Bipartisan: Huizenga Legislation to Help Low and Middle Income Families Passes Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — The House Financial Services Committee passed the Mortgage Choice Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Congressman Greg Meeks (D-NY). This legislation clarifies the definition of “points and fees” currently preventing some low and middle income families from attaining a qualified mortgage (QM). This bipartisan bill passed the committee by a vote of 46-13.

Congressman Bill Huizenga:

• Consumers would lose the ability to take advantage of the convenience and market efficiencies offered by one-stop shopping. This is like telling Meijer that they can carry groceries but they can’t carry school supplies. You can’t have this one-stop shopping, and it doesn’t make sense to me.
• The qualified mortgage represents the safest, best underwritten mortgage available on the market. It’s the gold standard. We should want more people getting qualified mortgages, not less. … These common sense changes will promote access to affordable mortgage credit for low and moderate income families and first-time homeowners by ensuring that safe and properly underwritten mortgages pass the QM test.
• Congress has the opportunity to help more Americans realize a portion of the American Dream. Not by some grandiose law or decree, but by simply reforming a burdensome regulation. Homeownership has been a pillar of American life for generations. Today, we can reaffirm that pillar and reassert that homeownership can and should be an attainable goal.