Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding. I would like to thank my good friend from Kentucky, the sponsor of this legislation, for leading on this important issue. Mr. Speaker, for many western Pennsylvanians, home ownership is a significant aspect of realizing the American Dream. Moving from paying rent to owning a home is an investment in the future for these families and an investment in their local communities. Unfortunately, today that dream is being threatened unnecessarily by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's qualified mortgage rule, or QM. The QM rule is a Washington-knows-best approach to mortgages that is hampering access to home loans across this country and hurting potential homebuyers and their communities. As with many complicated and one-size-fits-all regulations, the QM rule has brought substantial unintended consequences. The rule's strict arbitrary standards have made it more difficult for many deserving consumers to get a mortgage and, as a result, has stalled much-needed investment in distressed and recovering communities. Notably, a significant amount of low-to-moderate-income borrowers now do not qualify for a mortgage based on the rule's 43 percent debt-to- income ratio requirement. In fact, according to the Federal Reserve, 22 percent of those who borrowed to buy a home in 2010, after the financial crisis, 1 out of every 5 borrowers would not have met this requirement. Mr.…”