Schumer Floor Remarks On Trump’s Presidency And The Administration’s Move To Increase FHA Mortgage Fees

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today spoke on the Senate floor about President Trump’s executive order to block the Federal Housing Administration’s plan to cut mortgage fees and the controversy surrounding President Trump’s cabinet nominees. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

Mr. President, today, we celebrate one of our democracy’s core attributes: the peaceful transfer of power.

It is a tradition quite remarkable and indeed quite recent in the long history of human government. It never fails to remind me of the exceptional nature of this country, and the principles on which it was founded.

It falls to us now – Senators from both parties -- to promote and defend those principles, as we must every day: the rule of law, equal protection for all Americans under it, the freedom of speech, press, and religion.

We must always endeavor to expand opportunity and increase prosperity – while always broadening the circle of Americans who share in it.

Our work starts now.

Mr. President, President Trump said in his inaugural address this afternoon that “for too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished – but the people did not share in its wealth.” He promised to combat that trend.

But in one of his first acts as President, President Trump made it harder for Americans to afford a mortgage by reversing a recent decision by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reduce annual insurance premiums that many borrowers pay – saving new homeowners an average of $500 per year.

What a terrible thing to do to American homeowners. President Trump, with the flick of a pen, ended that new policy, making it harder for Americans of modest means to obtain their piece of the rock, the American dream – home ownership.

It only took an hour for those populist words delivered on the steps of the Capitol to ring hollow. Actions always speak louder than words.

Mr. President, Democrats agree with President Trump on this - the working man and woman of America do not need more promises. They need policies that give them a leg up. Help them succeed. Help them afford a home, for instance.

We urge President Trump to reverse this decision and give new homeowners across America their $500 dollars back.

Now, Mr. President, on another matter: nominations.

Senators on both sides of the aisle have expressed support for the President’s key national security nominees. So this evening, we expect to be able to vote on General Kelly and General Mattis. And we look forward to beginning the debate on Congressman Pompeo in the hopes that he can also receive a quick vote.

But from there, we intend to have a full and rigorous debate on the President’s remaining nominees.

My friends on the other side of the aisle did not want to have a full debate on the merits of these nominees in committee, so they should be prepared to do so on the Senate floor.

Because over the last several weeks, Republicans have made a mockery of the cabinet hearings process, trying to jam through nominees in truncated hearings, with serious conflicts of interest and ethical issues unresolved, and without giving Senators and the American people a fair chance to question and hear from these nominees.

If there was ever a group of cabinet nominees that cry out for rigorous scrutiny, it’s this one.

The President’s cabinet is a swamp cabinet, full of billionaires and bankers that have conflicts of interest and ethical lapses as far as the eye can see.

Congressman Mulvaney failed to pay taxes on a household worker, the exact same issue that has caused past nominees to withdraw.

Congressman Price is facing serious scrutiny for trading stock with one hand and pushing legislation to boost that stock with the other.

Rex Tillerson has refused to recuse himself from matters relating to ExxonMobil for the length of his term.

Just yesterday, we learned that Steve Mnuchin tried to hide his holdings in the Cayman Islands from the Senate Finance Committee.

And Betsy DeVos’ ethics paperwork just came in, after the hearing was completed. It shows that she was invested in multiple education companies, including companies that have millions of dollars of contracts with the Dept. of Education to collect on student debt. Senators have not been given an opportunity to question her about these investments because we only got the information after the hearing.

The list goes on, and on, and on.

The President isn’t draining the swamp with his cabinet picks, he’s filling it up.

These issues, and many others, deserve to be thoroughly and rigorously reviewed by the Senate. If Senate Republicans will not let that happen in hearings, it will happen here on the floor.