Today Americans for Prosperity joined with eleven scholars and conservative organizations and sent an open letter to the U.S. Congress opposing high conforming loan limits. The limits determine the maximum amount of mortgage debt that can be backed by the government.
As the letter explains, lowering conforming loan limits is a vital part of winding down government housing subsidies from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the FHA and getting the government's meddling hand out of these markets. The limits fell as scheduled from a high of $729,750 to $625,000 on October 1, but some lawmakers want to reinstate the higher limits and delay the elimination of Fannie, Freddie, and subsidies from the FHA.
With nearly $15 trillion in national debt, we simply can't afford government subsidies for $700,000 mortgages.
The text of the letter is below.
Dear Representatives Chaffetz and Owens,
On behalf of more than 1.8 million Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I write in strong support of your recently introduced Consumer Debit Card Protection Act, H.R. 3156. Your bill would repeal the price controls on debit card interchange fees entirely, and prevent other agencies like the unaccountable Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from taking up these price caps on their own. This is a vital step towards restoring the market balance that was thrown completely out of order by poorly-conceived government regulation.
Dear Representatives Chaffetz and Owens,
On behalf of more than 1.8 million Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I write in strong support of your recently introduced Consumer Debit Card Protection Act, H.R. 3156. Your bill would repeal the price controls on debit card interchange fees entirely, and prevent other agencies like the unaccountable Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from taking up these price caps on their own. This is a vital step towards restoring the market balance that was thrown completely out of order by poorly-conceived government regulation.
Yesterday evening, the Treasury Department announced the closure of the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF). The program had set aside $30 in taxpayer funds to invest capital in small and community banks in hopes of easing the credit crunch on small businesses. After Tuesday’s final wave of investments, total funds distributed reached a mere $4 billion (just 13 percent of the funds set aside), with investments in only 933 banks across the country – yet another example of underwhelming participation in the government’s “main street” financial interventions.
Facing a feeble economy, a falling approval rating, and a stubbornly-high unemployment rate, the pressure is on for President Obama to “do something” to get business activity back on track and Americans back to work. So in an address to the nation last Thursday, the President announced a new plan he thinks will do exactly that. Among the proposals, only a few have a chance of passing through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives: the President’s similar $787 billion “stimulus” package from 2009 has been widely panned by conservative lawmakers and academics as a failure. But fortunately for the President he can proceed with one of his proposals – a mortgage refinancing program that will cost taxpayers $600 million – entirely without Congressional approval.
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Prosperity and opportunity begin when government gets out of the way. That’s why Americans for Prosperity is working hard to win major policy victories on the local and state levels and make sure your voice is heard loud and clear by our elected officials.
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