Mike Capuano

Tonight, several Members wanted to come to the floor to discuss the retirement of a very good friend of ours who deserves our recognition. Because there are so many people with busy schedules, I am going to go right into it and yield to…

If we intend to do it, so be it. But I think everybody would agree that what has happened, and what is happening now, is an unintended consequence.

I agree. My time has expired. I appreciate the chairman's indulgence.

We know one thing; we have a fledgling economy just recovering in the housing market, one that is enormously important to this economy, but more important to the social and cultural fabric of this country.

I am not a co-sponsor yet, though I agree with the bill. And I am not a co-sponsor because it does not include small businesses and second homes.

Are they any less impacted than somebody else who might lose a home?

We don't want to talk about corporate subsidies just yet. That is a different issue.

I have never had a tornado in my district, but I am sure I have covered some people who do.

So, no on a regular basis, probably every single time, when you go in some place, you are well-intended, you know what you want to get done, but when you get on the ground, you have to be flexible.

What bothers me is that we are acting as if a $5,000 or $10,000 cost to an average homeowner is nothing.

I think it is a good idea. But we also put the affordability study in there, because we weren't sure how all this would be impacted.

I think you have an obligation to give us specific proposals with specific consequences of those proposals as you see them.

I am being asked to fix something that doesn't seem to be broken. It seems to be working.

I have just spent an hour-and-a-half listening to your nonsense, and you can't listen for 5 minutes to mine.

It is unequivocal, it is indebatable that rates will go up.

When risk of loss goes up, cost goes up. That is natural.

So now, all we are talking about is when do we step in. We are not talking about whether we will.

I just want to be clear: There is no one on this panel who actually believes that if, God forbid, there was another significant terrorist attack... the American people should not respond to that immediately and do whatever it took to deal…

Why don't we just pass H.R. 1028 to stop stupid requirements of stupid borrowing that no one needs?

That Act would stop this stupid borrowing and get us off of this treadmill.

If you were in trouble, I would be happy to jump on you, pound you pretty good.

I think that it is disingenuous to suggest that this one agency is the root of our problems.

I think, quite candidly, as I reflect on it now, that it is a little bit short of a miracle that we were able to do it.

We have a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because we went through some very difficult times.

I know that my constituents in southeastern Queens can't afford it, after having suffered one of the highest rates of fraudulent mortgages in the country, resulting in an overwhelming number of people with mortgages underwater or facing…