Richard Shelby: “I regret that I, too, must oppose the amendment offered by the Senator from Missouri, amendment No. 4986. Senator Bond's…”

“I regret that I, too, must oppose the amendment offered by the Senator from Missouri, amendment No. 4986. Senator Bond's amendment would specifically undermine the goal of protecting the American taxpayer from the costs of the HOPE Program. I have often said--and I will repeat once again--that we should do whatever we can to help people stay in their homes short of sticking taxpayers with the tab. The Banking Committee has worked long and hard for months on this issue and has found a way to accommodate a wide range of goals and concerns with this legislation. The affordable housing fund and the funding mechanism--which is important here--for the HOPE Program are two of the most critical elements that allowed us to reach a bipartisan agreement. Eliminating either one of these now would simply unwind the entire bill, would destroy the whole bill, and neither I nor Senator Dodd nor a lot of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle can support that. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to join us in opposing the first Bond amendment.”