{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=c451c833-32b8-457e-ae94-76becc216a3b", "Heitkamp Reaction to President\u2019s Speech on Housing Finance", "2013-08-06", "2013", "2013-08", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WILLISTON, ND \u2013 U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, today released the following statement after President Barack Obama\u2019s remarks regarding the need to reform our housing system.\u00a0\r\nThe President specifically mentioned Heitkamp\u2019s legislation to reform America\u2019s broken housing finance system. In reference to the bipartisan bill Heitkamp recently introduced with seven other Senators, the President said, \u201cThe good news is that there\u2019s a bipartisan group of Senators working to end Fannie and Freddie as we know them.\u00a0 And I support these kinds of reform efforts.\u201d\r\nI applaud the President\u2019s plans to strengthen the U.S. housing market, particularly for middle class families. The President\u2019s speech further reinforced the importance of the bipartisan bill I helped write to reform our housing finance system. The legislation would replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a privately capitalized system that would protect taxpayers while still maintaining market liquidity.\u00a0\r\nA strong housing finance system is critical in North Dakota today, given the housing crisis we face as a result of our economic boom. Projections suggest that by 2025 we will need 30 percent more housing units in our state. Housing finance reform is necessary to ensure community banks and credit unions can participate in the financing of our rapid housing growth, while also making sure homeowners have access to 30-year-fixed-rate mortgages.\u00a0\r\nI ran for the U.S. Senate because I wanted to help find solutions to major problems facing our country. The problems in our housing finance system are some of those major issues I want address. For far too long, Washington has kicked the can down the road. With the President\u2019s remarks today, there is momentum for our legislation. I am committed to moving forward a bipartisan plan that protects taxpayers, provides certainty to the industry, and ensures that the 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage is available for North Dakotans in the future.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=c451c833-32b8-457e-ae94-76becc216a3b"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9443419985473156, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}