Helping Families Save Their Homes Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1106.

The poison pill in this legislation is the cramdown provision. And the cramdown provision will create uncertainty in our credit markets at the very time that we are trying to stabilize our financial system. It will significantly raise the cost of borrowing, not just for Americans who are trying to refinance their homes, but for all future American homeowners. It will significantly raise the cost of borrowing because it will create a risk premium that lenders will have to place on these loans, knowing full well that if the value of the property goes down, then they will take a loss. But the legislation also creates a fiction that if the value of the property rises, that the lenders will be able to recover some of those losses.

This cramdown provision is wrong for restoring our credit markets and it is wrong for the millions of future homeowners across this country who will be forced to pay more for those who will be able to use our court system to pay less.

I would encourage a ``no'' vote on this legislation.

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