Federal regulations don't just hurt businesspeople and middle-class families. They also hurt low-income families struggling to make better lives for themselves and their children.
As the Daily Signal reports, rules handed down in the wake of the financial crisis have hurt Christian non-profits like Habitat for Humanity and kept them from helping those in need of it most.
Habitat for Humanity is a global, Christian nonprofit founded in 1976 that prides itself on giving people a hand up, not a handout. Instead of giving away houses, the organization builds and renovates houses, offering stable, no-interest loans provided by supporters and money earned by fundraising.
Any low-income family lucky enough to qualify for a Habitat home is still required to pay their own mortgage.
Charley Coats is the director of homebuyer services at the local Habitat branch in Bryan/College Station. He told The Daily Signal that prior to 2014, the branch was building more than 12 houses each year.
But after President Barack Obama signed into law the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act reforms in response to the 2008 financial crisis, things changed. Habitat affiliates all over Texas suffered.
“All across the state, Habitat affiliates, and there are dozens of them all over the state just like us, they have significantly limited the amount of homes they build each year,” Coats said. “In fact, there are a few of them [that] have actually had to shut their doors.”
As a result of these new regulations, Coats said, his branch had to hire an additional full-time employee just to make sure he was complying with the law. That's hurt his bottom line and kept him from helping as many families as he wants to.
Coats described the amended law as “one of the biggest issues that we’ve run into.”
The change was meant to protect consumers from high-interest loans by imposing strict disclosure requirements on financial institutions that offer credit. But, Coats said, because Habitat provides only zero interest loans, the time-consuming requirement—which includes penalties for noncompliance—is “silly.”
“I understand where they’re coming from, trying to keep lenders honest, but it does get pretty silly when we’re having to disclose these things over a number of months to our low-income homeowners,” he said.
America was built on the idea that self-governing citizens don't need the government in every area of their lives. Americans can provide for themselves and help their neighbor in need without interference from Washington, D.C.
Habitat for Humanity is a great example of that, but the feds have once again imposed a one-size-fits-all regulation with unintended consequences.
That's why the states and the people need to call an Article V Convention of States. A Convention of States can propose constitutional amendments that limit federal power and free the American people to prosper, grow, and help one another without interference from Washington.
Millions have joined the movement, and fifteen states have passed the Convention of States resolution. If you want to get involved, sign the Petition below!
