Political Quotes

“Thank you to my colleague from New York (Mrs. Maloney) for bringing this important issue to the floor today and for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2600, a commonsense clarification to the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, ILSA, to preserve consumer protections while keeping our economic recovery on track. More than 40 years ago, Congress passed ILSA to prevent real estate developers from bilking unsuspecting buyers out of their life savings by selling them parcels of land in the middle of a swamp or of a desert. ILSA requires sellers to disclose critical information about the land being sold, including automobile access to the property, the availability of water on a lot, and access for emergency personnel. These disclosure requirements are clearly necessary and appropriate for individuals who are buying land sight unseen. They do not make sense, however, when you try to apply them to purchases of condominiums in urban high-rise developments. Clearly, a condo in downtown Manhattan or in downtown Dallas will have access to water and emergency services, and purchasers do not need to know about the risk of soil erosion or about the presence of mobile homes within their units on the 15th floor. Although common sense would dictate otherwise, courts have interpreted the vague statutory and regulatory language of ILSA to apply to condo purchases.…”