Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Kentucky, Representative Barr, for offering this piece of legislation. This bipartisan Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act responsibly expands access to mortgage credit without creating additional risk to the financial system or to the taxpayer. By allowing insured depository institutions to hold residential mortgage loans in portfolio and have them treated as qualified mortgages, this bill encourages strong underwriting standards for lenders while also giving access to credit for young families and first-time home buyers. These are people who may not otherwise be able to meet the ability to repay requirements. Existing mortgage rules are overly restrictive and have made it difficult and, in some cases, impossible for banks to be able to make otherwise safe and sound loans to creditworthy borrowers. This bill puts the ``community'' back in community lending. Mr. Speaker, in my district and many others across the U.S., access to mortgage credit is crucial. Unfortunately, many smaller community banks have been forced to stop mortgage lending since they could not afford the expensive compliance and personnel associated with those costs. They simply made too few mortgage loans to be able to cover their costs. In rural areas, this is a significant problem because customers often do not have the alternative to find a lender to be able to approach for mortgage products.…”