Political Quotes

“Mr. President, first, let me thank my good friend the Senator from Illinois for those great words. We have had police officers in New York hit the same way. There is a bridge in New York on Southern State Parkway that we named after an officer who died a few years ago in the same situation, and I thank Lucy for caring and pushing hard. Nomination of Mark Anthony Calabria Mr. President, I rise in strong opposition to the nomination of Mark Calabria to become the Director of FHFA. I hope every Senator who has homeowners in their districts will pay attention here. For decades we have had Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac providing mortgages at lower rates for people because there is a Federal guarantee. Because housing is such an important part of our economy, it stimulates jobs and the growth in the economy. It is utterly amazing that, once again, we are in a sort of ``Alice in Wonderland.'' The nominations from this administration go directly in the face of what I bet almost every Member on the other side believes--that interest rates should be low for mortgages and that there should be some kind of Federal guarantee. Well, here is what Dr. Calabria believes. First, he believes that the 30-year mortgage is not necessarily part of our Federal housing finance system. He believes that Fannie and Freddie guarantees should be no higher than $200,000. I would ask Dr. Calabria to visit some of the middle-class neighborhoods of New York--policemen, firemen, teachers, construction workers.…”