Tom Feeney: “I do oppose the manager's amendment and the bill. And I don't think there is any difference of opinion about the crisis…”

“I do oppose the manager's amendment and the bill. And I don't think there is any difference of opinion about the crisis in the mortgage markets in America today. I think the difference is on the impact that this bill will have. The problem in mortgage markets in America today is that for years we had lenders that were giving teaser rate loans, that were taking no paperwork requirements to prove that borrowers had the ability to buy the home and pay for it. And we had lenders making 100 percent, 110 percent, 120 percent loan-to-value loans. And, obviously, that worked fine when property values were increasing. When property values declined, you have got a crisis. In essence, what has happened is that we have had this wild galloping horse in the credit markets of mortgages that has gotten loose. Now that horse has gotten very sick. There are none of these loans being made. As a matter of fact, credible buyers with paperwork, with 20 or 30 percent equity, can't get access to mortgage loans today in many instances. What we are doing for this sick horse is to feed it strychnine. The markets having overreacted, we as Congress are going to pile on and kill the horse with poison. And the difference we have about this bill and this manager's amendment is on the impact it will have. Does it help poor people, middle-income people that want to get access to homeownership? No.…”