[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18420-18424]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1210, PORTFOLIO LENDING AND 
  MORTGAGE ACCESS ACT; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3189, FED 
   OVERSIGHT REFORM AND MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2015; AND PROVIDING FOR 
PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PERIOD FROM NOVEMBER 20, 2015, THROUGH NOVEMBER 
                                27, 2015

  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 529 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 529

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 1210) to 
     amend the Truth in Lending Act to provide a safe harbor from 
     certain requirements related to qualified mortgages for 
     residential mortgage loans held on an originating depository 
     institution's portfolio, and for other purposes. All points 
     of order against consideration of the bill are waived. An 
     amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the 
     text of Rules Committee Print 114-34 shall be considered as 
     adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. 
     All points of order against provisions in the bill, as 
     amended, are waived. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any 
     further amendment thereto, to final passage without 
     intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally 
     divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on Financial Services; (2) the 
     further amendment printed in part A of the report of the 
     Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, if offered 
     by Representative Norcross of New Jersey or his designee, 
     which shall be in order without intervention of any point of 
     order, shall be considered as read, shall be separately 
     debatable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by 
     the proponent and an opponent, and shall not be subject to a 
     demand for division of the question; and (3) one motion to 
     recommit with or without instructions.
       Sec. 2.  At any time after adoption of this resolution the 
     Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare 
     the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on 
     the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 
     3189) to amend the Federal Reserve Act to establish 
     requirements for policy rules and blackout periods of the 
     Federal Open Market Committee, to establish requirements for 
     certain activities of the Board of Governors of the Federal 
     Reserve System, and to amend title 31, United States Code, to 
     reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the 
     Federal Reserve System is audited, and for other purposes. 
     The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All 
     points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. 
     General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not 
     exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair 
     and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial 
     Services. After general debate the bill shall be considered 
     for amendment under the five-minute rule. In lieu of the 
     amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the 
     Committee on Financial Services now printed in the bill, an 
     amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the 
     text of Rules Committee Print 114-35, modified by the 
     amendment printed in part B of the report of the Committee on 
     Rules accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as 
     adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. The 
     bill, as amended, shall be considered as the original bill 
     for the purpose of further amendment under the five-minute 
     rule and shall be considered as read. All points of order 
     against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. No 
     further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order 
     except those printed in part C of the report of the Committee 
     on Rules. Each such further amendment may be offered only in 
     the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a 
     Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, 
     shall be debatable for the time specified in the report 
     equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an 
     opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be 
     subject to a demand for division of the question in the House 
     or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against 
     such further amendments are waived. At the conclusion of 
     consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall 
     rise and report the bill, as amended, to the House with such 
     further amendments as may have been adopted. The previous 
     question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as 
     amended, and any further amendment thereto to final passage 
     without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with 
     or without instructions.
       Sec. 3.  On any legislative day during the period from 
     November 20, 2015, through November 27, 2015--
        (a) the Journal of the proceedings of the previous day 
     shall be considered as approved; and
       (b) the Chair may at any time declare the House adjourned 
     to meet at a date and time, within the limits of clause 4, 
     section 5, article I of the Constitution, to be announced by 
     the Chair in declaring the adjournment.
       Sec. 4.  The Speaker may appoint Members to perform the 
     duties of the Chair for the duration of the period addressed 
     by section 3 of this resolution as though under clause 8(a) 
     of rule I.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Ohio is recognized for 1 
hour.
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), 
pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During 
consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose 
of debate only.


                             General Leave

  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the Rules Committee met and 
reported a rule for H.R. 1210, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage 
Access Act, and H.R. 3189, the Fed Oversight Reform and Modernization 
Act of 2015. House Resolution 529 provides a structured rule for 
consideration of H.R. 1210 and H.R. 3189.
  The resolution provides 1 hour of debate equally divided between the 
chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial 
Services for H.R. 1210 and for H.R. 3189. The resolution provides for 
the consideration of one amendment to H.R. 1210 and consideration of 
six amendments to H.R. 3189. The resolution also provides a motion to 
recommit for each bill. In addition, the rule provides the normal 
recess authorities to allow the chair to manage pro forma sessions 
during next week's district work period.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the resolution and the 
underlying legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, as you know, the 2008 financial crisis was caused, in 
part, by the subprime lending meltdown. Financial institutions would 
originate loans. They would sell off 100 percent of those loans with no 
skin in the game to some investment party, a third party, and they 
would keep their fee. But they wouldn't keep any of the risk.
  This led to a lot of loans to individuals and families that had an 
inability to repay those loans, and that resulted in our crisis. The 
bottom line was these institutions had no skin in the game.
  The situation became so egregious that, at one point, there was a 
term in the industry called a NINJA loan. NINJA stood for no income, no 
job, no assets.
  Borrowers across the country were being given loans by loan 
originators. Those originators knew they were impossible to repay, but 
the originators didn't care because they took their fee and had no skin 
in the game.
  When the borrowers began to default on these loans, banks and others 
holding these mortgages began to lose tremendous amounts of assets, 
which precipitated the financial collapse.
  In response, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act, which reforms 
mortgage lending and makes a lot of changes. One of those is around the 
ability to repay.
  The Dodd-Frank statute created a category of loans called qualified 
mortgages that are deemed to comply with

[[Page 18421]]

the law's ability-to-repay requirements. It provided a safe harbor from 
lawsuits, and it made sure that that safe harbor also covered 
regulatory action, provided that those loans met certain 
characteristics and underwriting criteria.
  While it is important that we ensure the creditworthiness of 
potential homeowners and home buyers to avoid repeating our past 
mistakes, the current regulatory environment has unnecessarily 
restrained mortgage lending and has made it difficult for some 
creditworthy borrowers to obtain a loan. The bottom line of this crisis 
was that it was created by no skin in the game.
  The Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act would provide much-
needed regulatory relief and allow consumers to buy a home and ensure 
not only that there is some skin in the game--there is 100 percent skin 
in the game. The banks and institutions that make these portfolio loans 
have 100 percent skin in the game. They lose dollar one when the loans 
go bad.
  This bill provides that, when residential mortgages are held by that 
originator, the bank, if they hold them in their portfolio as opposed 
to being sold into the secondary market, they will be considered a 
qualified mortgage for the purpose of ability to repay.
  It will make sure that more financial institutions have an incentive 
to make loans to individuals and the requirement for making those loans 
will be to take the entire risk, not pass that risk on to some un-named 
third-party investor, but keep that risk in their portfolio.
  That is why it is called the Portfolio Lending Act. They will have 
100 percent of the skin in the game. This legislation will also help 
borrowers gain access to mortgages that they badly need.
  H.R. 3189, the Fed Oversight Reform and Modernization Act, pulls back 
the curtain at the Federal Reserve and makes it more accountable and 
transparent to the American people. The Federal Reserve has more power 
and responsibility today than ever before, and that is precisely why 
this law is so important. The institution needs to be modernized, and 
the decisions they make need to be transparent and predictable to the 
marketplace.
  The FORM Act, as it is called, requires the Federal Reserve to 
transparently communicate its monetary policy decisions to the American 
people. It does not require them to choose any one method.
  Some people talk a lot about the so-called Taylor rule. This bill 
does not require the Federal Reserve to use the Taylor rule or any 
other process. It just requires that, when they make decisions, they 
need to make that decision and the reasons behind it transparent to the 
American people and explain how they make their decisions. Whether they 
use a rule or whether they use some other process, it needs to be 
transparent.
  This bill also requires the Federal Reserve to conduct a cost-benefit 
analysis that every other Federal agency already has to comply with so 
that we know whether the costs of complying with the regulations exceed 
or are less than the benefits of those regulations. It is simple common 
sense. Other agencies use this cost-benefit analysis today.
  The FORM Act protects the Federal Reserve's independence, as it 
requires the Federal Reserve to generate a monetary strategy of their 
own choosing, but requires them to give more accounting of their 
actions and transparency to their actions. The bill ensures that the 
American people understand how the Federal Reserve makes the decisions 
they make and why they make the decisions they make.
  Mr. Speaker, I know that I, along with many of our colleagues in the 
House, have believed for a long time that we should audit the Federal 
Reserve. I am pleased to inform my colleagues that this legislation 
requires an audit of the Fed, and it contains provisions that remove 
restrictions placed on the GAO's ability to conduct an audit of the 
Federal Reserve. It directs the GAO, in fact, to conduct an audit of 
the Federal Reserve within 12 months of enactment and requires the GAO 
to report to Congress within 90 days of completion of that audit.
  As the Federal Reserve plays an outsized role in the health of our 
Nation's economy, it is imperative that we make sure that their opaque 
structure is made transparent so the American people understand the 
decisions the Federal Reserve makes and why they make them because it 
has such an incredible impact on our economy.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to debating these bills with our 
colleagues in the House as well as the amendments yet to come, and I 
would ask adoption of both the underlying bills and support of the 
underlying bills.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I thank the gentleman, my friend from Ohio, for yielding me the 
customary 30 minutes for debate.
  I rise today, Mr. Speaker, in opposition to this rule, which provides 
for consideration of both H.R. 1210, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage 
Access Act, and H.R. 3189, the Fed Oversight Reform and Modernization 
Act of 2015.
  As the first matter of business, I would like to recognize that 
yesterday's rule, H. Res. 526, marked the 45th closed rule of this 
congressional session, making it the most closed session in history.

                              {time}  1245

  I join my colleagues in the minority in their distaste for this 
closed and exclusive process and echo their calls to Speaker Ryan to 
maintain his pledge to usher in a more transparent and open debate 
process that includes input from Members of both parties.
  Very occasionally I talk about when I first came to Congress in 1993. 
The radio at that time was hammering those who were perpetrating closed 
rules. My party was in the majority and was being rightly, in my 
opinion, accused in that regard. I didn't know what a closed rule was. 
I didn't come here and start on this committee. But now that I have had 
a considerable amount of experience on this committee, I have come to 
believe that it is wrong for either party in the majority to conduct a 
process that disallows Members in this body from having an opportunity 
to participate in refining the underlying bills that come here for our 
consideration.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1210 seeks to amend the Truth in Lending Act to 
provide that depository institution creditors be subject to a legal 
safe harbor for mortgage loans meeting specified limitations that, 
since origination, have been held on the institution's balance sheet. 
The bill would extend this legal safe harbor to mortgage originators 
that steer borrowers to a nonqualified mortgage loan if the originator 
and borrower are notified that the lender intends to hold the loan in 
its portfolio.
  We have seen firsthand the consequences that ensue when underwriting 
standards are virtually abandoned by both large and small lenders. This 
phenomenon, which contributed to the financial crisis and a bank 
bailout to the tune of $700 billion in taxpayer money, enabled 
predatory lenders to offer loans, the terms of which individuals could 
not afford or, worse, incentivize their brokers to steer families into 
more expensive loans, even when they qualified for lower rates and a 
standard mortgage product. African American and Latino borrowers and 
single persons were disproportionately affected by these bad loans.
  This legislation would eliminate effective reforms that require 
lenders to verify a consumer's ability to repay and would allow lenders 
to once again steer families into the same risky mortgage products with 
the same predatory practices that destroyed the savings and investments 
of American families a few short years ago.
  Today's rule also allows for consideration of H.R. 3189, the Fed 
Oversight Reform and Modernization Act. This bill will fundamentally 
change the way the Federal Reserve implements monetary policy. In doing 
so, this bill will change the current proven nonpartisan approach to 
monetary policy the Fed currently embraces and will replace it with a 
rule-based and politically partisan regime.
  H.R. 3189 will tie the hands of the Federal Reserve whose objective 
with

[[Page 18422]]

regard to monetary policy is to maximize employment, stabilize prices, 
and moderate long-term interest rates. This legislation will require 
the Fed to engage in a rulemaking to provide a ridged mathematical 
formula for setting the interest rate. This notion is not only bad 
policy that will prevent the Fed from acting swiftly and nimbly to 
address a potential financial crisis, but Fed Chair Janet Yellen has 
stated that it ``would be a grave mistake for the Federal Reserve to 
commit to conduct monetary policy according to a mathematical rule.''
  Additionally, this bill will create a partisan commission, with twice 
as many Republican Members as Democrats, to review the Federal Reserve 
monetary policy and make changes to its current vital role in 
determining that policy. The objectives of the Fed and the policy 
behind our money supply are much too important to be subjected to 
political pressure from a partisan commission.
  This legislation will do serious harm to the Federal Reserve, leading 
us down a path of politicizing monetary policy and hamstringing the 
agency with onerous and unnecessary rulemakings.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would like to address, Mr. Speaker, a couple of the gentleman from 
Florida's points about the process.
  Under our new Speaker, we have had five rules. Four have been 
structured, and let's look at today's rule.
  All of the germane amendments were made in order. In fact, to H.R. 
1210, there is one amendment, and it is a Democratic amendment; to H.R. 
3189, there are six amendments, and four are Democratic amendments. 
That is 75 percent of the amendments are Democratic amendments. That is 
a pretty open process. I am leaving out the fact that we also allow for 
a motion to recommit to each of the bills.
  Mr. HASTINGS. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. STIVERS. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. HASTINGS. My question to you is, even though the germane 
amendments were made in order, under the structured rule, am I correct 
that other Members of the House of Representatives who did not, at the 
time, file an amendment before the Rules Committee that you and I 
serve, that they are precluded? That is basically what I am arguing.
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, to the gentleman from Florida's point, it 
is true that, with a structured rule, somebody can't walk in off the 
street, a Member of Congress, that didn't come to the Rules Committee, 
and come up with an amendment right now that they are writing on a 
napkin and bring it in here.
  But we did have an open process. We published the deadline, and we 
accepted not only ones that met the deadline, but late amendments. In 
fact, I think, of the amendments that we made in order, five of the 
seven amendments made in order today were actually filed late, so we 
did allow late amendments. That is off the top of my head. We will 
double-check the facts on five, but it was several of the amendments 
that were even filed late, we allowed.
  It is true, though, that somebody can't just walk right in here. It 
is not an open rule. It is a structured rule. So you can't just walk in 
the day of the floor hearing in about 45 minutes and offer an amendment 
that nobody has ever seen before. So I understand the gentleman's 
point.
  Mr. HASTINGS. Will the gentleman continue to yield?
  Mr. STIVERS. I yield again to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. HASTINGS. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  My ultimate point was that in this year, we have had 45 closed rules 
and, clearly, Members are precluded. That 45, I might add, has been 
achieved in this year, and that is more than in the previous session of 
Congress. That is the point I wish to make.
  Mr. STIVERS. I appreciate the gentleman making his point.
  Mr. Speaker, my point is, under the new Speaker, we have only had one 
closed rule.
  Will we occasionally have a closed rule? Yes. When the other party 
was in charge, they had closed rules all the time, too. Closed rules 
will happen occasionally, but we will have an open process. I think 
having four out of five as structured rules is a pretty good 
measurement for the brand-new Speaker in our new day that we are 
experiencing.
  I appreciate the gentleman's point, but the point is we are making 
the process more open. It may not be to the gentleman's liking, Mr. 
Speaker, but we are attempting to make the process more open and will 
continue to work on that.
  I do want to make a couple of points, and then I will reserve the 
balance of my time.
  With regard to the charge that somehow in H.R. 1210 this will result 
in risky mortgage loans--and that is why I went through the history of 
the crisis where people took a fee, securitized the loan. They 
privatized gains and socialized losses for the taxpayers to cover. The 
only way this portfolio lending bill works is if these lenders hold 
these loans in their own portfolio and take 100 percent of the downside 
risk. That is not placing it on anybody else. That was one of the 
reforms that was put in place, and Dodd-Frank was skin in the game. I 
can't think of anything more than 100 percent skin in the game. We 
think that will ensure that nobody privatizes the gains and socializes 
the losses, and we think it is a reasonable step to allow people to get 
access to mortgages where somebody is willing to put their own money at 
risk.
  With regard to the charge that this is going to somehow tie the 
Federal Reserve's hands in H.R. 3189, this bill is about transparency 
and accountability. It is making sure the Federal Reserve communicates 
whatever they use. If they want to use a Magic 8 Ball, they just have 
to tell everybody, ``Hey, we are using a Magic 8 Ball.''
  I think there is nothing wrong with transparency. Transparency is 
great for the American economy, and it is great for the American 
people. The gentleman was just making the argument about how we need to 
be more open and transparent, and I think we need to demand it of the 
Federal Reserve.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record Statements of Administration 
Policy.

                   Statement of Administration Policy


          H.R. 1210--Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act

                       (Rep. Barr, R-KY, Nov. 17)

       As a result of the Ability-to-Repay rules issued by the 
     Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pursuant to the Truth 
     in Lending Act, American consumers are protected against 
     harmful mortgage products and abusive lending practices that 
     were common in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Among 
     other protections, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's 
     Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule requires a lender to make a good 
     faith effort to determine that a borrower has the ability to 
     repay a mortgage, and that the loan does not include 
     excessive upfront points and fees. The final rule also 
     contains special provisions and exemptions that are available 
     only to small lenders or to small lenders that operate 
     predominantly in rural or underserved areas.
       H.R. 1210 would broaden the definition of qualified 
     mortgages--those that qualify for the safe harbor--to include 
     all mortgages held on a lender's balance sheet. Under the 
     bill, depository institutions that hold a loan in portfolio 
     would receive a legal safe harbor even if the loan contains 
     terms and features that are abusive and harmful to consumers. 
     The bill would limit the right of borrowers to file claims 
     against holders of such loans and against mortgage 
     originators who directed them to the loans. H.R. 1210 also 
     would open the door to risky lending by allowing balloon 
     loans made in any geographic area to qualify for the safe 
     harbor as long as they are held in portfolio.
       The Administration strongly opposes this bill because it 
     would undermine critical consumer protections by exempting 
     all depository financial institutions, large and small, from 
     QM standards--including very basic standards like verifying a 
     consumer's income--as long as the mortgage loans in question 
     are held in portfolio by the institution. This bill would 
     undermine the essential protections provided under the 
     Qualified Mortgage rule. The Congressional Budget Office 
     estimates that the mortgages offered legal protections under 
     the bill would likely default at a greater rate than the 
     qualified mortgages with current legal protections.

[[Page 18423]]

       For these reasons, if the President were presented with 
     H.R. 1210, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto 
     the bill.
                                  ____


                   Statement of Administration Policy


     H.R. 3189--Fed Oversight Reform and Modernization Act of 2015

                  (Rep. Huizenga, R-MI, Nov. 17, 2015)

       H.R. 3189 would establish requirements for policy rules, 
     codify blackout periods of the Federal Open Market Committee, 
     establish a cost-benefit requirement for other rulemakings by 
     the Federal Reserve Board, and establish numerous, burdensome 
     reporting requirements for the Federal Reserve Board and its 
     members. The Administration therefore strongly opposes H.R. 
     3189.
       The Federal Reserve is an independent entity designed to be 
     free from political pressures, and its independence is key to 
     its credibility and its ability to act in the long-term 
     interest of the Nation's economic health. One of the most 
     problematic provisions in the bill would require the 
     Comptroller General to audit the conduct of monetary policy 
     by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market 
     Committee. The operations of the Federal Reserve are already 
     subject to numerous audit requirements that ensure it is 
     accountable to the Congress and the American people. The only 
     aspect of the Federal Reserve's operations not subject to 
     audit is its monetary policy decision-making, and for good 
     reason. Subjecting the Federal Reserve's exercise of monetary 
     policy authority to audits based on political whims of 
     members of the Congress--of either party--threatens one of 
     the central pillars of the Nation's financial system and 
     economy, and would almost certainly have negative impacts on 
     the Federal Reserve's work to promote price stability and 
     full employment.
       H.R. 3189 also would impose numerous, burdensome 
     requirements for the Federal Reserve Board rulemaking 
     authorities, including the imposition of a duplicative 
     requirement that the Federal Reserve Board undertake a 
     proscriptive cost-benefit analysis and a post-adoption impact 
     assessment when promulgating rules. When a Federal agency, 
     including an independent agency such as the Federal Reserve, 
     promulgates a regulation, the agency must adhere to the 
     robust substantive and procedural requirements of Federal 
     law, including the Administrative Procedure Act, the 
     Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, and 
     the Congressional Review Act, among other statutes. 
     Additionally, Executive Order 13579 encourages independent 
     regulatory agencies to conduct reasoned cost-benefit 
     analysis, engage in public participation to the extent 
     feasible, and conduct a systematic retrospective review of 
     regulations. The provisions in this bill, therefore, would 
     create unnecessary, duplicative, and onerous requirements for 
     an entity tasked with ensuring the financial safety and 
     soundness of the Nation's financial system.
       In addition, the bill would add a number of procedural 
     hurdles that would impede the Federal Reserve's ability to 
     engage with international regulatory bodies and divert its 
     resources to unnecessary reporting requirements. These 
     provisions, along with provisions imposing parallel 
     notification and consultation requirements on several other 
     Executive Branch entities, could impair the President's 
     exercise of his exclusive constitutional authority to conduct 
     the Nation's diplomatic relations.
       If the President were presented with H.R. 3189, his senior 
     advisors would recommend that he veto the bill.

  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I am trying to help us to get to a time 
constraint and, unfortunately, on either side we don't have a lot of 
speakers. Therefore, I would not ordinarily have done anything other 
than include in the Record Statements of Administration Policy. But to 
try to help us meet our deadline, what is said in the Statement of 
Administration Policy, H.R. 1210, Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access 
Act, is:
  ``As a result of the Ability-to-Repay rules issued by the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau, pursuant to the Truth in Lending Act, 
American consumers are protected against harmful mortgage products and 
abusive lending practices that were common in the run-up to the 2008 
financial crisis. Among other protections, the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau's qualified mortgage rule requires a lender to make a 
good faith effort to determine that a borrower has the ability to repay 
a mortgage, and that the loan does not include excessive upfront points 
and fees. The final rule also contains special provisions and 
exemptions that are available only to small lenders or to small lenders 
that operate predominantly in rural and underserved areas.''
  Skipping one paragraph, getting to the heart of what the 
administration says:
  ``The Administration strongly opposes this bill because it would 
undermine critical consumer protections by exempting all depository 
financial institutions, large and small, from QM standards--including 
very basic standards like verifying a consumer's income--as long as the 
mortgage loans in question are held in portfolio by the institution. 
This bill would undermine the essential protections provided under the 
qualified mortgage rule. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 
the mortgages offered legal protections under the bill would likely 
default at a greater rate than the qualified mortgages with current 
legal protections.
  ``For these reasons, if the President were presented with H.R. 1210, 
his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill.''
  Mr. Speaker, not to belabor the point that my good friend from Ohio 
and I were speaking about with reference to rules, I join him in saying 
that the new Speaker at least has had only one closed rule. But I would 
remind him, of the 45 closed rules that we had previously, the new 
Speaker voted for every one of those closed rules. So if it is a 
precursor of what is to come, we will have to judge that in the future.
  Now, as to H.R. 3189, the administration says--and I will cut to the 
heart of the matter:
  ``H.R. 3189 also would impose numerous, burdensome requirements for 
the Federal Reserve Board rulemaking authorities, including the 
imposition of a duplicative requirement that the Federal Reserve Board 
undertake a proscriptive cost-benefit analysis and a post-adoption 
impact assessment when promulgating rules.''

                              {time}  1300

  When a Federal agency, including an independent agency such as the 
Federal Reserve, promulgates a regulation, the agency must adhere to 
the robust act--the Regulatory Flexibility Act--the Paperwork Reduction 
Act, and the Congressional Review Act, among other statutes. 
Additionally, Executive Order No. 13579 encourages independent 
regulatory agencies to conduct reasoned cost-benefit analyses, to 
engage in public participation to the extent feasible, and to conduct a 
systematic, retrospective review of regulations.
  The provisions in this bill, referring to H.R. 3189, would therefore 
create unnecessary, duplicative, and onerous requirements for an entity 
tasked with ensuring the financial safety and soundness of the Nation's 
financial system. In addition, the bill would add a number of 
procedural hurdles that would impede the Federal Reserve's ability to 
engage within our national regulatory bodies and divert its resources 
to unnecessary reporting requirements.
  In addition and at the heart of the matter, the bill would add a 
number of procedural hurdles that are too numerous for me to mention at 
this time. These provisions, along with provisions imposing parallel 
notification and consultation requirements on several other executive 
branch entities, could impair the President's exercise of his exclusive 
constitutional authority to conduct the Nation's diplomatic relations.
  Again, if the President were presented with H.R. 3189, his senior 
advisers would recommend that he veto the bill.
  As I have said time and again, far too much important work still 
remains. In fact, Congress has only 9 legislative days before the 
December 11 deadline to avert yet another Republican government 
shutdown and pass an omnibus spending bill. The clock is ticking. Quite 
frankly, this Nation cannot afford to shut down once again due to my 
friends'--the House Republicans--continued manufactured crisis.
  The American people need and deserve better; so I urge my colleagues 
to vote ``no'' on the rule.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I thank the gentleman from Florida for this civil debate on the rule.
  I will remind my colleagues that these two bills are about reform and 
transparency. H.R. 1210 is reform that

[[Page 18424]]

will give more people access to mortgages and, at the same time, will 
require that these lenders have 100 percent skin in the game. H.R. 3189 
is about transparency and accountability for the Federal Reserve to 
make sure they tell the American people how they make the decisions 
that they make. These are reasonable bills, important bills.
  I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the 
previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Poe of Texas). The question is on the 
resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 243, 
nays 184, not voting 6, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 634]

                               YEAS--243

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Babin
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Benishek
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Bridenstine
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Clawson (FL)
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Dold
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers (NC)
     Emmer (MN)
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Garrett
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guinta
     Guthrie
     Hanna
     Hardy
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Heck (NV)
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Hill
     Holding
     Hudson
     Huelskamp
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd (TX)
     Hurt (VA)
     Issa
     Jenkins (KS)
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jolly
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     Knight
     Labrador
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Massie
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Neugebauer
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Pittenger
     Pitts
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price, Tom
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rice (SC)
     Rigell
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney (FL)
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce
     Russell
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Stefanik
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Stutzman
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Young (IN)
     Zeldin
     Zinke
       
       

                               NAYS--184

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Ashford
     Bass
     Beatty
     Becerra
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardenas
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Duckworth
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Esty
     Farr
     Fattah
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Graham
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Hastings
     Heck (WA)
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinojosa
     Honda
     Huffman
     Israel
     Jackson Lee
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Kuster
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham (NM)
     Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rangel
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Speier
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth
       

                             NOT VOTING--6

     DeFazio
     Fleming
     Hoyer
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Ruppersberger
     Takai

                              {time}  1341

  Mr. WELCH changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  So the resolution was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________