House Proceeding 09-29-08 on Sep 29th, 2008 :: 0:13:34 to 0:18:09
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0:13:25 to 0:13:34( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: his time. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. bachus: i yield such time to mr. miller as he may consume. the speae ker pro tempore: the gentleman from califorlenia is recognized.

0:13:34 to 0:13:44( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: mr. miller: thank you, madam speaker. as chairman frank said, i have yet to talk to a member who wants to have to vote on this today. this is probably the toughest vote any of us has taken since

0:13:34 to 0:18:09( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Gary G. Miller
Bill: H.R. 3997: Defenders of Freedom Tax Relief Act of 2007

0:13:44 to 0:13:53( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: we've been in congress. if it you just solely rely on the phone calls we're getting from home and listen to people who really don't understand the complexity of our marketplace and what we're

0:13:53 to 0:14:02( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: trying to deal with here, the easiest vote for you to make would be a no vote today. but you have to go beyond that. you have to say what happens to the fami ly next week who wants to buy

0:14:02 to 0:14:12( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: a house and they can't get a loan? what happens to the family next week who wants to get a car loan and they can't get a car loan or the y want to send their kids to the university and they

0:14:12 to 0:14:22( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: want to get a student loan and there's no loans available? right now when the marketplace is running like it is, they say it's not likely to happen. if you look at the systemic problem in the

0:14:22 to 0:14:33( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: marketplace, there is a probability it could happen. now, we can roll dice today. we can say, let's not vote and le t's hope everything gohoes ok. and for members it's a very difficult situation.

0:14:33 to 0:14:44( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: they say, if i vote for this bill and the bill passes and the marketplace does not crash, it it continues and improves, people are going to be mad at m me because i voted to continue the process

0:14:44 to 0:14:55( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: they think is bad. if you vote no on this bill and we hav e a crash in the marketplace and the liquidity occurs and people go to get t loans, the business who normally relies on his loans to

0:14:55 to 0:15:05( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: make payroll goes to the bank and the bank says -- like the bank said to mcdonald's, we will no longe r fund expansion p of mcdonald's, which is the largest f ast food chain in the united states, when

0:15:05 to 0:15:19( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: that occurs, then the member has to say, what is th e consequence to voting no for this bill? so it's almost aa catch 22. you're darned if you do and you're darned if you don't. there are things

0:15:19 to 0:15:32( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: in this bill that i think should happen earlier. it deals with assets banks have to hold that are devalid. chairman bernanke said last week, they value many assets as something very low prices

0:15:32 to 0:15:42( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: rather than hold to maturity prices which is not unreasonable in its given base of liquidity. banks are forced today to write down the value of the assets they have and set d huge reserves

0:15:42 to 0:15:52( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: aside for losses they have already taken. the bad thing about this, i put language into the housing bill in apr il as an amendment. it came out of this house, went to the senate, when the bill

0:15:52 to 0:16:03( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: came back from the senate that language mysteriously disappeared. we could have done that then, programs not have been quite in the situation we are in today. the subprime marketplace that people

0:16:03 to 0:16:12( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: arlee angry about today, it is a good marketplace. but when you mix predatory lending in the market it's bad. when you make loans to people when a trigger kicks in the interest rate that they

0:16:12 to 0:16:24( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: catannot make, you have committed a predat ory loan. we should have defined that in law four or five years ago but we did not. id if you look at the race of interest today, they have been

0:16:24 to 0:16:34( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: held down so low that the euro in recent years rhave increased in value dramatic leaned the result of commodity prices in the u.s. is that oil, grain, coal, metal and currenccy premiums

0:16:34 to 0:16:44( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: are suffering a 20% to 30% hit. if you look at the marketplace today, the declining home prices we've had out there today, in the subprime loanris they are going to be buying, they are

0:16:44 to 0:16:55( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: going to be buying them at 40% of market value. if you look at what's happening on the prime loans, which are good loans, they are only worth 90% of market value. members today nembed to look

0:16:55 to 0:17:06( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: at what we're doing. are we going to change the market or are we going to let the rket continue to decline and roll dice and say perhaps nothing will happen? i think there's something we

0:17:06 to 0:17:19( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: need to do in the coming months that really bothers me that's not in this bill. i think we need to look at public-private partnerships involving local covommunities, investors, in the assets we buy

0:17:19 to 0:17:28( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: and basically maximizing the benefit andle value of these assets, if we involve the local people they will put their assets with the assets of the federal government, increase the marketplace

0:17:28 to 0:17:39( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: and ensuring that the yield to these investments will produmece a profit. what we don't want to have happened is like what happened during the savings and loans debacle where they were

0:17:39 to 0:17:50( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: dumped on the marketplace at low prices, calling the market to continually decline than it further did and end up with a worse problem than we faced. members need to look at wohat we're doing

0:17:50 to 0:18:01( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: today. some members worked very hard to come up with a c comprehensive package which is not pleasing either side. the democrats are not happy, the republicans are not happy. is it something that's going

0:18:01 to 0:18:09( Edit History Discussion )

Gary G. Miller: to work? we need to wear a conscious, look at what's best for our community and economy and we need to look at what's best for our nation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker

0:18:09 to 0:18:19( Edit History Discussion )

pro mpore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. frank: madam speaker, i yield to one of the most thoughtful members of our committee and one who has a great deal of knowledge of