Biden's 'socialist' mortgage plan reversed by GOP bill
14 Democrats vote with Republicans to pass the legislation.
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The House of Representatives passed a Republican-led bill on Friday that would reverse President Biden’s controversial mortgage rule.
The bill, titled the "Middle Class Borrower Protection Act," passed in the House on a 230 – 189 vote with 14 Democrats joining all Republicans in passing the measure.
The legislation would "cancel recent changes made by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to the up-front loan level pricing adjustments charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for guarantee of single-family mortgages."
The act was introduced in the wake of significant outrage from Republicans and housing experts alike who condemned the changes as "socialist".
Republican Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-MN, an original cosponsor of the bill, lauded the bill’s passage, telling FOX Business, "The Biden administration’s credit score redistribution plan is socialism at its finest. House Republicans stood up for hardworking Americans today by voting to eliminate this horrific rule and ensure those with good credit are not forced to bankroll high-risk borrowers."
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The bill was originally introduced by Rep. Warren Davidson, R-OH, who denounced the Federal Housing Finance Agency's plan as unfair in an interview with FOX Business last month.
"Why would you punish people by making it more expensive for people that have been most responsible? On the credit score piece, it's not even clear that it only helps people who are poor. I mean, there are wealthy people who don't manage their credit well," Davidson said.
Emmer echoed Davidson’s sentiments, suggesting that the American middle-class will be most harmed by the housing rules while questioning the Biden administration’s motives.
Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., participates in the press conference following the House GOP leadership elections in the Longworth House Office Building on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call / Reuters Photos)
"I think the president is either unaware of what the policy really does or he's being very disingenuous about the fact that it's going to help the middle class," Emmer said.
"The middle-class are now going to be punished under the new Biden rule because guess what? People who didn't do the hard work that you did to make sure that they maintain good credit so that they could participate in the same way you and I are now going to subsidize them," the Minnesota congressman added.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, disagreed with that characterization, however, telling FOX Business the rule in fact helps the middle-class.
"President Biden and House and Senate Democrats are actually standing up for the middle class and those who aspire to be part of it and trying to make sure that the things traditionally associated with a middle-class lifestyle like affordable homeownership, are sustained in the United States of America," Jeffries stated.
"Extreme MAGA Republicans are doing everything they can to undermine the economic progress that President Biden has made in this country because if President Biden is for it, they're against it," the minority leader continued.
House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks at a press conference on the debt limit with Democratic House Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Democratic House Conference Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) in Washington, D.C., on May 24, 2023. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
It is unclear what will happen to the bill once it is sent to the Senate, but sources tell FOX Business it is possible that some of the more moderate Democrats – including those up for re-election in 2024 – could align with Republicans to pass the legislation and send it to President Biden’s desk where he could veto the measure.
Emmer affirmed it is a no-brainer for lawmakers to vote for the legislation, claiming that feedback from his own district proves it is unpopular.
"If you look at my district, the 6th District of Minnesota, where we interviewed 6,000 of our constituents, 93% of them disagree with this – Biden's attack on the middle-class and homeownership. There isn't one Democrat who should be voting anything but for elimination of this rule," he said.
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Emmer also reflected on the current state of the Democrat party, criticizing their economic beliefs.
"The sad part about it is today's Democrats – not all of them – but today's Democrats actually identify as socialists and some even as Marxists. If you think about it, those representatives advocate for a completely different economic policy," the former NRCC chairman remarked.
"The typical American believes that through your own hard work and your initiative, if you play by the rules, work hard, you too can achieve the American dream […] in this case, if you worked hard, you're going to pay for those who did," Emmer concluded.