mr. speaker , for the purpose of debate only , i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts ( mr. mcgovern ) xz4002630 , pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
during consideration of this resolution , all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only . 
this structured rule provides for 1 hour of general debate , equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on financial services . 
it waives all points of order against consideration of the bill , and provides that the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on financial services now printed in the bill shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose of amendment and shall be considered as read . 
it waives all points of order against the amendment in the nature of a substitute and makes in order only those amendments printed in the rules committee report accompanying the resolution . 
it provides that the amendments made in order may be offered only in the order printed in the report , offered only by a member designated in the report , shall be considered as read , and shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and opponent . 
they shall not be subject to amendment , and shall not be subject to a demand for a division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole . 
finally , the rule waives all points of order against the amendments printed in the report and provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions . 
mr. speaker , i rise today in strong support of this rule and the underlying legislation , h.r. 1461 , the federal housing finance reform act of 2005 . 
this bill , cosponsored by my good friend , chairman richard baker , was accepted at its full committee markup last may and reported to the house by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 65 to 5. this balanced rule under debate makes in order a manager 's amendment and an equal number of additional amendments from members of both sides of the aisle , with four republican and four democrat amendments also made in order . 
the purpose of this legislation is simple : to provide for the creation of a world-class regulator to oversee the housing government-sponsored entities that help make america 's mortgage and capital markets the envy of the world . 
currently , approximately 70 percent of american households own their own home , a fact that is due in no small part to the liquid and strong capital markets that allow families to achieve the american dream of homeownership at rates never seen before . 
but the same gses that help to drive high ownership rates are also among the largest u.s. financial institutions , with approximately $ 2.5 billion in assets . 
between the two largest gses , fannie mae and freddie mac , nearly half the residential market is either owned or guaranteed . 
because of their size and potential to have a disproportionate impact on america 's capital markets , they require strong and effective oversight of their operations . 
the federal housing finance reform act , brought forth by chairman mike oxley and chairman richard baker , will accomplish this goal . 
this bill will provide for the continued strength of our mortgage markets by creating a new , world-class regulator with strong safety and soundness and mission powers to oversee these gses . 
it merges the office of federal housing enterprise oversight , which currently regulates fannie mae and freddie mac , with the federal housing finance board , which currently regulates the federal home loan banks , into a single entity . 
this new entity , the federal housing finance agency , will be headed by a director who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate . 
it will also be comprised of an advisory board , represented by the department of the treasury , hud , and two nongovernmental members . 
this regulator will be empowered to ensure the safety and soundness of gses through a number of increased powers similar to ones already given to bank regulators , including the ability to determine minimum and risk-based capital standards , to review and adjust portfolio holdings , to approve new programs and business activities , to mandate prudent management and operational standards , to take prompt corrective and enforcement actions , and to put critically undercapitalized gses into receivership , to require corporate governance improvements , and , lastly , to hire examination and accounting experts . 
this legislation also establishes an affordable housing fund , based on the affordable housing program already in place for the federal home loan banks . 
fannie mae and freddie mac will now have the opportunity to manage affordable housing programs funded by a percentage of their earnings . 
these funds will be awarded through a competitive application process to for-profit builders , state housing agencies , and nonprofit organizations ; and , this fund will streamline hud 's current affordable housing goals for the gses to meet pressing needs in low-income and rural communities . 
under this rule we also have the opportunity to discuss a manager 's amendment to this legislation , which makes a significant number of improvements to the bill . 
chief among these is the recognition that congress must provide strong , market-based incentives to rebuild the devastated gulf coast region in the wake of hurricanes katrina and rita . 
the manager 's amendment will ensure that during the first 2 years , additional weight will be given to hurricane katrina and rita disaster areas and to those families affected by these catastrophes . 
priority will be given for other disaster areas and to areas of greatest impact and geographic diversity . 
the manager 's amendment also recognizes the need for fast action in the gulf region , and speeds up the effective dates of this legislation from 1 year to 6 months after enactment . 
finally , the manager 's amendment sunsets the fund after 5 years , at which point the director will report to congress on whether funds should be extended or modified to improve its efficiency and effectiveness so that congress can exercise appropriate oversight of this new program . 
mr. speaker , i strongly support this legislation to reform and improve oversight of housing gses , and i would like to thank chairman richard baker and chairman mike oxley and their colleagues on the financial services committee for their hard work on this important legislation . 
i encourage my colleagues to support this fair and balanced rule and the underlying legislation . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
