Political Quotes

“I rise in support of the amendment offered by the gentleman from California. As my colleague from California knows all too well, rising foreclosure and delinquency rates continue to affect all areas of the mortgage market. Secondary markets for mortgages have seen a significant drawback that has led to a reduction in the availability of credit. Lenders have tightened credit standards making it more difficult for delinquent borrowers to refinance. At the same time, because of falling home prices and certainly in many parts of the country, like the gentleman's home district, borrowers are finding themselves unable to refinance into more affordable or fixed-rate products because their outstanding mortgage loan balances exceed their homes' values. States such as California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada continue to dominate the national delinquency and foreclosure markets. The Cardoza amendment prioritizes assistance to the areas that have been hardest hit by foreclosure and unemployment compared to the rest of the country. I am prepared to support the gentleman's amendment, and I would like to say that one area of the gentleman's amendment that I particularly am in favor of--because we kind of go through this discussion on a lot of different bills, where to put the greater emphasis, and I think the greater emphasis and the greater dollar assistance need to go to the places that are the hardest hit and do have the most difficult problems.…”