E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 157 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2011 No. 193 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was took advantage of the bankruptcy bankruptcy reform. Do as we say, not called to order by the Speaker pro tem- laws, where working with a bankruptcy as we do. pore (Mrs. ELLMERS). judge, it could restructure union con- As a result, we have what I think is truly an insane situation where a spec- f tracts, pension plans, and bank loans to its advantage. ulator could buy six units in a condo- DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO For example, it’s perfectly accept- minium building and have a bank- TEMPORE able and legal for a judge to reset the ruptcy judge reduce the loan’s amount The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- current value of an asset and to permit and interest rate on each one of the fore the House the following commu- loans with higher interest rates to be speculator’s six units, but the poor soul nication from the Speaker: set at lower current market rate. Un- who bought his unit just to live in it fair as it may seem to people who made cannot have that same privilege. WASHINGTON, DC. If there was bankruptcy equality for December 15, 2011. the loans, it was part of the principle homeowners, I don’t think we ever I hereby appoint the Honorable RENEE L. of bankruptcy, to allow people to not ELLMERS to act as Speaker pro tempore on be mired hopelessly in debt but to start would have had the financial bubble in this day. again under existing market condi- the first place. You can bet that the JOHN A. BOEHNER, tions. It’s part of what keeps our econ- masters of the universe that poured Speaker of the House of Representatives. omy vital, keeping people not tethered billions of dollars into securitized f to mistakes of the past or bad luck, mortgage instruments would have been more careful if they knew that home- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE even if those mistakes were self-in- flicted. owners would have been treated the The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- Contrast this with what business ex- same way as businesses and could have ant to the order of the House of Janu- pects from the 25 percent of home- had onerous provisions modified under ary 5, 2011, the Chair will now recog- owners whose mortgages are under- bankruptcy. nize Members from lists submitted by water, where the financial institutions This is one of the reasons why the Occupy Wall Street people are so out- the majority and minority leaders for have argued about the responsibility of raged, this dual standard, telling home- morning-hour debate. homeowners to avoid the stigma of de- owners to stay the course while large The Chair will alternate recognition faulting, that it was their duty and ob- businesses don’t, fighting for change of between the parties, with each party ligation to pay, even if it was finan- the law under the guise of reform limited to 1 hour and each Member cially irrational and extraordinarily which made it impossible for home- other than the majority and minority difficult. He pointed out that the Mort- owners to be treated as well as specu- leaders and the minority whip limited gage Bankers Association, at the same lators. to 5 minutes each, but in no event shall time it was exhorting homeowners to debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. If some of our friends on Wall Street hang in there and keep paying their are perplexed about the frustration and f loans even if their mortgage was under- the outrage, they might look in the water, that it walked away from a loan UNEQUAL BANKRUPTCY LAWS mirror. Maybe, just maybe, this is on its headquarters, sticking the lender something that the Occupy Wall Street The SPEAKER pro tempore. The with a $34 million loss on a short sale. and Tea Party advocates can agree Chair recognizes the gentleman from But he missed the real outrage: The upon. Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 min- expectation where homeowners, under utes. bankruptcy, simply cannot do what f Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, American Airlines and other American BILL OF RIGHTS’ 220TH James Surowiecki outdid himself in businesses can do. Homeowners under ANNIVERSARY the current issue of The New Yorker’s law cannot take bankruptcy and have a The SPEAKER pro tempore. The financial page as he contrasted the de- judge reset the loan value of their resi- Chair recognizes the gentleman from cision of American Airlines to take dence to conform to what the current Georgia (Mr. BROUN) for 5 minutes. bankruptcy versus the expectation of value is and to reduce the interest Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam American business for how home- rates to reflect today’s record low Speaker, today I rise to commemorate owners should behave. It wasn’t that rates. That would have been the oner- the 220th anniversary of the adoption American Airlines couldn’t pay its bills ous ‘‘cram-down provision’’ so vigor- of the Bill of Rights to our U.S. Con- with its $4 billion in cash. It’s just that ously resisted by banks and financial stitution. Some of our most basic free- it would be in a stronger position if it institutions when we were discussing doms and governing principles are laid b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H8969 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 12:46 Dec 16, 2011 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15DE7.000 H15DEPT1 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H8970 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE December 15, 2011 out in this precious document. The sachusetts, and today I want to high- It has struggled with unemployment amendments listed were meant to pro- light one of those Massachusetts and urban blight. The Colonial Theater tect our individual liberties and our projects, the Colonial Theater in Pitts- is a rare architectural gem and one of private property. They serve as a con- field, Massachusetts. the greatest acoustical houses in the stant reminder that our Nation was Let me tell you a little about the world, located in the heart of Pitts- meant for its citizens to have liberty, New Markets Tax Credit. The program field. It was built at the turn of the with very little government intrusion was designed to stimulate investment century, and it was closed for more into their lives. and economic growth in low-income than 50 years. Periodic attempts to re- Today’s modern government has, communities that are traditionally develop the theater failed for lack of sadly, strayed very far away from the overlooked by conventional capital money and sustained public support. vision that our Founding Fathers had markets. The New Markets Tax Credit However, thanks to New Markets Tax when they ratified the Bill of Rights. It program attracts capital to low-income Credit, financing of $16.7 million of a seems like every day we lose a little communities by providing private in- total project cost of $21 million, this bit more of our freedom to the ideals of vestors with a 39 percent Federal tax 70,000 square foot theater and adjacent Big Government and to the standards credit for investments made in busi- building were magnificently restored. of socialism. nesses or economic development With 823 seats, the theater reopened in In Hosea 4:6, God says, ‘‘My people projects located in certain areas where 2006 and now features an impressive are destroyed from a lack of knowl- the individual poverty rate is at least lineup of plays and musical shows. edge.’’ 20 percent or where median family in- James Taylor is currently performing We have a tremendous lack of knowl- come is low. at the Colonial Theater as part of the edge in this Nation about the prin- According to the Government Ac- cast of ‘‘A Christmas Carol.’’ Since its ciples that our Founding Fathers gave countability Office, 88 percent of the renovation, the theater has hosted Arlo us in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill New Markets Tax Credit investors said Guthrie, the Four Tops, and Bob Weir of Rights, and we are being destroyed they would not have made the invest- of the Grateful Dead will perform this because those foundational principles ment in a low-income community spring. Recent musicals and plays at are being eroded day by day here in without New Markets Tax Credits. the Colonial Theater include ‘‘The Congress, by Presidents, and by the Every project or business financed by Who’s Tommy,’’ ‘‘The Producers,’’ Federal court system. New Markets Tax Credits is located in ‘‘The Wizard of Oz,’’ and ‘‘Rent.’’ a low-income community and/or bene- Please read the U.S. Constitution. After the first 2 years of operation, fits low-income individuals. The vast Read the Bill of Rights. Teach them to the independent research firm Center majority, over 90 percent of investment our children and to our grandchildren for Creative Community Development dollars generated through New Mar- so that we can come together and de- estimated that the Colonial Theater kets, has gone to communities with mand a constitutionally limited gov- sustains a direct economic impact of $4 levels of economic distress that far ex- ernment, as our Founding Fathers in- million annually and 100 full-time jobs ceed the minimum requirements of the tended.