Jeb Hensarling

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), the chair of the Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Michigan.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Trott), a member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my friend and colleague from Minnesota restating, in his motion to recommit, what is essentially already current law; but, unfortunately, he adds on yet one more form for community financial institutions to fill out on top of the 18.7 gazillion forms they already have to fill out, the cost of which ultimately is imposed upon those who are trying to find credit and find affordable credit. And I would remind the gentleman from Minnesota again, every single financial institution impacted by H.R. 2954 still must submit HMDA data. They are still subject to HMDA. For the third time, they are still subject to HMDA. And I am sure that all will be glad to hear Federal regulators still have statutory authority to take any formal enforcement actions against entities for violations of the laws or rules. But why, when we are trying to make it easier for the least of these to buy a home, are we trying to, instead, my friends on the other side of the aisle, make it more difficult by adding yet more forms, forms that also say: Do you know what? Even though this is America, you are guilty until proven innocent. That is a whole different argument, and I wish we had time to develop it here today, Mr. Speaker. But here is what we need to do. We need to make sure that struggling, hardworking Americans have homeownership opportunities, and the regulatory burden that came out of the previous administration is making it more difficult. So, now, to think that we would double the HMDA requirement data--double--for our smallest financial institutions that are fighting for survival, that are trying to help our constituents buy homes is unthinkable; to add yet one more Federal law, one more Federal form on top of all the others that we have, is just unfathomable. It is unthinkable. It will only harm those whom we are trying to help, and I would urge all Members to reject the motion to recommit. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating listening to my friends on the other side of the aisle. It is fascinating because they tell us they want to protect the single mothers. They tell us they want to protect the people of color. They tell us they want to help and protect the poor, but they are protecting them out of their home ownership opportunities. Because of the increased HMDA compliance on our smallest community financial institutions, they are ceasing to make these loans. But they will sleep well tonight in their apartments and in their rental homes, knowing that my good friends on the other side of the aisle protect them out of their ability to finally realize their portion of the American Dream and have that shot at home ownership. Mr. Speaker, how many people have to lose their home ownership opportunities due to the onslaught of the onerous Federal regulations? What is fascinating about this debate is that what they would discover is that HMDA is still the law of the land. Again, I would encourage my friends to actually read the bill. I think it is 3 pages long; maybe 3\1/2\ pages long. HMDA doesn't go away if we enact H.R. 2954. But what it says is that for our smallest financial institutions, the HMDA requirements, the doubling of HMDA requirements, the increased burden, will not be placed on our smallest financial institutions, as we are losing one every single day. As we lose them, we lose that credit opportunity for the least of these that my friends, I know in their heart, want to help, but they are not helping them. Listen to those who are actually trying to make these loans. By the way, I don't know of a successful business model for any bank that says: You know what? I am going to make more money if I don't lend it to you. If I refuse to make loans, if I refuse to serve my community, if I practice active racism, that will be good for my bottom line. I am not seeing it in the Fifth District of Texas, and I highly suspect that it is difficult to find in the United States of America in the 21st century. So I hear from the community banker in Nebraska, who says: Go to any community bank reporting HMDA and have them sit down and watch bank staff review a loan file. Then document the data showing how difficult it is to prevent errors. This bank got out of the business of loaning. They said: We don't need the ulcers created by such stress from the fear of the regulators. I heard from a community bank in Oklahoma that said: Because of Dodd-Frank, we no longer offer-purchase house loans. We are servicing only the ones we have on the books. Thank you Dodd-Frank and HMDA. May I have another. I heard from a community bank in Nevada that said: The mortgage regulations intended to help the consumer have been particularly harmful. My bank is a very small community bank servicing communities in rural Nevada. We used to do quite a bit of residential mortgage lending, but hardly any now, due to the restrictive regulations. So, again, I would just ask that my friends on the other side of the aisle open up both their hearts and their heads and see how many people are being hurt by the cumulative impact of this regulatory tsunami hitting those who loan the money to the least of these to make sure that they can achieve their version of the American Dream. And where was all the angst, Mr. Speaker? Where was all the angst? My friends on the other side of the aisle talk about statistics. Well, here is a statistic that comes from the Federal Reserve: When the qualified mortgage rule of the CFPB is fully implemented, 30 percent fewer Blacks and Hispanics, people of color, will be able to get mortgages versus 2010. There is a statistic. And I would say, Mr. Speaker, perhaps that is even a more valuable statistic when it comes to looking at the increased HMDA burden placed by the CFPB on our community financial institutions. Maybe that is a more important statistic than even the 20-some-odd new fields of HMDA data that CFPB is requiring on the smallest banks and credit unions in America. My friends on the other side of the aisle say: Oh, we care about the plight of these community banks. Well, why are we still losing one a day, and why do you tell us that you care about their plight and their ability to loan money but you don't vote with us? Fortunately, some Members on the other side of the aisle in the other body over my shoulder, Mr. Speaker--there is actually a bipartisan bill in the Senate that does exactly what H.R. 2954 does. I am very happy to say that it was a bipartisan bill coming out of the Financial Services Committee, also enjoying some Democratic support. But, again, I just don't think my friends who are debating now have read the bill. I encourage them to read the bill, and every Member ought to support H.R. 2954 and support the opportunity to buy a home in the American Dream. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I am now very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas), a member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 693, I call up the bill (H.R. 2954) to amend the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 to specify which depository institutions are subject to the maintenance of records and disclosure requirements of such Act, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds to say that it was a most interesting and passionate speech that my colleague gave. I have some good news for him. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution are not repealed by this bill, and neither is HMDA. HMDA is not repealed. Even the new CFPB regulations that double the data of HMDA are not repeal. I would urge the gentleman from Minnesota to actually read the bill, which happens to be four pages long, and he would find out that a current--a current--exemption that exists under current law for our smallest financial institutions that are trying to make loans to the very people he claims he wants to protect, that is slightly enlarged. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), who is the majority whip of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Luetkemeyer), the chairman of our Financial Services' Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tipton), the vice chairman of our Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Emmer), a very valuable member of our committee and the sponsor of the legislation.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today in support of H.R. 2954, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act. H.R. 2954, which was introduced by the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Emmer), a very hardworking member of the Financial Services Committee, is a very important piece of legislation that will provide much-needed regulatory relief for our community banks and credit unions from onerous CFPB regulations that are impeding their ability to make home loans to our constituents. On January 1 of this year, draconian changes went into effect related to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act known as HMDA. These changes, which were mandated by Dodd-Frank and blindly implemented by the CFPB, radically expanded the information that lenders are required to collect, record, and report about mortgage applications and loans. But like many things the CFPB is involved in, the rule went far, far beyond what was originally intended by Congress, and effects have far-reaching and negative consequences on community financial institutions and home buyers. To be more specific, the CFPB's updated HMDA rule now requires financial institutions to collect 48--48--unique, different data fields on each mortgage loan they make. This is more than double--double--the number, Mr. Speaker, of data fields lenders were required to collect before the rule went into effect. Now, as if adding 25--two dozen--more data fields weren't enough, the CFPB rule also modified 20 of the 23 existing fields in this constant, constant changing of the regulatory scheme to fit the narrative of regulators rather than focus on the cost and benefits to our constituents of existing statutes. Mr. Speaker, again, the constant changing of this regulatory scheme, the increased complexity and cost, we do not fully appreciate the impact on our community financial institutions, and we do not fully appreciate how this is impeding the success and growth of our community financial institutions in the communities we represent. You don't have to take my word for it, Mr. Speaker. A community banker in Kansas has said that: ``As crazy as it seems, our current HMDA process includes four people verifying HMDA data on each loan.'' Mr. Speaker, that was before the changes we are discussing today. According to that same community banker, who is trying to fund homes in his local community, doubling the number of data fields, as required in the CFPB's HMDA rule, ``will almost be overwhelming for a bank such as ours.'' As a community banker from Nebraska has stated: ``All the new mortgage lending rules have made it almost impossible to provide timely service to our local customers.'' So home buyers are feeling this effect, Mr. Speaker. As one community banker from Ohio explained, he was working with a woman who recently went through the tragedy of divorce. She was trying to refinance her home in order to make ends meet. But after filing mountains and mountains of paperwork and wading through all the different forms, she looked up at the banker and said: ``Jim, just tell me it will be okay.'' As Jim put it: ``At that point, I realized just how overwhelming all the forms and disclosures were to a customer.'' Sadly, we all have--the lawmakers, the regulators, and the bankers-- forgotten the most important item in this entire process: the customer. This community banker is right, Mr. Speaker. Our local financial institutions, our community banks, our smallest financial institutions especially, they have to spend less time in resources meeting Washington's complex, burdensome, onerous paperwork requirements. Instead, we need to give them more freedom to do what they do best, and that is to help people in their communities get into homes they can actually afford to keep. But doubling--doubling--HMDA data requirements needlessly-- needlessly--makes home buying more expensive, more confusing, and more difficult for the very people that we should be trying to help. Home buyers like April from Kentucky wrote that the process to get a home: ``Is almost impossible and extremely frustrating.'' Or a home buyer from Michigan by the name of Rob, who explained: ``The very people this was supposed to be helpful to, lower income working Americans, have been the parties most devastated by the overreach.'' And that is exactly what this is, Mr. Speaker, overreach. And it is not only these individuals, but even charities--great charities like Habitat for Humanity, who said: ``Thanks to the CFPB's burdensome regulations and rules, charities such as Habitat that provide these loans have found it more difficult to do their important work.'' H.R. 2954, from the gentleman from Minnesota, simply addresses the fact that in order to make home loans, small financial institutions should not and cannot afford to keep pace with the massive laws that disregard their businesses, their business models, and create an uneven playing field. Mr. Speaker, for this reason and for the others I have stated, I urge all colleagues to help struggling would-be home buyers in our districts and to support H.R. 2954. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk), who is another hardworking member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Georgia an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 10 seconds just to say when my colleague on the other side of the aisle talks about meaningful participation, not one single amendment was offered by my Democratic friends. It was a perfect bill. It passed 60-0. I would also point out the only leverage we have as the United States is our contribution, and that is what this bill does. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga), the chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investments.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to submit extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), the sponsor of the legislation that passed unanimously 60-0 in our committee and the chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, not only do I want to thank him for his leadership in providing accountability to the World Bank to ensure that the poorest of the poor are truly helped and that the hardworking, beleaguered taxpayer has his funds respected, but I also want to thank him for this amendment and his previous work to ensure that sanctions on one of the most dangerous regimes on the face of the planet, North Korea, are actually effective. We know the threat that North Korea presents to all of our constituents and our country. So I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for his leadership, and I urge the adoption of his amendment.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 10 seconds again to say it is an interesting narrative being told by the minority, but they offered no amendments, voted for the bill 60-0. We have heard nothing for 6 months until last Friday, the first time they decided to articulate a specific concern about a bill they had already supported. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), the majority whip of the Financial Services Committee.