Financial Services

Financial Services 

I am pleased to be a member of the House Financial Services Committee where I serve on two Subcommittees: Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and Housing and Community Opportunity.  Beginning in 2007, I was named the Deputy Ranking Member of the Committee.

Whether you have a checking account, obtain a mortgage, invest in a retirement account or buy insurance, the issues the Financial Services Committee oversees have impact on your everyday life.  It is vital to your financial security and our nation’s economy that our country continues to have safe, sound and vibrant financial institutions and markets.  The United States has

Before coming to Congress, I worked for 30 years in banking and homebuilding, and I continue to rely on these experiences as our committee considers housing and financial issues.  One of America’s strengths is our competitive capital markets, and one of my goals in Congress is to ensure these markets are preserved.

While the economy and housing market in West Texas and the Big Country is much stronger than in many other areas of the country, our committee has spent much time considering these issues.  Before expanding the involvement of the federal government, I believe we must ask ourselves what the appropriate role for the government to play in addressing problems in our housing and credit markets is.

We first need to remind ourselves that 95 percent of Americans with a mortgage are making their payments in full and on time.  We do know is that some Americans are having difficulty meeting their mortgage obligations. Efforts such as the Hope Now Alliance and the FHA Secure program have helped many troubled borrowers remain in their homes, and I support these initiatives.

At the same time, I am concerned that new proposals would do nothing more than reward many who made irresponsible decisions and took on more risk than they could afford.  

In any investment, there is risk. While there are unfortunate circumstances for some, all investors should play on an equal field without the federal government standing by to insulate one from a loss.  The bottom line is that it is not in the government’s role to determine the equity of someone’s home.  I am committed working on these issues and supporting market-based and fiscally responsible solutions.