Republican Plan a Better Solution to Revitalize Housing Market (Rep. John Boehner)

Earlier this year, I asked House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) to lead the House Republicans’ “Economic Recovery Solutions Group” – and yesterday Rep. Cantor unveiled a byproduct of that group, the “Responsible Homeowners Act,” which is the House Republicans’ “better solution” to revitalize the struggling housing market.

There are three simple points to the Republican solution Rep. Cantor’s group has developed.
One: Don’t reward those who created the problem.

Helping distressed homeowners should not come at the expense of the 90 percent of homeowners who are paying their mortgages on time.  Government policies should not reward irresponsible behavior.  Instead, Republicans propose to beef up the FBI, Department of Justice, FHA, and other government agencies to investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud.

Two: Keep families in their homes and lower the costs for all homeowners.

We propose a $5,000 refinancing tax credit to help families cover the costs of a mortgage refinancing, buy down points, or reduce their principal balance

In addition, we propose providing a “safe harbor” from lawsuits by investors for mortgage servicers who engage in specified loan modifications consistent with their statutory duties; and would require unsuccessful plaintiffs to pay all attorneys’ fees and any legal costs incurred by the defendant.

Three: Encourage neighborhood investors and stabilize home prices.

The key to stabilizing home prices is to get people buying homes again – so Republicans propose a $15,000 home-buyers credit for all purchases of primary residences provided that the buyer puts five percent down.

These are specific proposals – what we believe are better solutions – and demonstrate that it simply isn’t true that House Republicans aren’t putting forward positive, constructive proposals.

In addition to our housing plan, House Republicans have offered better solutions on the economy and jobs, children’s health care, and college and retirement savings – and today we unveiled a detailed “Road to Recovery” plan that builds on the better budget principles outlined last week.  House Republicans will continue to offer better solutions in this Congress.