[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 34 (Thursday, February 26, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H2863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 STOP MEDDLING IN THE MORTGAGE INDUSTRY

  (Mr. FLEMING asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak also about H.R. 1106, the 
so-called mortgage cram-down bill which, I am afraid, is being crammed 
down the throats of the American citizens.
  There are families in this country seriously hurting in these tough 
economic times. They're looking for ways to keep their homes from going 
into foreclosure.
  I would support a targeted measure to help those who didn't overreach 
when they purchased a home, but this broad stroke cram-down bill we 
have been given allows the court system to modify home mortgages, 
including reducing the loan principal. This would leave responsible 
homeowners to pick up the tab for the mistakes of others. Also, it 
would further encourage folks to file bankruptcy, rather than working 
out their financial problems. Giving the judges the power to 
arbitrarily change the terms of a mortgage is not the direction we need 
to go in this country. Home buyers will be forced to pay higher 
interest rates and downpayments if lenders face the risk that a judge 
could change mortgage terms in the future.
  It was the meddling in the mortgage industry by Congress that helped 
start this economic mess in the first place. Why should we continue 
meddling?
  Continued efforts by Congress to reward unwise financial decisions 
will keep the dream of affordable home ownership unattainable for many 
responsible citizens for years to come.

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