[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6632]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    PROTECT TAXPAYERS AGAINST FRAUD

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, yesterday Congress 
passed a housing bill that lacked a basic protection for American 
taxpayers. Republicans offered an amendment that would have prohibited 
anyone from receiving assistance under the bill if they misrepresented 
or lied about their income when applying for a mortgage. I had offered 
a similar amendment last week, but the majority refused to even 
consider it. They refused to apply this commonsense measure of 
protection for taxpayers who have already seen trillions of their 
dollars spent to bail out irresponsible behavior.
  As a former real estate attorney, I have seen the tremendous benefits 
of homeownership. I have also seen the tragedy of foreclosure. No one 
is advocating that we do nothing. But it appears the good intentions 
have gotten in the way of good solutions, such as a $15,000 home 
purchase tax credit proposed by the Homebuilders Association and 
Realtors Association. We have to stop rewarding bad behavior with the 
money of those who played by the rules.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th.

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