On the recordMarch 16, 2011
And I would say to the Chair--and I appreciate that--that if any of my colleagues want to buy this property and think it's a good investment, they can hire painters and Realtors and put all these people to work, but the taxpayers, they're having trouble paying their own mortgages. They're having trouble financing their own children's education. And whose side are we on? Listen, this program has benefited less than 2,000 pieces of property--banks--but we've got 12 million American families who are underwater on their mortgage. And do you think it's even fair to pay off, as y'all proposed, a half a million of those mortgages? How about the other 21 out of 22? You know, you can't pay off all 12 million. You will break the country. So you say, well, we're going to do the best we can. You're going to pick winners and losers. Let me tell you something. The taxpayers that are paying their mortgages or own their own homes or didn't get into this problem--don't you get the message from November? The American people don't want us paying--they don't want to pay for someone else's obligations. The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
