mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding time and wish to express my appreciation to him and members of the rules committee who have delivered a rule enabling consideration by the house today of significant legislation relative to the reform in the regulatory structure of government-sponsored enterprises . 
for many years , that has been the subject of discussion by the committee on financial services and , prior to that , the committee on banking . 
i can not express enough appreciation to chairman oxley for his long-standing tolerance on this matter , the many hours of agony i am sure i have caused all members on this subject matter ; and i am very appreciative for his courtesies extended in bringing to the floor a bill which has been over many months hammered into the shape we currently find it . 
as to the current issue before the house in the consideration of the rule now pending , i wish to make clear that the manner in which the manager 's amendment was constructed is no different from the construction of hundreds of manager 's amendments over the years in this body . 
from the time at which a matter leaves committee until it arrives on the house floor can be a matter of days , weeks , or months . 
circumstances change . 
in this case , one element of that manager 's amendment is the establishment of assistance for victims of the significant hurricanes the country has experienced , a highly appropriate utilization of a new fund . 
i think it important to understand this is the first time such fund has been constructed . 
the entity which will manage and distribute the funds does not now exist ; and so , for some members , constraining the utilization of the fund in its beginning stages was a logical precaution . 
it is about restoration of housing in the case of hurricane victims , many of whom do not live in my district , but certainly reside in my state . 
at the moment , they are without a home . 
they are living in a fema trailer or a tent or with family and friends or in any number of circumstances around the country . 
they are desperate for the opportunity to come home , to live in that structure that they call their own . 
the bill now provides resources to construct homes . 
it was never intended that the bill would become the basis for political activism . 
the choice is clear : if we have limited resources to meet overwhelming need , should we not ensure that those resources are used as intended for the construction , for affording opportunity for low-income individuals and those who are requiring homeownership opportunities for the first time to have every cent go for that utilization ? 
of course it does . 
it is regrettable , of course , that there would be those to say the amendment is flawed and that you should oppose it because we will not allow a voter registration campaign or political activism . 
i think in light of the concerns expressed , the overwhelming need for housing inventory , the fact that this is a 5-year program which will end at the end of 5 years , that we do not have yet an entity to manage , supervise or distribute the funds , it is highly appropriate that the constraints adopted in the manager 's amendment be favorably considered by this house and adopted . 
more broadly , i think the rule has made in order a number of amendments that were not discussed in committee , which the house will consider and vote on accordingly ; and i think at the end of the day , no matter the construct of the final bill , it is important to understand that a government-sponsored enterprise reform is absolutely essential . 
i will speak more to that matter during general debate ; but i think those who only listen to the debate on the rule should understand , a government-sponsored enterprise is created by an act of congress . 
it is given a privileged position in the marketplace . 
they utilize taxpayer-guaranteed debt in order to make a profit for their shareholders . 
they are unique in their construct in that they are authorized by the congress , but are shareholder-driven institutions . 
they take on great risk and , accordingly , deserve the highest standard of regulatory oversight possible . 
this bill achieves that . 
