Lisa Blunt Rochester: “yesterday when the budget resolution came to the floor, I introduced an amendment. It is a simple, straightforward piece…”

“yesterday when the budget resolution came to the floor, I introduced an amendment. It is a simple, straightforward piece of legislation that will protect American consumers by prohibiting tariffs that increase the costs of building a house. About 2 days ago, we passed a bipartisan resolution reversing President Trump's unnecessary national emergency on Canadian imports. That is right. Our closest ally to the north is now on the receiving end of a senseless trade war. Essential groceries and food products, building supplies, materials that impact our national security, all of these things and more that cross the border are now each and every day in jeopardy. I recently asked the Federal Reserve Chairman: Are tariffs a tax? And he said: Well, you will pay either the tariff at the exporter level, the importer, the retailer, and/or the consumer. And who is most likely to feel the pain? I and most economists believe it is American families and small businesses. When it comes to the cost of building materials, home buyers are going to bear the brunt of the burden. All of this in the same week that the Trump administration said it would ``shake up'' the Agency that oversees Federal housing loans. I wrote to the administration on Monday to get just some clarity on what does ``shake up'' mean, because I believe--and I know--that this will ultimately mean higher mortgages and higher rents.…”