Combat Republican claims that homeowners are at-fault for the mortgage crisis >>>>>>

[Roland99]

March 2004

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/03/20040326-15.html

One other thing I've done, is I've called on private sector mortgage banks and banks to be more aggressive about lending money to first-time home buyers. And the response has been really good. There's a lot of people in this -- our communities around the country that deeply care about the issue of homeownership, and they've been responsive.

And after the sub-prime crisis triggered the collapse of over-leveraged and unregulated investment vehicles:


August 2008

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070831-5.html

First, we're going to work to modernize and improve the Federal Housing Administration -- that's known as the FHA. The FHA is a government agency that provides mortgage insurance to borrowers through a network of private sector lenders. Sixteen months ago I sent Congress an FHA modernization bill that would help more homeowners qualify for this insurance by lowering down-payment requirements, by increasing loan limits and providing more flexibility in pricing. These reforms would allow the FHA to reach families that need help, those with low incomes and less-than-perfect credit records or little savings.

That was legislation the Democratic-controlled Congress delayed on....for good reason!



So...Bush, himself, has pushed for aggressive lending even after the crisis was in full gear.