Bowman brings a unique expertise and perspective to the Federal Reserve as it continues implementing key provisions of the bill.

The Federal Reserve also sets U.S. monetary policy.

In her confirmation hearing, Commissioner Bowman reassured the Banking Committee that her decisions would be based on sound economic policies.

This is significant during a period of monetary policy normalization at the Fed.

I am confident she will contribute positively toward the Federal Reserve fulfilling its mission.

I will be voting in favor of Commissioner Bowman's nomination today, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

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