Patrick McHenryChairman

Washington, February 1, 2012 -

Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus released the following statement about the Obama Administration's latest housing plan.

"This is not a serious plan to help the nation’s housing market.  This is just more of the same from an administration that offers expensive program after expensive program, none of which have worked to help struggling homeowners.  President Obama is proposing to get out of the hole we’re in by digging deeper.  He wants lenders to make more of the same risky loans without documentation of income or ability to repay that got us into this mess in the first place. 

"I will give the President some credit however.  In his talking points he correctly says ‘the government cannot fix the housing market on its own.’  Unfortunately, his plan attempts to do just that by making the FHA assume the risk for millions of mortgages.  This could very well set us up for a bailout of FHA.  The answer isn’t more government.  The best foreclosure mitigation program is a job.  The nation would be better off if the President would work with us in a bipartisan fashion to advance real proposals that will help create jobs, improve the economy and heal the housing market."