Andy Barr: “I thank the gentleman from Texas, the chairman of our committee, for his leadership and support of this legislation. Mr.…”

“I thank the gentleman from Texas, the chairman of our committee, for his leadership and support of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, the best policies serve both the interests of the individual and the broader national interests. In this case, it is in the interest of the borrower to have an affordable, right-sized mortgage. It is also in the interest of the Nation to have a sound financial system safe from the excesses that led to the crisis in 2008. It is possible to satisfy both objectives, but it will require the Federal Government to acknowledge that changes must be made to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's interpretation of the Dodd-Frank law. The ability to repay requirements in Dodd-Frank are designed to ensure that a lender takes into account the borrower's ability to repay a loan. Simple enough. But the CFPB has implemented the ability to pay rule provision by promulgating a one-size-fits-all, top-down, Washington-directed qualified mortgage rule. Under the CFPB's approach, mortgages have been made safer by effectively making them unavailable to a substantial number of would-be home buyers. According to the Federal Reserve, 22 percent of those who borrowed to buy a home in 2010--one out of every five borrowers--would not have met the underwriting requirements for a qualified mortgage. There is no debating that for the benefit of a mortgage borrower or his or her lender and the financial system, a borrower should have a demonstrable ability to repay that loan.…”