OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005

Date: Oct. 27, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Housing and Property


FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE REFORM ACT OF 2005 -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 27, 2005)

SPEECH OF
HON. MARK GREEN
OF WISCONSIN
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill. (H.R. 1461) to reform the regulation of certain housing-related Government-sponsored enterprises, and for other purposes:

Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Chairman, I supported Chairman Oxley's Manager's Amendment to H.R. 1461, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005, because it maintains progress on several key issues Congress has been working on this session. I was pleased to see that the manager's amendment gave the victims of Hurricane Katrina priority in receiving grants from the Affordable Housing Fund for the first two years after its inception. I continue to urge my colleagues to look for ways to ease the burden of recovery that currently rests on the taxpayers. I also support the sunset provision of this amendment so that a future Congress can revisit this issue and again evaluate the needs of affordable housing recipients. Finally, I would like to express my full support for the ability of non-profit organizations to compete for the funds created by H.R. 1461.

I agree that there must be full oversight of the groups receiving grants from the Affordable Trust Fund, and that no dollars from the fund may be used for lobbying, travel, or election activities. However, I do have concerns that some of the language included in the manager's amendment was overly broad. Some have argued that the amendment may prohibit groups like Catholic Charities, Lutheran Services in America, and Habitat for Humanity from receiving Affordable Trust Fund grants. I would strongly urge House conferees to revisit and narrow the language included in this amendment so that these organizations, along with other well-meaning non-profit groups, can access the funds and grow their affordable housing programs.

http://thomas.loc.gov

arrow_upward