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TH E M R EP O RT | 41 O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G A NA LY T I C S S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T ORIGINATION THE LATEST Clinton Has Big Plans for Housing The low income tax credit, the mortgage interest deduction, and relief for community banks all have a place in Clinton's plan for housing, according to one of her top economic advisers. G ene Sperling, a top economic adviser to Democratic presiden- tial candidate Hill- ary Clinton, recently said that housing will play an important role in a Clinton Administration, according to a release from The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). "For Hillary Clinton, grow - ing middle class jobs and middle income security is the single lens in which she will judge economic policy," Sperling said in an ad- dress to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Board of Directors at their Midyear Meeting in Miami. "What better helps the middle class than hous- ing? Housing creates jobs in the United States. There is probably no other sector that creates jobs throughout income levels—from construction jobs to professional and servicing jobs." Sperling noted the credit pen- dulum has swung too far in the aftermath of the Great Recession and cited a study from the Urban Institute that compared pre-crisis credit availability to the standards of today and found 5 million fewer home loans have been is- sued as a result of current tight lending standards. "Our challenge now is to never swing back to where we were, but to get to an equilibrium where people who are creditworthy can get the housing they need," said Sperling. "This will lead to in- creased housing starts, construction and affordable housing, which we need in this country." Sperling felt that housing finance reform is "really tough" but speci- fied that a government backstop is critical to protect the 30-year mort- gage, according to the NAHB. "You need a backstop to ensure the United States of America still has a 30-year fixed mortgage," said Sperling. "That is something that gives people the opportunity to become home owners in this country." Sperling said if Clinton is elected in November, she plans to defend and expand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, as well as encourage communities to utilize land use approaches that make it easier to construct affordable rental housing near better jobs. She will accomplish this by increasing funding for infrastructure banks and competi - tive grant programs, according to Sperling. Additionally, Sperling said Clinton plans to support common sense relief for com- munity banks and make sure any reforms level the playing field so that Wall Street banks do not have any advantages over commu- nity lenders. Likewise, she plans to focus on a major infrastructure plan in which "she sees construc- tion and housing as part of that larger infrastructure." Clinton's tax plan would hold the mortgage interest deduc- tion but cap the marginal rate at which households can take their deductions at 28 percent, Sperling said, according to the NAHB. "So for 98 percent of Americans, the mortgage interest deduction is completely untouched," said Sperling.