While some midterm elections were still too close to call as of Wednesday morning, it was clear that Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives and Republicans will keep the Senate, and now the housing industry is welcoming the new Congress.
Early Tuesday night, analysts called the race – giving the House of Representatives to the Democrats and the Senate to Republicans.
Now, housing groups such as the Center for Responsible Lending gave their support for the new Congress, saying it looks forward to working together on key issues.
“We look forward to working with this new Congress on issues that are of the utmost importance, including addressing the student loan debt crisis, ensuring a sustainable and inclusive housing finance system that serves all borrowers, stopping payday loan debt traps, and combatting unlawful lending discrimination,” CRL Executive Vice President Debbie Goldstein said.
However, with this welcome she also stressed the need to keep President Donald Trump in check, and support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other watchdog agencies.
“CRL also encourages the newly-elected Congress to conduct rigorous oversight over the administration and hold agency regulators accountable when they fail to police financial misconduct,” Goldstein said. “The last Great Recession demonstrated the need for an independent consumer watchdog to protect all Americans, especially working- and middle-class families and consumers of color, from abusive financial practices and lending discrimination.”
“We hope Congress fulfills its responsibility to hold financial institutions transparent and accountable to the public over the next two years and beyond—the country can’t afford to go through another financial crisis,” she concluded.
The National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions stated it looks forward to working with both Republicans and Democrats to create an “appropriate regulatory environment.”
“Credit unions will continue to have a strong seat at the table as we enjoy bipartisan support in Congress,” NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger said. “Whether working with Republicans, Democrats or Independents, our goal is to achieve an appropriate regulatory environment that provides a tailored approach to regulation, a level playing field, and transparent and independent regulatory oversight for credit unions and the 114 million members they serve.”
The National Association of Home Builders expressed their support, saying it is important to keep housing a priority for the new Congress and expand homeownership opportunities.
“With the 2018 midterm elections behind us, NAHB looks forward to continue working with lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle to keep housing a national priority and to expand homeownership and rental housing opportunities for all Americans,” NAHB Chairman Randy Noel said. “To help achieve these important goals, Congress needs to address housing affordability concerns, ease regulatory burdens and expand job training programs to ensure an ample supply of well-trained workers to build the nation’s homes.”
Other experts talked about how the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped following the news of a divided Congress after the midterm elections. Click here to find out why.
