Washington, DC -  Today, Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) will vote in favor of H.R. 1728 – the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act.  The bill would outlaw many of the egregious industry practices that marked the subprime lending boom, and it would prevent borrowers from deliberately misstating their income to qualify for a loan.  Below are Congressman Dingell’s remarks on the bill as prepared for delivery on the House floor:

“Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1728, the “Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act.” Risky lending practices, combined with the consequent securitization of mortgages, ultimately brought a violent end to the housing bubble and left the United States with a constricted credit market not seen in generations.  In short, simple avarice and an inexcusable disregard for the long-term health of the mortgage market gave rise to the economic crisis in which this Nation presently finds itself mired.

“Just as our predecessors did in the wake of the Great Depression, we, too, must enact laws to ensure transparency in our economy and prevent the recurrence of practices that have left millions of Americans facing foreclosure.  H.R. 1728 is but one of several essential means by which to achieve that end.  This legislation, by requiring the licensing and registration of mortgage originators and proof of a borrower’s ability to repay a home loan, will serve to impede – and hopefully altogether prevent – the irresponsible home lending practices that have in great part crippled the economy of my home state of Michigan, which, with one foreclosed home for every 136, has the sixth-highest foreclosure rate in the nation.

“Although politically expedient to focus our ire over the current economic crisis on insalubrious actors in the financial services sector and making them the target of punitive legislation, we must not lose sight of the necessity of providing consumers adequate protection from predatory lenders.  H.R. 1728 recognizes this by prohibiting any compensation structure that could cause a loan originator to steer applicants toward costlier mortgages, providing a grace period for tenants before eviction from their homes, and creating an Office of Housing Counseling within the Department of Housing and Urban Development to educate consumers about what some might term as the Byzantine inner-workings of the housing market.

“I am proud to support passage of this legislation and urge my colleagues to do so as well.  Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time.”