[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23258]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NO NEW TAX ON HOMEOWNERSHIP

  (Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, the cost to buy a new home is 
about to go up in America. Why is that? Because as soon as next week, 
Congress is about to vote on placing a new tax on homeownership, a tax 
that may well raise the cost for the average American who wants to buy 
their new home.
  Years ago, Congress set up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the noble 
intent to add liquidity to the marketplace and help home buyers. But in 
an about-face, Congress is about to impose a new tax and at the same 
time fail to address an inherent flaw in the current system.
  Mr. Speaker, legislation before the House would allow Fannie Mae and 
Freddie Mac to continue to rack up debt on their balance sheets with no 
limits. These are the same organizations that have been wracked with 
financial accounting scandals, may have 1.5 to $1.7 trillion on their 
balance sheets right now. I say ``may'' because no one can get a clear 
financial picture from these entities.
  Alan Greenspan has testified to this problem repeatedly, noting that 
without restriction on the size of the GSE balance sheets, we put at 
risk our ability to preserve safe and sound financial markets in the 
United States. American homeowners deserve better. We need to help them 
and not hurt them.

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