Middle Class Borrower Protection Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Ms. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of my amendment to H.R. 3564. This amendment serves one of my highest priorities, expanding access to affordable housing across southern Nevada.

My amendment is quite simple. It would direct the Government Accountability Office to assess how changes to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's pricing framework would impact first-time, low-income home buyers.

This is a critical addition to any proposed GAO report on new FHFA policies, and it follows my commitment to making sure that any Federal action on housing does right by all Americans and Nevadans, especially those seeking reliable, affordable housing or seeking to buy a home for the first time.

I represent Clark County, which ranks among the top 10 counties nationwide with the highest concentration of renters. Clark County also has one of the highest proportions of households that spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent, and the cost of rent has been going up. The cost of homeownership as well has been going up, and the American Dream remains out of reach for far too many.

We must focus how we can work across party lines, hand in hand with the entities that help families buy their first homes, and ensure that the American Dream can become a reality and not push it further out of reach. We must find bipartisan ways to make access to affordable housing easier, especially for the families of southern Nevada who most need additional support as they work to affordably purchase a home. This is just what my amendment will help us do.

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Ms. LEE of Nevada. I am prepared to close, Mr. Chair, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I am pleased to see bipartisan support for my commonsense amendment to support first-time home buyers across the country. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to secure meaningful Federal action to better support hardworking families in their efforts to buy their first home and to realize that part of the American Dream.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of this amendment to H.R. 3564.

Quite like my other amendment, this one also speaks to a top priority of mine in Congress: expanding access to affordable housing across southern Nevada.

This amendment would direct the GAO to assess how changes to the FHFA pricing framework would impact affordable housing preservation, rural housing, and manufactured housing.

This is another critical addition to any proposed GAO report on any new FHFA policies, and it follows on my commitment to making sure that any Federal action on housing does right by Nevadans and their need for a fair and stable housing market.

I am committed to making sure that all Federal action on housing improves southern Nevada's stock of affordable housing, including manufactured and rural housing options.

This is not an area where we can risk unintended consequences, and, as such, my amendment will direct the GAO to study and make absolutely sure that our Federal Government is doing all it can do to improve affordable housing availability.

In Clark County, Nevada, this is of utmost importance as we continue to see a severe shortage in affordable housing stock. That means real stress and uncertainty for far too many hardworking Nevadans and their families. Again, I remain committed to working across the aisle to ensure that every family has access to affordable, reliable, and safe housing.

This amendment is a step in the right direction.

Mr. Chair, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I am very pleased, again, to see bipartisan support for my commonsense amendment to ensure that the Federal policy that we create right here delivers affordable housing options across America.

I look forward to working with colleagues on both sides to better support hardworking Americans and their families in securing reliable and affordable housing in Las Vegas and across the country.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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