Political Quotes

“I thank Chairman Barr for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H.R. 2226, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act, and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation. This is something that Chairman Barr has worked on for at least two Congresses now, and I feel that we are finally in a place where we can get some commonsense changes to the CFPB's qualified mortgage rules that provide relief to community banks and credit unions. I was very pleased to see this legislation get a unanimous vote in the Committee on Financial Services earlier this year. I am also very happy to see that the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is taking note of this issue and has advanced similar legislation. The Dodd-Frank Act required the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to come up with a series of new rules regarding mortgage lending. One of these rules was the so-called qualified mortgage rule, which provides a safe harbor to loans if they meet certain criteria prescribed by the Bureau. This effectively means that the market treats any loans that are not qualified mortgages as being much riskier. The Bureau's rule is especially challenging for community banks and credit unions. These lenders do not tend to be as automated as larger financial institutions. They also tend to put more time into underwriting mortgages to reflect the unique circumstances of the customers in their communities.…”