WASHINGTON — Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) on Thursday led 33 of his colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus on a letter to President Joe Biden expressing their support for Mehrsa Baradaran, who is under consideration to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The OCC, one of the most powerful offices at the Treasury Department, is responsible for overseeing the federal banking system and has the potential to significantly impact racial and economic injustices in finance and banking. Baradaran, a scholar and consumer advocate who has devoted her career to developing innovative policies to address the racial wealth gap, has been noted by progressives as a top choice for the post at a time when health and financial circumstances of minority communities and racial inequities have been worsened by the pandemic.

“Given the critical role that this office plays in creating and enacting policies to bridge the racial wealth gap and address the persistent issue of wealth inequality, it is clear that Ms. Baradaran is the best choice for this role,” the members wrote in the letter.

“We are in a moment of national crisis during which existing economic and racial injustices have been exacerbated by the pandemic, and we need an OCC leader whose values are fully aligned with the needs of working people. Other proposed candidates for the OCC do not have the same track record as Mehrsa on these issues, and in fact, they have ties to internet-savvy lenders which have exploited vulnerable consumers. They may be qualified for the job, but what we need is an expert whose worldview is suited for this moment and who is prepared to aggressively undo the harms of the past. Mehrsa is the leader of the OCC that we need.”

Joining Bowman and CBC Chair Joyce Beatty (D-OH) on the letter are Reps. Alma Adams (D-NC), Karen Bass (D-CA), Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Cori Bush (D-MO), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Andre´ Carson (D-IN), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Val Demings (D-FL), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Mondaire Jones (D-NY), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Stacey Plaskett (D-VI), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Nikema Williams (D-GA), Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Lauren Underwood (D-IL), and Marc Veasey (D-TX).

Click here to read the full text of the letter.

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