mr. chairman , i want to thank the gentleman for yielding me time . 
i want to thank chairman oxley and ranking member frank for their leadership and their really tireless efforts on this bipartisan bill that we reported out of committee . 
it is really tragic that it has unraveled and that the spirit of bipartisanship has been totally eroded . 
sadly , mr. chairman , the bill that i supported , like all of us supported , coming out of the committee , a product that struck a fair balance , a fair balance between regulatory oversight and the gses ' housing mission and goals , would be turned on its head and gutted by the undemocratic provisions of the manager 's amendment that would be offered today . 
it is rare that this house considers housing bills , given our enormous housing crisis in our country . 
it is shameful , especially given those left homeless by katrina , that our bipartisan efforts to support increased home ownership and wealth building through the creation of an affordable housing trust fund have fallen victim to the rights wing 's ongoing assault on democracy and programs designed to help the poor , the elderly , the disabled , the communities of color , and our underserved community . 
mr. chairman , once again we have found ourselves in a situation where some of the republicans giveth , and then they taketh away . 
they give us a vote on a housing bill , but then they ensure that it will be undercut by an extremist provision inserted into the manager 's amendment at the bidding of right-wing ideologues . 
then , just to ensure that these provisions prevail , the republicans deny a fair vote on the frank amendment to strike it . 
the nonprofit gag provision is not only extreme and undemocratic , it is possibly unconstitutional . 
it would gag nonpartisan speech and civic engagement and participation in our most fundamental of democratic activities . 
let us be clear about the exact consequences of this outrageous gag provision . 
it prohibits nonprofits that build affordable housing from engaging in nonpartisan voter registration . 
it prohibits nonprofits from engaging in nonpartisan get-out-to-vote efforts . 
it prohibits nonprofits from engaging in nonpartisan election activities period . 
what does that mean ? 
for example , it means a preacher whose church received affordable housing funds would be prohibited from calling on his parishioners to vote or even identify voting locations . 
it means that residents of a building constructed with affordable housing funds will not be able to host a debate or an election watch party if their housing units are affiliated with the supportive housing program . 
these measures are unconscionable . 
they hurt the very people we are trying to help , the poor , the low-income communities , the elderly , the disabled and our underserved communities . 
mr. chairman , it is a testament to just how far right this house has tilted that the gentleman from massachusetts and democrats have been denied a fair vote . 
that is all we ask for is a fair vote on this critical issue that goes to the core of our democracy and has such dire consequences for our communities . 
this is un-american . 
it is shameful . 
and i am left with no choice but to reject the extreme provisions of this amendment . 
