Video – New National Poll: Majority of Americans Oppose Expanded Role for Government in Mortgage Market

November 2, 2007

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ — As Congress debates how to solve the mortgage credit crunch, a new survey by Freedom Works indicates a majority of Americans don’t want Uncle Sam to foot the bill.

“I don’t think we should look towards government sponsored enterprises as a solution to this problem…The private market is actually working very well…we see both lenders and buyers already correcting their behavior in this market,” said Wayne Brough, Chief Economist at FreedomWorks.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:

http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/forum/30453/

More than half of those surveyed oppose legislation eliminating down payments for federally-funded loans for borrowers seeking new mortgages–or trying to refinance with no home equity. 72 percent oppose increasing government insured loans beyond the current $417,000 maximum. Instead, 87 percent favor standards which require lenders to verify a borrowers finances and income. And 93 percent believe lenders should provide clear cut information to consumers before they sign their mortgage documents.

“We’re seeing lenders respond, we’re seeing buyers respond and we’re seeing the banking system respond and none of that has anything to do with more government regulations,” said Brough.

Full poll results are available at www.freedomworks.org.