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>> the other would mandate regulations over broker-dealer conduct. over in the senate, a period of general speeches beginning at 2:00 eastern followed at 4:30 with debate and procedural vote on the nomination of the general counsel of the national labor relations board. he's a former union lawyer who was a recess appointment to the board, but a federal appeals court ruled his appointment was invalid, and he was removed after about a year and a half. you can watch live gavel-to-gavel coverage of the house on c-span, the senate here on c-span2. >> c-span, created by america's cable companies in 1979, brought to you as a public service by your television provider. >> host: this week on "the communicators," we are joined by steven berry, president and ceo of the competitive carriers association. mr. berry, welcome. >> guest: oh, thank you. thank you for having me. >> host: we're also joined by

paul of bloomberg bma, thanks for coming along too. mr. berry, to start with, the competitive carriers association, how do you describe it to friends? >> guest: well, i describe it as everyone other than the two largest wireless carriers. you know, there's over a hundred wireless carriers in the united states, and we represent from sprint, t-mobile all the way down to, you know, the smallest carriers in the united states, and they may not be your normal household names, but in the area that they serve, they're really important to the community. and they're community-based in small businesses, so we have a hundred carriers, some also outside the united states. and we also service almost 200 associate members. and that's the small businesses that make up the ecosystem that support wireless carriers throughout the united states. >> host: why is it important to have a service directed at those type of customers rather than go

to a verizon or at&t, carriers that a lot of people know about? >> guest: yeah. most consumers like choice, and choice has many benefits to it including price points, and in the small areas, in the rural areas in the united states, in the regional markets, the small carrier may be the only carrier that's willing to build out that last mile or two miles or ten miles so that there's service to the population in that area. so they're very cognizant of their constituent, their customer, and i think they distinguish themselves with really high-value service. >> host: so you have a presence here in washington d.c. why is that? >> guest: well, we're in an advocacy organization. we represent the competitive carriers before the fcc, the hill, the executive branch. and we focus on policies that are really critical to their well being. >> host: so if you had to define, say, the top three policies of interest to you

whether it be through the fcc or congress or whatever, what would those be? >> guest: well, competition is really the heart and soul of many of these issues. i would say interoperability which, hopefully, we'll talk about in a little while is very positive movement on that, but access. access to spectrum, access to devices, access to networks, those are all going to be critical, critical inputs to allowing a competitive carrier to continue to thrive and actually provide customers with the type of services and unique quality of service that they've become accustomed to. >> host: so we'll let paul pick it up from here. >> thank you. so one of the the policy issues you mentioned was interoperability, device interop to rabbit. why is that important to your members? >> guest: well, it's a huge issue. it's something we've been fighting for for almost four years. and i guess interoperability,

the easiest way to say it, it's the ability for multiple carriers to be able to interface with each other with common devices that operate in the same spectrum. and, you know, the largest carriers, for example, at&t and verizon, have scope and scale. they have the ability to go to the oems, the manufacturers and say i want this device built that operates on my spectrum. the smaller carriers in the past have always enjoyed the benefits of interoperability, and every slice of spectrum from the beginning of the wireless world. in 1984 and 1985 when the first 50 megahertz was split and given to incumbents and the new innovators, interoperability was a requirement. it was, continued to be a requirement in the aws spectrum, in the pcs spectrum, and i think we got away from sound not only business, but public policy spectrum management concept,

interoperability, in this 700 megahertz spectrum auction of 2006. and it's been critical to the small carriers, because if you don't have scope and scale -- we're talking about some of these carriers that have, you know, fewer than a thousand or so customers in these rural areas -- you can't get devices, you can't provide service. so, and then be you have devices -- if you have devices that does not operate on the largest carriers' networks, then you don't have a national footprint. everyone, as small as they may be, has to provide a national product. you want -- wherever you travel, wherever you go in the united states, you want to make a call, you'd like to make sure that that call goes through. there's no reason, technological reason that that can't happen. but through business decisions of the largest carriers with their dominance in the marketplace, they can make decisions that that really impair small carriers from getting access to their networks and, obviously, they would not

want to roam on the small carriers' networks. and that's what we're looking for, is a sound spectrum policy. it's a, you know, the spectrum is a taxpayer-owned resource. and we believe it benefits the economy, benefits society as a whole if you have access to that resource in a way that is to the benefit of the consumer. >> recently, at&t agreed to voluntarily work towards interoperability in the 700 megahertz spectrum band which would allow your members' customers to roam on at&t's network and also allow your members to begin building out their lte device portfolio, the if you will. >> guest: right. >> tell us about how this will, how in this will affect your members going forward. is this a good solution at this point in. >> guest: i think it's a very positive solution. i might quibble with you a little on voluntarily made the

decision to move forward. i tell you, a lot of credit goes to chairwoman clyburn. i mean, had she not said that there's going to be a solution one way or the other and literally rolled up here sleeves, got in the middle of it, really a display of leadership to find a solution that was business-based solution that would allow these smaller carriers to unleash the spectrum that they had already bought. you know, there's over $2 billion of spectrum that our guys, the smaller guys, purchased and they weren't able to unleash that spectrum and actually provide services of 4g high-speed mobile broadband service throughout america. and commissioner clyburn, chairwoman clyburn said, no, we're going to fix that. and with a lot of encouragement, we did. we found a solution. my hat's off to her. it was a dilemma that really

impeded the quality of service for many consumers all over the united states, and i think, i hope we learned something from that, that, you know, while you try to put interoperability back into the game plan of 700 megahertz, i hope that interoperability will be sort of the staple of the 600 megahertz auction that we think, the incentive auctions that are coming up. >> host: so was it the fact that the fcc actually did what it did, was it just a steppingstone to possible further regulation or possible direct action by the fcc before at&t decided to voluntarily go ahead and do what their did? >> guest: i think that chairwoman clyburn's statement that there had to be a solution was really the catalyst that said, okay, let's find a solution that works both for at&t and the smaller carriers and does so in a fashion that is economically sustainable while we actually get to the ultimate

result which is interoperability. so i do not think it would have happened without chairwoman clyburn getting personally involved. >> host: how did the commission treat in the past, this issue? >> guest: with a lot of neglect. i, i'm not particularly pleased the way it was addressed. the longer it went on, the more difficult it was to solve. had there been -- when we filed the original petition, you know, the notice of proposed rulemaking came out, but when we filed the original petition, had the fcc acted then, it would have been far easier to say, no, we meant interoperability. when the auction was created -- there's a little back story. when the auction occurred, everyone thought there was going to be interoperability. it always had been in the past. and at&t and verizon went to the standard-setting body, the place called the 3gpp, and it sets the standards, you know, technology

standards, and they went to that body and said we want standards that are unique to our particular band. so they created their own boutique band plan, and the fcc was asleep at the switch on that. there was not sound auction management. they allowed the private sector, in this case the two largest carriers, to uniquely classify the spectrum in ways that, essentially, foreclosed other smaller carriers from getting access to devices, the entire ecosystem that supports that 4g, lte, you know, the next generation technology. >> host: who was the chairperson at the time? >> guest: when it started out, chairman martin, and then genachowski. genachowski, i met with him on numerous occasions. i brought our ceos in, our companies in. we showed them the facts, and it was -- chairwoman clyburn from the get go said this is not what we expected. we need to fix this. and so i'm absolutely delighted

that she was good for her word. >> and are you confident that this development between at&t and other industry players, this agreement of sorts could become the norm for interoperability in other spectrum bands? >> guest: i hope that, like i said, that we've learned something from this, and i hope that interoperability will be sort of the trademark of blocks of spectrum that's made available as we go forward. and the 600 megahertz is critical to every carrier out there. it's propagations, values and characteristics that penetrates buildings, goes long distances in rural areas. in the urban areas, you need it to get into the basements and the hard-to-reach areas. so i hope that we've made some progress there. i think i would say i know many people at the fcc realized how

difficult it was to, like i say, sort of put humpty dumpty back together, so hopefully this time we will have interoperability from the get go. >> and you mentioned the competition issues surrounding spectrum policy, and the fcc is right now in the throes of finalizing rules for the first-ever incentive auction of spectrum which involves the broadcasters selling spectrum to the fcc and the fcc in turn selling the spectrum to wireless carriers. should the fcc restrict the participation of the largest carriers in the auction? >> well, i think the fcc -- the congress got it right when they authorized the fcc to create a competitive auction. and now the fcc has to take that mandate and create a competitive auction. our belief is that every carrier should be able to bid in this auction. large carriers and small carriers. at&t and verizon and all our members, sprint, t-mobile, everyone. and we should be able to bid in that spectrum auction with

wide-sized, geographic-sized licenses so that the smallest carriers are not, you know, forced out of the auction because they can't afford huge blocks of spectrum. and with that we believe that every carrier should be able to bid. now, even right here at this table just a few weeks ago commissioner rosenworcel said that she believed no one or two carriers should be able to walk away with the entire spectrum auction. i totally agree. i believe the fcc has the authority and has the, you know, hopefully the will power to insure that not one or two carriers can walk away with the entire pie. i mean, the fact of the matter is spectrum is the life blood for the wireless carrier, and if you're a small carrier in rural america and you don't have enough spectrum to deploy a robust 4g lte technology, then you're at a economic

disadvantage. and you're not going to be able to compete. and, you know, one of the things people have not focused on is that same act, that middle class tax relief act of 2012, actually insured in there that the competition and preserving and promoting competition was one of the requirements of the fcc. so i hope they take it to heart, and, you know, chairwoman clyburn and the new chairperson coming in, many tom wheeler -- mr. tom wheeler, testify a real challenge to create a framework for competitive policies. >> host: you said the word "hope" twice when referencing this. what makes you -- are you skeptical, and what makes you, you know, think that won't happen the way you'd like to see it happen? >> guest: well, you know, we just went through four years of pretty aggressive efforts to insure that we return the 700 megahertz to interoperability,

and we're going to work very assiduously to make sure that the 600 is interoperable. and i believe the framework that i'm talking about is critical if you're going to have multiple choices in the marketplace for the consumer. and, you know, we -- it's a tough road to hoe. it's, you know, making sure that we have access to spectrum, making sure that there's a fair, responsible way to get access to the networks. this is ip transition. you know, i think commissioner ajit pai was quoted in his confirmation hearing as saying that there was no reason why the basic, underlying concepts of connectivity should be changed just because of technology. and so we agree with that. and the reason why i say "hope" is at least two companies out there that have taken positions that are fairly disparate to the

position we've taken on all those issues. and, you know, we start from the position that none of us really like overburdensome regulations. but if you're going to enjoy the benefits of a competitive market, then you have to at least have the referee on the field, you know, blowing the whistle when there's not a, you know, a fair, you know, assessment of public policy that insures a competitive marketplace. >> host: you talked about chairwoman clyburn before, do you think she'll show a strong hand in this case as well? >> guest: i think she's a very pro-consumer, you know, person at heart. and before she was chairwoman and during and i'm sure after she's going to continue to have the same convictions. and i think the new chairman coming in, tom wheeler, so

inclined also. i mean, he's -- i was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work for him for six years. i ran the legislative shop for him when he was at another trade association. and i think he will be very proactive, and i think on the policy side, on the competition side he's for competition in the marketplace and pro-consumer. >> host: you're watching "the communicators." our guest, steven berry, of the competitive carriers association. he serves as president and ceo. also joining us for the discussion, paul barbagallo of bloomberg. >> for the past decade, you have seen the wireless industry undergo consolidation. we've seen smaller carriers partner with other smaller carriers, bigger carriers

partner with other bigger carriers, we've seen secondary market transactions. do you see this trend of industry consolidation continuing? >> guest: that's a tough question. yes and no, and the yes is, you know, one of the reasons most of the consolidation -- one of the reasons it's occurring is the lack of spectrum availability. i mean, it's been almost since 2006 since we had any spectrum come to the marketplace. it will be a decade, essentially, before we had the last low band spectrum come available. and i think that puts a lot of pressure on especially the leaders in the market to insure that they need to top off their tank. and when they do that, they seem to pick on some of the larger tier ii carriers. if you look at the marketplace, we've lost, you know, a half a dozen tier ii carriers in the marketplace that have been value

priced providers, have been innovators in the market. the first 4g lte network was not rolled out by at&t and verizon. the first all you can eat packages, i think, were sprint. the innovative all you can talk on the weekends and the flat rate prices, those were all innovators. and it does disturb me that, you know, we've lost four or five tier ii carriers in the last 12 months. if you look back to eight or ten years ago, you know, you had a very healthy tier ii market, and there wasn't this huge disparity between the size of the largest two carriers and the other carriers. for the smaller carriers, that meant you have choices to roam with. you had partners that you could buy handsets with. you had access to the critical inputs needed to run a wireless,

you know, business. and so, yes, it concerns me greatly. and, you know, we have to think about, i mean, how far do you want in the to go? -- want this to go? you look at, you know, two wireless carriers control almost 70% of the market. the two largest automobile makers, they control 35%. two largest banks control 20%. huge difference. in the market share. and what will happen is in those areas that are the least profitable and in instances that means it's the rural and regional markets, there won't be, you know, a lot of incentive to build out that network. and provide that service to the customers in rural america. we did a study about a year or so ago that showed that in rural america if you were to build out

rural high-speed broadband, it would create in i think the 14 states that had less than 90% penetration over 100,000 jobs alone. but the interesting thing was it showed that you would increase median income in the state by as much as 5%. 4.5, 5% normally. so what we're talking about is economic growth, we're talking about jobs, and i would say that most of our carriers -- even the largest two of our carriers -- are small businesses in respects. >> host: how are those tier iii carriers then changing their business models or business plans to remain competitive? >> guest: well, that's a good question and, quite frankly, you've t got to get to the 4g lte network because it's more efficient. it's almost five times more efficient, and you have to get spectrum. you have to get 600 megahertz spectrum because the spectrum itself makes you more efficient. why? billing out the same coverage in an area of 600 megahertz

spectrum is almost one-fourth as expensive as building out the same area at 1900. so the spectrum itself makes you a little more efficient. the technology, the 4g lte long-term evolution technology makes you more efficient, so you've got to get to 4g, and you've got to get there when the larger carriers are there. because when everyone goes to what they call voice over lte, then that's,, the xs and os, digits. it's all today. ate may be voice, but at that time it's data. but if you're not there, you're not going to be able to compete. and that's a huge nut to crack because we haven't had interoperability in 700 megahertz til now. and we hope that we will continue to press these pro-competitive framework issues all the way through to completion at the fcc. >> and smaller carriers survive

without access to the household name devices, the i phones, the sam -- iphones, the samsung galaxies? >> guest: they can, but with great, you know, with great sacrifice. in the marketplace. we've seen it here in the 700 megahertz. u.s. cellular almost, you know, herculean efforts to find a device that could actually operate on band 12 of 700 megahertz. no one wells has that -- one else has that band at the time. it was a huge risk to roll out 4g knowing that the device you're rolling out will not connect to any other large carrier. so that's a good example of what it takes to, you know, to stay competitive. we've been, you know, we've talked to apple on numerous occasions and said, you know,

why is it that it took four years for apple to make its device available to other carriers? you know, there's a lot of small carriers that love, that would love to have the apple device because it keeps them competitive in the market. same thing with the galaxy, you know, the s and the samsung products. you need a high-end android and an apple product. because we just did a study, a survey we did and made it available at our show here that just finished last, two weeks ago, and it showed that consumers are very fixated on the device. and, you know, a majority of the consumers will look to the device as much as they'll look to the carrier that they're going to choose. so the other thing we found out which was, i think, i thought was revealing, and that is in rural america and even in areas where relative income is low, the consumer is willing to pay for the high-end device.

willing to pay for the smartphone. and it's interesting because in of those households that smartphone, that handheld device is their access to the internet. >> host: is the price competitive from the smaller market compared to what verizon or at&t could offer for a phone, a free phone, a low-cost phone, can the smaller carriers offer that as well? >> guest: it's a huge cost. the cost to acquisition for a consumer in the small markets could be much higher than in the large market because of the handset differential and the subsidy. you've got to get access to devices that are economically competitive. and we're working on that. one of the things we do at cca in addition to being the advocacy voice, we're also looking at business solutions. one of the business solutions that we can help our carriers address some of these issues like device failure.

we created a handset buying consortium so the smallest of the small carriers that could not get gsm devices could pool their resources and buy in large numbers so they could get better prices. and we'd like to do that, you know, on the eye-end apple phone toes -- high-end apple phones. that's not in the apple lexicon. you know, working with other people. they have their own unique way of selling their device. but we're trying to find ways that we can make sure our carriers can compete. the other thing we kicked off and was probably one of its kind was a data roaming hub, and we're getting our carriers together, and we've got sprint and t-mobile interested in helping us so we can connect all the smaller carriers through a data roaming hub, ie, data access. and so that they can get fair, economically-sustainable prices for roaming and connectivity. and that's the other big issue

coming down the road which is ip and ip transition. >> host: we have time for one more question. >> so you mentioned cca's working on business solutions. is there a need for government intervention in the device manufacturing? >> guest: i think that it would be very healthy discussion if the fcc were to say why is this technology denial happening in the smaller markets? and face it, it is undoubtedly, it's the a technology denial. like i said, some of the low income minority households are using their smartphones as their access to the internet. and it may be the only thing that they can afford. today may not be able to afford the computer -- they may not be able to afford the computer and, you know, the fiber to the home. so handsets and high-end handsets that operate on 4g lte system which is much faster is a

critical element to job creation and economic prosperity in these smaller markets. yes, i think the fcc should at least take a look at why is it that we have a couple oems, a couple manufacturers that dominate the handset market and, quite frankly, they tell in instances they've been telling at&t and verizon what they will and will t not do. it's, it's a new issue that i think the fcc does have some authority to say let's take a look at this. and i think it's a good, it'd be a good thing for everyone. >> host: our guest this week has been steven berry with the competitive carriers association. he's their president and ceo. mr. berry, thank you. >> guest: thank you. >> host: paul barbagallo from bloomberg bna, thank you as well. >> thank you. >> host: thank you for watching "the communicators." >> c-span, created by america's cable companies in 1979, brought

to you as a public service by your television provider. >> today the jack kemp foundation honors former florida governor jeb bush wits annual leadership award. the ceremony will take place here in washington, d.c. with house speaker john boehner and south carolina senator tim scott are among the expected participants. past recipients include wisconsin congressman paul ryan and florida senator marco rubio. our live coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. eastern over on c-span3. >> the courtship of bess wallace and harry truman began here at her home in independence, missouri. >> when my grandfather visited independence, which is 26 miles from where he lived at the time in grandview, this was in 1910, he often stayed across the street at the nolan house which is where his aunt and his two cousins lived. and one afternoon he was over there with his cousins, with the

family, and his aunt brought in a cake plate that my great grandmother, madge gates wallace, had given her a cake, and mrs. nolan had cleaned the cake plate and was asking if anybody would take it back over. and my grandfather moved with what my mother once described as something approaching the speed of light and grabbed the cake plate and ran over here and rang the bell on the front bell in the hope, of course, that my grandmother would answer the door, and she did. and she invited him in, and that's the beginning of their formal courtship in 1910. >> bess truman as we continue our series on first ladies, tonight live at 9 eastern on c-span and c-span3, also on c-span radio and c-span.org. >> i'm a firm believer in what they call the unauthorized biography. now, unauthorized does not mean untrue. it means that you're doing it

without the cooperation and blessing of your subject, and i do believe it's a legitimate, wonderful way to cover history. especially public figures that have spent many, many years and millions of dollars creating their own image. and so i think it's valuable sometimes to go behind that. so usually i'm the one who's trying to get behind that and tell you what's going on. >> presidential history, political intrigue and american culture, biographer kitty kelley sits down for your calls and comments live for three hours beginning at noon eastern sunday on booktv's "in depth." and in the months ahead look for feminism critic christina hoff summers on december 1st and mark levin january 5th. and don't forget you have a few more days to post your comments

on this month's book club selection, "walking with the wind." congressman john lewis on the early years of the civil rights movement at booktv.org/bookclub. [inaudible conversations] >> well, today the mortgage bankers association's holding its 100th annual convention looking at the future of the housing finance market. we'll have live coverage of that shortly, gets under way in about ten minutes. right now, though, remarks from secretary of state john kerry from last week. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the center for american progress' president, neera tanden. >> thank you. thank you very much. [applause] we've had a great afternoon. it is my great, great honor to introduce secretary kerry, who i have to say just came from the plane, literally just drove over from the plane because he's been in europe. obviously, handling the

country's greatest national security challenges. and he has done an amazing job in the nine months he's been in office. so we are thrilled to have him. he has to -- he's rushing off after here to go to a meeting at the white house, so we are really thrilled that he was able to be here with us. he has been working with the center for american progress on a whole host of issues from our founding from china, don't ask don't tell, climate and energy, so we're thrilled to have him, and it's my great honor to introduce secretary kerry. [applause] >> neera, thank you very, very much. thank you all. it's wonderful for me to be here. neera and i come from the same part of the country, share many of the same values but none more important than our devotion to the american league champion boston red sox. yea. no boos, no boos allowed.

[laughter] anyway, in her role, obviously, as caps john farrell, for you -- for those of you who follow baseball, he's the manager of the team. he got them there. so she, obviously, has been extraordinary in her leadership at cap, and this institution, i think everybody knows, has been strong and steady ever since she took that over. and frankly, before neera and john podesta, our fearless leader here, opened cap's doors a decade ago which is being celebrated here today, everybody here knows that they did an extraordinary job of helping to steer president clinton's administration during a time of unprecedented prosperity at home and also, importantly, from my point of view today on a day-to-day basis, a period this which america enjoyed and earned

huge respect around the world. president clinton understood very clearly that in a complex and changing world our friends and our foes alike are going to be more impressed, as he said, by the power of our example than by the example of our power. and the person who president clinton said best exemplifies that particular principle in these times is president obama. i would say to you that over the last five years that the power of our example has been strong, a lot stronger than some people hay perceive in -- may perceive in a world of 24/7 cacophony. but the fact is that whether in afghanistan where we're etching out a drawdown and a bilateral security agreement or iraq where we did draw down and leave or the far east where we have a

repositioning and rebalancing or in the s.t.a.r.t. treaty or in our efforts in the middle east today, our efforts to lead on syria, on many other things. the president's engagement, i believe, is underscored many times over -- has underscored many times over how america plays an absolutely indispensable role in promoting peats, security and -- peace, security and shared prosperity around the world with. but i will tell you, i thought i had a pretty good sense of those things as the chairman of the foreign relations committee and a 28-year veteran of that committee. but i will tell you that it has become far more clear to me in these many meetings and in these many journeys how absolutely true it is that that we are indispensable. and that if we're going to move in the directions we want to whether it's climate change that you were just talking about or a host of other challenges, we're going to do it with our

leadership, with the highest standards. it's my privilege to serve as the president's secretary of state. every day i get to witness how much good, how much engagement we offer, how much our diplomats do around the world. and i remember an observation that my dad made who was a foreign service officer for a period of time, that he shared with me about diplomacy. he said, you know, good diplomacy comes from the ability to be able to see the world through someone else's eyes, through the eyes of the people in another country. but today it's become much clearer to me more than ever before that it isn't just about how people in another part of the world see their own challenges, we also have to be far more conscious about how our leadership looks through other people's eyes. now, as neera mentioned a moment

ago, i just literally landed, just came back from a marathon session with prime minister netanyahu, with the london 11, syrian support group, with faisal in saudi arabia and others, and in the past eight months over more than 100 days abroad in every corner of the world, i have seen how our allies, our partners and those who wish to challenge us or do us harm, they're all sizing us up. every day. they're taking our measure. what we do in washington matters deeply to them. and that's why a self-inflicted wound like the shutdown that we just endured can never happen again. [applause] as president, as president obama said, the shutdown encouraged our enemies, emboldened our competitors, and it depressed

our friends who look to us for steady leadership. i will tell you apart from the jokes that -- at some of the summits that i went to because we weren't being paid, one country or another could buy our meals, there were real consequences to our not being there. and now that this recent moment of politics is passed and since i'm no longer in elected office myself, i wanted to just come here this afternoon as you celebrate a tenth anniversary and contemplate the progressive challenges ahead, i wanted to reflect on the damage that events like the one we've just been through can do to the esteem in which the united states is held in the world. a key component of our national power. let me underscore that none of what occurred is irreparable or irreversible, and the strength of our principles and the strength of our people are still the envy of the world.

but being a responsible democracy requires that we don't walk ourselves to the brink every opportunity we get, that we don't play games with our credit rating or our credibility. during the shutdown i was attending the aipac summit in indonesia, the asean summit in brunei. i spoke with our allies throughout asia, throughout the entire asia-pacific region, all of whom were assembled at these various summits, and that is a region that matters deeply to us. it matters to our economy, it matters to our security and our economy and our security are closely intertwined in this complex world we're living in today. the leaders in that region agreed that the strength of our partnership is much greater than a moment in politics, thank heavens. but those politics also, i'm telling you, clearly weighed

heavily on their minds. and it has entered into the calculation of leaders as we negotiate with iran, as we negotiate with the middle easts the peace process in israel. can we be counted on? will the congress come through? can the president make an agreement which will be held? believe me, the shutdown and the dysfunction and the simplistic dialogue that came with it didn't impress anyone about the power of america's example. and you didn't need to talk to an asian foreign minister in order to get a sense of that. just go online and read any of the number of dailies of our allies' papers. london's daily telegraph said, quote: the u.s. is recklessly throwing away its future. a major daily in seoul urged america, quote: to stop holding their citizens and the world economy hostage.

the biggest business daily in germany reported, quote: the damage done is great, and it has shaken america's reputation. note how none of these assessments plameed one political -- blamed one political party or another. they took no interest whatsoever in opinion polling, hypothetical electoral consequences, 2016, who won the news cycle, who would win the senate. nope, none of it. they simply wanted to know will america be a credible partner tomorrow? now, i personally have every confidence that we can and that we are. but others are going to need to see us steer a steady course in order to rebuild their confidence. in the days to come, if we let domestic differences overwhelm diplomacy, those differences will undermine our shared values and most importantly, our shared interests. the question is no longer

whether our politics stops at the water's edge, but whether our politics stops us from providing the leadership that the world needs. the question is whether america will lead the $6 trillion global energy economy which is the solution to what the panel was talking about and as al gore, i'm confident, will describe to you. energy policy is the solution to global climate change. $6 billion market. the market that made america rich in the 1990s was a $1 trillion market with one billion users. the energy market is a $6 trillion market with about five billion users, and it's going to rise to nine billion users over the next 20, 30 years. so you and i know that if we make the right choices, we can get there. the question is whether america is going to continue to be a global model for entrepreneurship and the magnate for the world's brightest

minds -- magnet. you and i know if we take step toss shore up our economic strength at home and continue to welcome foreign citizens to the united states, we can get there. but we have to make that choice. the question is whether we're going to invest in education and r&d at home and insure that the united states can compete and win in this highly competitive global marketplace. you and i know we can do that, but we have to make this a priority at a time of enormous pressure to drastically cut government spending. ..

>> expected our ability to promote principles and values that our veterans sacrificed for. it didn't get shut of the statue of liberty, it temporarily closed the doors to refugees and students who are seeking visas to learn here and to contribute to our economy. they shut down delayed security aid to israel, one of our closest allies, obviously, and a critical democracy in a region that's undergoing tremendous upheaval. why would an would in common sey would you want to do that? a shutdown set hard-working public servants own, including officials whose job is to enforce the sanctions against iran, sanctions that actually helped to create the pressure

that brought us to this moment of cautious possibility in the region. that shut down furloughed for norvell -- nobel laureates who were working and the federal government, to the critical research funding on hold for nobel laureates of tomorrow. negotiations were also delayed on the transatlantic trade and investment partnership, a trade deal president obama's champion in order to continue to increase american exports around the world and to create jobs here at home and help europe, help the far east, began to create the jobs to come out of the economic doldrums. so this political moment was far more than just symbolism, far more than just a local fight. it matters deeply to our power and to our example. and while this chapter is temporarily over, we've got another date looming, and the experience has to serve as a stern warning to all. it should force us to consider

in the weeks and months ahead what the world will look like if america is less present and less credible. make no mistake, the greatest danger to america doesn't come from a rising rival. it comes from the damage that we are capable of doing by our own dysfunction and the risks that will arise in the world that may see restraint or limited american leadership as a result. that doesn't mean by any means that america had to serve as the worlds policeman. that's not what i'm talking about and that's not what president obama is talking about. we ca can't solve every problem, certainly not on our own, but we remain the indispensable partner, the anchor of global security, and the catalyst for global prosperity. so as i've said before, this is not the time to retreat or retrench. we need to be out there, and we need to be engaged with the world. why? because for every billion dollar

in goods and services that we export, we create 5000 jobs here at home. when we help other countries down on their own two feet, we create trading partners for our businesses. in fact, 11 over 15 biggest trading partners used to be the recipients of american aid. korea, republic of korea, is now a donor, where 15 years ago it was a recipient of aid. room no other nations bring so many countries together in global -- in support of global standards, international norms, where we encourage a race to the top, not to the bottom. and looking ahead, as we fulfill our moral responsibility to combat climate change, to improve global health, to ensure that women have the same rights as men, and give voice to those who have none, we are the ones who give people around the world the courage to be able to speak up and the confidence to be able to work together. i've seen it.

i know it. there's no arrogance in saying that. i know there's some americans who don't care how the world sees us, like an integrated world, a genie that no politician can put back into any bottle, we have lost the luxury of looking only inward. today, isolationism is the enemy of economic prosperity and security at the same time. my friends, the 21st century like the last one, we're going to see competition between different ideas and different systems of governance. and as a model for a whole bunch of nations, i think we have a special responsibility to demonstrate that democracy does deliver for its citizens. when democracy appears to some internal, aspiring peoples are all the more likely to settle for some of the model. extremists and autocrats rushed to fill the vacuum.

and the bigger the platform around the world, the greater the danger to our security here at home. mark my words, it is connected. i've often said that america is not exceptional because we talk about ourselves as being exceptional and beat our chests and stand up and say, we're exceptional. it's not because we say we are. it's because we do exceptional things. and we've always done that. we are the nation that defeated the axis powers, and then invested billions of dollars in the recovery, and we never asked to be paid back. that's exceptional. with the nation to face down the soviet union with the force of our deals and alliances, and without resorting to force of arms. that's exceptional. we are the nation that saw the human toll of aids spiraling -- >> secretary of state john kerry. we will leave his remarks here,

live coverage of the mortgage bankers association annual convention, look at the future of the housing finance market and the governments role in housing finance. >> good morning, everyone. i want to welcome all of you to the district of columbia, and this 100th anniversary conference. we are very pleased to have you here in our great city. let me start by telling all of it about our housing market here in the district of colombia and impact of the latest development which, of course, you to search all of it about and that is the government shutdown. because of our unique economy, the district of columbia has had

one of the strongest housing markets in the nation. yet, the shutdown current even our -- crimped even our robust market. in fact, we were especially vulnerable because the district is unique in another way, and that is we can't spend our own money, spend our own money without an appropriations bill from congress. our economy may have lost as much as, ladies and gentlemen, $100 million over the two and a half weeks we kept city government, that city government was involved in this. we kept our government open by spending our reserves. for example, our police state on the beat and the garbage trucks continued to pick up, but i'm sure you can imagine the psychological impact on people

considering buying a home during the shutdown, and in the weeks of course leading up to it. this is especially true in this region with its reliance on the federal government as it has been for decades. and i think as you know, uncertainty is bad, especially bad for the housing market. and, in fact, sales which usually pickup in the fall actually slowed down from the summer here in the district of columbia. consumer sentiment nationally fell to a nine-month low after the shutdown, and i'm badly the same thing happened here. i think we all know that's not helpful when you're trying to get the economy back on its feet again. consider the damage to the housing market, to the broader

economy, to people's livelihoods, the struggling small businesses, all for a maneuver that in my opinion, ladies and gentlemen, accomplished absolutely nothing. i am hopeful the forces driving the strong housing market during the first half of the year will continue, especially here in the district of columbia. after all, while sales slowed from august to september, this september was actually stronger than a year ago. in your what's driving this here in the district, people are seeing their houses right themselves after being underwater, our population is growing, growing by the way by the rate of 1100, 1200 people a month, and so is the demand for housing. my administration is working hard to diversify our economy, bringing in new businesses and

new endeavors so we don't have to rely as much on government as the district of columbia has in the past. so we are optimistic that our housing market will continue to grow over last year, and continued to be a major driver of the economic recovery. even despite what we now know are rising mortgage rates. thankfully, overall homes in the district are still selling briskly. the median number of days on the market was 17 in september, comparable to the peak of the housing boom back in 2005. our district government is doing clearly what we can as well to be able to continue to stimulate the market. our department of insurance, securities and banking, is the local regulator for mobile

lenders, brokers and originators here in the district of columbia. we have joined a nationwide mortgage licensing system, a collaborative effort by state regulators to bring greater efficiency and accountability to the supervision of the mortgage industry. the city is also a member of the american mortgage association, the american association of residential mortgage regulators, which is dedicated to creating more effective mortgage supervision through an exchange of ideas among the states and the district of columbia. licensing activity shows the strength of the mortgage market and the district of columbia. the city has seen licensed mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers rise by almost a quarter over the last fiscal year. at that time we had 830, and a we are over 1000. mortgage loan originators have risen by more than a quarter of

2000, the more than 2500. with foresight, we are prepared for this increase and licenses by adding examination staffers. i ask that each of you help us to keep the important chunk, this important joke of our economy -- important chunk -- for the district of columbia as we work to be granted authority to spend our own money, our own money generated from our property taxes, our income taxes and our sales taxes. and so i ask you to let congress know that shutting down the federal government has implications far beyond capitol hill to businesses and the 632000 people who call the nation's capital home. and i would ask you one other thing as you here during the week, and that is during the time that you're not in these sessions, i want you to go out

in the city and i want you to spend every nickel and dime that you have in your pocket. [laughter] that's one of the ways of course that will help keep our economy strong as well. we hope, frankly, much of a great time here in the city. this is a wonderful city. it is growing and developing by leaps and bounds. we now have a population that is greater than entire state of vermont, population greater than the entire state of wyoming, and we're actually getting out on the state of north dakota. and am also proud to be able to do something that i get to uniquely do, and that is to declare certain conditions in the district of columbia, to proclaim certain things. so i'm proud to be able to proclaim today, october 28, 2013, as mortgage bankers association day in the district of columbia. thank you all very much.

[applause] >> and welcome the 2013 chairman of the mortgage bankers association, debra still, cmp. [applause] ♪ >> thank you to mayor gray for his great agreeing to our nation's capital and convince you to go shopping. good morning, everyone and welcome to our 100th celebration. when i reflect on 100 years and this milestone and the noble mission of our industry across a great span of years, today is a celebration of the legacy of the past. it also inspires me to envision a new legacy, one that we can

leave for those who follow. and the turn-of-the-century for mba makes me very proud of a strong continuity of our trade association. for me, as the outgoing mba chair, passing the baton between the first 100 years and the next is indeed a privilege. it's been my distinct honor to serve as the 99th chairman of the mortgage bankers association. in retrospect, my timing was perfect. when better to serve than during a period of time when we have all been fundamentally challenged to transform our industry? as chairman, i thoroughly enjoyed an active role in helping the many debates and issues the past year. win in washington my goal was to demonstrate that we as business

practitioners can and must play a vital role as the architects of a bright future for real estate finance. my focus has been on the complexity of the regulatory environment, and the need for broad access to credit for qualified borrowers, and a vibrant and competitive marketplace. it has also been my desire to share my values showing industry i care deeply about who in particular i hope will continue to inspire. over the past year i've talked a great deal about leadership, and i've expressed my strong belief that we as industry professionals are uniquely positioned to lead change. and that nowhere is our leadership more important than how we choose to run our own companies. here is our opportunity to leave a legacy, i raising the

professional standards of our industry, and instilling a genuine duty of care to the consumer, and demonstrating that we belong as an integral part of the stable housing marketplace. many of you have also heard me talk about the concepts of owning a home. where, together, we accept responsibility for the success of the anti-real estate finance community, while still being accountable for our own individual peace. i believe there is no better opportunity to own the home that had mba. i'm very proud that going into our 100 year this inclusive approach differentiates the value proposition and sets mba a part from others in washington. and i'm thrilled that owning a home is fully embodied in nba's new brand platform one voice and one vision, one resource.

as chairman it was important to me to be an active spokesperson for our industry and to promote broad member engagement within mba and within each other. i've loved having a leadership role at mba because it's given me a chance to travel the country and to meet with many of you. industry professionals who have the same passion and commitment as i do. your partnership has been a testimonial that working together and learning from each other is both energizing and effective in finding a better tomorrow for our industry. not surprisingly, one comes to this world with a personal frame of reference, mine as an independent mortgage broker supporting a homebuilder. and as with any new experience, there are lessons that are learned. and i'd like to share a few with you that a fundamental change

the way i think about my industry, my colleagues and myself. i used to label my profession, mortgage banking, but i've learned that a more strategic description is to include all of us together as real estate finance. as a builder my perspective was centered on homeownership, but my wealthy family colleagues taught me that housing is about having a home whether you own it or read it. i now know that the commercial lending is more than financing big buildings. it's about creating community centers and gathering places and developing culture. i've learned that regulators, policymakers, and all other stakeholders must be treated as business partners, and that to get anything accomplished we must align and work together. and that our common ground is

always the well being of consumers. in getting to know so many of you, i've learned firsthand that the vast, vast majority of lenders are caring individuals who are fully committed to the borrower and the running responsible businesses. and, finally, i discovered i'm not done watching to serve, and so i'm very excited to embrace a new role as they chairman of nba's open-source foundation. i'm looking forward to expanding the reach of nba's terrible giving efforts so that lenders have yet another meaningful way to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable housing through giving. i have so many people to thank. in addition to industry friends and colleagues, i would like to stress my sincere gratitude to the men and the women of the mba

staff for their leadership, hard work, and generous support over the past year. and it's been my great pleasure working with our dynamic leader, david stevens, the effectiveness of days leadership has been remarkable your and my time as chairman was made so much richer partnering with dave. if leaving a legacy means taking action and making a difference, the entire mba team is indeed doing its part to create a positive legacy for housing in america. it also takes an extended team to serve as mba chair, and i've had extraordinary support from my husband, roger, and from each of my direct reports, the executive team at fulsome financial services, along with my homebuilder.

their support has been phenomenal and i answered sincerely looking forward to returning home and sing much more of them in the near future. i will forever treasure this once-in-a-lifetime experience and the wonderful memories that i am left with. in addition to many mba speaking opportunities i testified in congress and had meetings at the white house and at treasury. i've participated in webinars for the joint center for housing studies at harvard university and for the bipartisan policy center here in d.c., and for my engagement with our state associations, i will always cherish my trail of tears recognition and my indian headdress from the oklahoma mba, and the honor of an award named after me by the colorado mortgage lenders association. i came to this role committed to

serve, but i believe, have been received so much more than ever would've expected. it has been a joy. it said that i legacy is what you create and contribute today that lives on. as i pass the baton, i'm very proud to have been a part of the legacy of mba's first century. and i'm very excited about mba's momentum and for the legacy yet to be created. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you.

t.s. eliot said it best. making in his to make a beginning, and so it is my great honor to introduce the 100th chairman of the mortgage bankers association. e. j. burke is executive vice president and group had of keybank real estate capital. under e. j.'s leadership, the bank is going to be a top five pick conduit and one of the largest commercial mortgage servicers in the united states. e. j. has been in banking and commercial lending for 33 years and is an active member of mba for the past 15. he has served on mba's board of directors, the commercial multi-family senior bank, the

ceo executive forum, and the multifamily task force come and he chairs the commercial board of governors. having worked with e. j. over the past several years at mba, i can tell you personally that your next chairman is a great business partner, a strategic thinker, a sound decision maker and a strong leader. and he will do a fabulous job for mba, and for real estate finance. and i thought since were passing the baton at the century mark of mba, that our next chairman deserve to have a baton, literally, and greg with his name to commemorate this momentous occasion. ladies and gentlemen, i'm pleased to introduce the chairman of the mortgage bankers association, my friend and colleague, mr. e. j. [applause] -- \mr.{-|}\mister e. j. burke.

[applause] ♪ >> wow your how do you follow an act like that? i think we need to give one more hand the debra still. [applause] >> well, good morning and happy birthday, mba. before i begin i would like to recognize our very important sponsors and exhibitors for their contributions and commitment to the real estate finance industry. their support of mba allows us the ability to provide extraordinary service to our members. so thank you. this is a special time for mba, and i'm honored to serve as mba's come mba's 100 year.

today we join an elite group of national associations that have withstood the test of time to provide their members with 100 years of service. every day since our inception we've advanced real estate finance in america. we've grown stronger through recession and depression, through wars and natural disasters, and through a variety of other crises and events. our organizations history tells a story that still runs -- still rings true today. we reform to best -- to represent the best of borrowers and lenders, to are those that who want to start a business, i home and provide safe shelter and a better life for their family have the ability to do so. our roots run deep. in the beginning, we provided credit to farming businesses. we supported a strong food supply during times of war by providing farmers with access to credit. we have facilitated the inspiration of entrepreneurs.

we have helped create economic growth by allowing companies to expand. we have supported and will continue to support community growth by providing families access to the homes where they live. it's an honor to serve you as mba's 2014 chairman picked mba's longevity in part to be a tribute to the legacy of strong leaders that preceded me. is slated for the industry and borrowers first, and their own interest less. today, more than ever, we need our leaders within our industry and our national leaders in washington to do just that. now, i'm new to many of you in this room so let me take a brief moment to tell you how i got to be stand before you today. when i began my grea current in banking and finance back in 1978, i dreamed big but never imagined the extent to which my career would advance how many committees would be affected, or

my path would lead. one thing i've learned is that we as the mortgage bankers have a huge impact on the communities, businesses and borrowers we serve. with that comes great responsibility to do the best job we can in supporting the lives we touch and the economy to which we greatly contribute. my first expense with mba was in 1979 through its education program. back then as a commercial banker, i took a residential underwriting course followed by income property finance course in 1980. in 1983, run the cord recruited me into mortgage banking as an income property mortgage banker. those of you who know him, in these 1996 chairman know just how convincing he can be. shortly after joining ron's team i attend my first in the annual convention. how things have joined since those early years.

10 years later in 1994, i attended my first mba commercial real estate finance conference. i've attended it almost every year since then. to the -- since 2008 mba serve as a educational guide and networking opportunity that brought value to my career whether as a commercial banker or as a mortgage broker, and it still does today. since that time, i've learned the important role that advocacy can play. and advancing the business and advancing the industry as a whole. i've had the opportunity to vote -- devote much more of my time to mba's advocacy efforts in recent years. not only have i seen firsthand how effective mba advocacy is, i have also seen how important the role member engagement plays in advocacy. i've done this with the complete support of my firm to recognize that i brought home simply by increasing my involvement with mba. now that you understanding of

where i came from, allow me to tell you where i would like to see us as an organization, as an industry, go in the future. i'd like to see india grow in three broad areas. first, the business of mba. real estate finance, our business success relies upon our borrowers and the state the general economy. we live by the business cycle and and some companies have even died i had. it's the reality of the world in which we live. businesses that survive are those who are nimble enough to withstand the ebb and flow of economic booms and busts. mba must be able to do the same. we rely on the success of our members, and must prepare the best way they can for the inevitable down cycles. in our own individual business and in the broader economy. like many of us, mba is a business has seen its challenges in recent years. but for the strong leadership of my predecessors, and in

particular, former mba ceo john corston and mba stabilize. now, dave stevens and his senior team have put india on an upward trajectory. i want to help accelerate that growth. second, i want to the mba's effectiveness which is on display every day here in washington, d.c. spread throughout the country. so the dcis will look as if i were resource of information, that can be seen in the roster speakers will hear from this week. secretary donovan, richard cordray, ed demarco, elizabeth warren, get a hensarling, just in name a few. we have achieved a seat at the table and work every day to improve our image for those who shape our industry. however, the public at large remains skeptical. outside the d.c. beltway we still have much work to do. we must improve our image and relationship with our community.

we must once again be considered a reliable partner for borrowers to achieve the dream of building and growing businesses, and the dream of homeownership. we must go beyond d.c. and partner with our state organizations. they are our connection to local communities. we must also attract new professionals to our industry that reflect the diversity of our society. earlier this year under deb still's leadership, mba form a diversity inclusion committee. i want to build on the excitement this effort is greater among our members. two years ago, mba launched and opens the door foundation. this 501(c)(3) provided mortgage payment assistance and a rental payment assistance to families with critical ill children. i am proud of the progress we've made in the opening doors. and you just heard from deb still that she's become chairman of opens doors but which haven't

heard it is she's issued a challenge. she's asked us to raise $100,000 before the end of our 100 convention. through today we have raised $70,000. we are 70% towards our goal. we need your help. please stop by the booth next to registration and help us reach our goal. finally, we must grow the culture of mba. what do i mean by that? look to your left. look to your right. together, we share a responsibility, a duty and driving the agenda of our organization but we should responsibilities to be significant contributor to the future of real estate finance in america. mba is a phenomenal staff. however, your expertise is needed. your engagemenengagemen t is critical to the success of our organizations role. this is a terrible time in history of real estate finance. reforms and changes being discussed today will affect the

next 100 years of our business and our nation. we have a choice to watch reforms go by and accept what may come, or we can be decisive, active participants in the future of our business and our industry. now is the time for our active engagement at all levels of our business. now is the time to advance the culture of mba as a member driven organization that can lead us forward to the next 100 years. these goals are much bigger than just one person. they are much bigger than just one chairman. to a college these goals it will take each and every one of them. start right here. start right now. and pledge with me to become a more active member to not only embrace the change that we know is coming, but to become a vigorous leaders in effecting that change. mba provides us the opportunity to affect change. mba provides us an outlet at all levels of government.

the mba staff are our experts in d.c. they have a better understanding of legislation, regulation, policy making process, and policy implementation. we are the experts in the industry. we have firsthand knowledge of the direct impact that policies here can have on borrowers in the marketplace. i've seen and experienced how our participation can affect change. three years ago, i was asked to leave the task force as the risk retention was being considered. at our first meeting, a broad constituency was represented among the commercial and multifamily businesses. at first glance they seem to be little hope of coming to an agreement with so many players representing so many aspects of the commercial and multi-family real estate finance. but that was it. we had one common purpose, one singular mission, it took a lot of hard work, many intense meetings and calls, but in the

end it was absolutely worth it. together, we settled on good solutions, authored a cohesive, comprehension comment letter, lobbied audit of the most egregious provision, the premium cash capture reserve account, otherwise known as pcc are a come was also removed him the recently proposal because we spoke with one voice because we had one vision because we came together as one resource. we were successful. there is a reason india is 100 years strong. the industry and mba make a strong team. i need you to join the team. you have taken the first step today by your presence, intended as many sessions as you can to learn the opportunities of the future and how to be successful amid the challenges that lie ahead. but don't lecture participation and when you leave d.c. join the mortgage action of lines and make your voice heard the next and policymakers are considering changes that will affect your business.

don't rely on the person next to you or the person next to him or her. we need your voice added to theirs. learned about our political action committee. when a public policy issue comes up that will impact your business, ask how can i help. join a committee or a task force and offer your expertise. we can only be successful together. we can only leave behind our own legacy of leadership together. this year, make a commitment to the future of our industry and the future of our borrowers. make a commitment to ensure to a growing, thriving industry. made a commitment to mba as the one vision providing one powerful resource to advance the future of our industry. thank you. [applause] >> and now it gives me great

pleasure to introduce mba's president and chief executive officer, david stevens. prior to assuming his position with mba, dave served as the assistant secretary for housing and federal housing commissioner of the is department of housing and urban development. dave has more than 30 years experience in mortgage finance and has held several executive positions in sales, acquisition, investment and risk management and regulatory oversight. he is well-known to the industry and is often quoted in the media as a key housing influential, serving as an industry authority on major mortgage finance legislative and regulatory issues. in 2013, dave receive the national association of hispanic real estate professionals founders award, presented individuals that have distinguished themselves by the work in support of sustainable hispanic homeownership to improve the quality of life for hispanics in america. a cursor is on the hope loan board of directors, and also

serves on the board of mba open doors foundation, in these national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ladies and gentlemen, lease welcome dave stevens. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> good morning. you know, the challenge of doing that video last night was that i couldn't stop cracking up every time he fled from obama to denzel washington's i missed the part want to go to pick i ended up staying there too long and i was the straight man in a conversation. look, it's good to be here before i get started i want to make two comments. one, come on, thank you for that kind introduction. i think you don't like e. j.'s presence on stage, this can't be an outstanding chairman of the

mba. is extreme the committee. he's been an extraordinary help over the past year since i've been here and he's going to be a great leader for us going forward. i also think it's good to see someone of you stand up for deb. deb was a remarkable chairman. she brought extraordinary integrity and credibility and enhanced the perspective of the mba in washington and a way that really helped us be viewed as a far more credible, careful thinking institution going forward. it's that kind of leadership we need over the longer. and also want to congratulate two people who were not mentioned by the next in line, to have this organization who make up our officers, phil cosgrove and bill, who are also extremely strong leaders of her industry and help this institution move forward. so look, i want to cover a path today. i want to talk about the 100

years anniversary of the mba and but i think it means to our industry, and what we're heading into going forward. 100 years, it's remarkable when you look back to the old photos of the original mba conference in chicago at the time was a group of foreign lenders who met -- farm lenders and you see that original found andy fastow to where we are today. it's not only an opportunity to reflect on where we've come from but also to reflect on where we are going. that's really what this discussion as to cover today. as i walk around the hallways auburn offices we have an area where we have put up these old black and white photos from the past, and i reflect on those when i think of the incredible steps we've taken in that 100 years since the mba was first founded. antedate we are at this critical access point, this critical acts applicable determine what the american dream for safe and

affordable home, whether rented or owned looks like afford and what options americans have. and it all starts with all of you. the point that e. j. they can't be made loud enough. if you don't participate, we can be astonished again if you all participate together. think of the past. a great depression, two world wars, the growth of so many unique american industries that have been great over the decade. 16 different president since woodrow wilson, booms and busts, extraordinary change, and through all of that lending has remained the critical link the opportunity, for the chance of an average american to own their home and live the american dream which has become so important to them, and continues to be important to every american, young or old, in every survey conducted. so at this conference is important we come together as a team unity together to take stock, not just what we've

achieved but one what we must overcome together. today the importance of this conference being held in washington, d.c. has never been more important. because over the course of our history the one thing we know is that balancing that difference between risk management and access for american opportunity has always been a difficult balancing act and we've gotten it wrong over the years. tipping too far in one way or the other. but i will say today we are in such a moment. and correcting for the loose lending standards of the past decade, we are stifled access to credit. its credit that is so important to drive the american economy. it's not any individual act. it's policymakers although the washington, d.c. making hundreds of decisions that make sense in isolation but in the aggregate, waiting on effect our choking off access in the marketplace.

one year ago at this very event we call for policy makers to step back, to reassess the balance and to make sure that there was a vision of how this society should look going forward. we asked them to coordinate with one another so that we would know the pathway for the collective instruments inside the beltway of washington, d.c. so we could understand where the light at the end of the tunnel would be. we as asked to be part of the solution because we knew that without our expertise, our industry expertise, it would be difficult to get the markets going again. one year ago we warned that the fictions of the confusion that could be created would be the very same american families that these rules are trying to protect. i year ago we called for leadership, but i'm here to say, unfortunately, i believe our calls have gone relatively unheated. so i stand here to say in the politest way possible, enough is

enough. [applause] >> the overcorrection and conflicting policies that continue to come out of washington are threatening not just the market we serve but the economy broadly. today at the center market entity that finances every home in america, whether rented or owned, i stand there looking over landscape of confusion, of excess body on, of dysfunction, all stand in way of a true economic recovery. housing is 20% of the gross domestic product. it contributes directly 40 basis points of gdp, without housing the economic recovery stands in peril. look, i know only too well the damage that can be caused by excess in anything you make it in 2009 i served in the administration working on the team that was working on this recovery at that time. and at the time we had were clear objective. one was to stabilize the

financial system so access to credit and capital to continue flowing. number two was to protect every family, every responsible family as many as possible and keep them in their homes. third was to all those institutions that were most egregious violators clearly accountable for any actions that were done illegally or immorally. and third was to get the rules right so that going forward we would have a functioning system and correct any of the mistakes of the past. the resolution was swift but it was not perfect. and anyone who gets up there and defends that everything that was done to do with the crisis only the responsible for the outcomes going forward. the efforts were noble and the were many of them. some worked well, some worked less well but to declare the specific programs of policies all have their limitations. antedate, it's critical for leaders to recognize not only the successes of what happened

but also recognize the shortcomings. because if we don't recognize the shortcomings and weise say what went into those decisions, we will not move forward and create a homeownership society that works for the future. the policymakers have in turn the page. collectively him to continue to clamp down on risks, run up pricing on government lending, and pursue enforcement actions with no end in sight. this may have made sense in 2009-10, but today it's impeding economic recovery. at fha for example, under shaun donovan's leadership to deal with the fallout we took swift action. we raise premiums can we change minimum credit score requirements, we adjusted policies, all that made sense at the time. but proposals in congress today come with extraordinary indemnification provisions that will curtail access to many families, simply because the risks of a mistake in any mistake is simply too great if

these bills go through with this. mortgage insurance premiums are raised to shore up the fund and fha loans originated today are expected to produce extraordinary profits. we call it negative subsequently a brief look at the city of studies that just came out on the fha portfolio, attended 12 books are extraordinarily profitable. so my question is, if the pricing of those mortgages into new books disproportionate to the actual risk, and is impacting our were access to homeownership backs the huge profits in context with this new owner is indemnification regime that's being presented on capitol hill will come at the expense of the very families the fha was designed to protect in the first place. it's gone too far. we need balance. rigid oversight and overly aggressive policing is out of control. regulation is clearly cutting off perfectly good transactions.

take a look at the gses. the gses have all but eliminating low down payment transactions for an average credit score borrower. access to a home loan at a reasonable price is difficult to attain using a freddie mac or fannie mae loan, for an average credit score borrower. low-level price of judges, adverse market these, mortgage insurance, all of these additions have produced a portfolio that adds -- a report just released by the federal reserve said quote implies no risk-taking. but today the gses are virtually printing money. the excess profits reflect -- put them down in the treasure and this is all coming out of cost of homeownership in the broader economic recovery. it's a classic case of overcorrection, and it's gone too far. it's not an exaggeration. this data supports it or i want to give you just one variable on the data that was just released

that we should with a group of ceos in a closed-door meeting yesterday. if you look at purchase transactions, conventional loans, non-jumbo, non-ginnie mae, the denial rate of purchase obligations last year in 2012 was 51% for african-american borrowers. half of all african-american borrowers were denied access to purchases on actual applications, again, for conventional non-jumbo mortgages. yeah, in the collapse of some people shouldn't have been able to borrow for mortgages. there's no doubt about that. people suffered, in part of the blame clearly has to be laid at the feet of our industry, not solely, but certainly part of it. but as the data shows, policymakers have now gone too far. we are shutting out many in the very communities they may be working hardest to defend. so i want to be honest.

today, we face our toughest challenges. there's a patchwork of stifling regulation and legal action as far as the eye can see. if lenders make one wrong move, or even one right move in the process, they could be caught up in a confucian-based web of enforcement action. indemnification on any errors, class actions, settlements, justice department suits, travel damage builds from false claims act or do i need to go on? the endless barrage of legal actions create a serious disincentive for any of those looking to provide a credit to a borrower on the margin. regardless of compensating factors, the impact of tightening, impact of tightening is impacting the very access to credit, the same underserved population that the government programs were set up to serve in the first place. we are at risk of all of this suffering under this rulemaking regime of restricting lending only to the most squeaky clean

bars in america. antedate, that's fewer and fewer borrowers. last year alone, cash transactions accounted for almost 40% of all purchases. it's going the wrong direction. fha was always there for qualified borrowers just starting out who needed a little boost to get into homeownership. 80% of fha its first-time homebuyers. minority borrowers account for 30% of the purchase activity within fha, over half of african-american and hispanic borrowers use fha in 2012 for the purchase transaction. so what's the bottom line? as a look at our this country was the policy we have to ask, is it doing the job it was set up to do, or as a supposed crises corrections turn into actions to the detriment of responsible, qualified american families? don't get me wrong, protecting the taxpayer has to be a serious priority. you can never let it correct to what it was before. that has to be key and any policy thinking we have going forward. but the goal can't be zero risk.

zero risk means zero lending and that's going too far. antedate we are a long way from that right balance. it's hard to see the light quite frankly at the end of the tunnel. every headline makes me question when does this end. sometimes i wonder policymakers collectively even know what they are doing as a collective organization. disparate impact rules conflict with a qualified mortgage will. there are speeches after being made by leaders of this country a call to reduce red tape and blame to the marginal borrower offset by repay requirements and litigation risk should you decide to take that risk. talks of private capital replacing government guaranteed mortgages i met with calls a risk retention on only private capital transaction. of also wrote at significant cost to the same private capital mortgages that could even be assured by government agency, yet the government agency loans are exempted from capital and the private capital loans are

having to put capital aside. so today can we are facing this true moment of reckoning, especially comes to the house and recovery. lending has slowed and approaches markets need all the help they can get. we are now five years of crisis and to me countless innocent would be borrowers are still caught in the aftermath all because washington quite frankly won't trust lenders. they won't trust us to make fact-based decisions without countless strings attached. second-guessing, and most importantly, severe litigation risks and penalty should these be tried in courts across the country. we call for sanity and certainty but we called for housing policy for dinner, someone would simply make sure the regulators got together, talked about the rules and regulations being implemented and the activities coming simply to discuss and identify points of conflict so at minimum it would be a recognition of uncoordinated overlap, but it hasn't been done and get into to continue. it is fitting we're here in d.c.

so we can be heard loud and clear. we're here to call on policymakers collectively to recognize the collective impacts of the rules, regulations and litigation enforcement action because at the end of the day we are putting the american dream at risk. so my hope is that maybe this time we can strike a balance together, that we can do something constructive to get in the process and the it's a choice polzin except me. if we don't get it right when i going to return to a time when the americans of modest means could have solid prospects are homeownership. working-class families, hispanic americans, african-americans, first-time homebuyers, single parents trying to raise the kids want to own a home. there's no doubt there's conflict and will making. this is hurting the return of private capital. policymakers quite frankly can give lip service to the desire to bring back private capital

because the actions could are working against that return. so i'm asking one more time for policies and the administration to please pay attention. help us protect the american dream, let's get this right. first, act on our call for our nation and transparency and policymaking. let's create a national policy courtney buck who brings the regulars together, identify past overlaps that of entry by rules that were introduced in the marketplace, and work in a constructive basis to identify those going forward so that we don't create unintended negative consequences. number two, act on our call for greater transparency with fha fa, freddie mac and fannie mae the indigent have an opportunity to weigh in on major policies before they occur. drops in loan limits, although this is great a vacuum that leaves nothing but 43 independence into. we need to make sure we didn't get bounces right incarnation with each other. we ask that this industry come

together and support the five transition steps that we have laid out that's available on the website, available here at the conference that will ensure a smooth transition to a sustainable, vibrant and inclusive secondary market. we have never been more important to work together. our time here this week to round out influence behind smart policies that will fuel the housing recovery instead of holding it back. we all know that the risk of finance system can be an outlet is policymakers work with us rather than holding us back. it's time for leadership in washington. it's time for common sense and cooperation to return to this government. it's time for policymakers to work with the experts and industry to rebuild a system that works for the next century. but perhaps what's most important here is for us to stay together as an industry. if we don't stay aligned on our objections from the outcomes only get worse. they loud, powerful voice speaking as one defending the

american dream is what will make our efforts more successful. we are working hard on your behalf every day at the mba. our energy never wanes in our efforts to provide the fight to protect the american dream of a safe and sustainable home. together, we are the mba. together, we are 100 years of strong, and we have you, all of you out here, as the first set of stakeholders all involved working to defend the opportunities for futures to come. let's not let them down. thank you. [applause] >> and now to lead off the next set of speakers for the conference, a great pleasure to have my former boss and an absolutely amazing individual,

secretary shaun donovan. on january 26, 2009, he was sworn in as the fifth u.s. secretary for housing and urban development. .. >> he was a visiting scholar at new university, he researched and wrote about the preservation of federally-assisted housing, and during that time he was an active member of the mba.

he served on the multifamily housing committee, and he acted as fha commissioner during the clinton-bush transition. i will tell you that having the opportunity to work with sean was something that i'll always cherish in my life. sean is one of the most sincere, hard working, committed activists for a good, positive outcome in housing going forward, and it is really great, we appreciate it, that he takes his time to come address this body at so many of our conferences and other events. so without further ado, let's please welcome with a loud applause secretary sean -- secretary san donovan. shaun donovan. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> first of all, let me thank secretary of state john kerry for that warm introduction --

[laughter] i mean, i'm sorry, let me thank dave for that incredibly warm introduction. as you've just heard, dave is someone who tells it like it is, and he did remarkable work in service to his country at a time of great crisis. he continues to serve his country well by telling us in washington what's really happening, what we need to do, what we need to focus on, and he continues to be a tremendous partner and leader for all of you. let me also apologize that the real shaun donovan could not be here this morning, and so his father will be filling in today. [laughter] shaun is still trying to find the easter egg roll over at the white house, has not been able to, and i'm sure he'll get over here as quickly as he possibly

can. let me read his remarks though. and i want to begin by really focusing on how important this organization, the mortgage bankers association, has been in this time of crisis. you play a critically-important role in our economy, our nation, and it is such an honor to be here this morning to kick off the conference especially as you celebrate this milestone anniversary. i know that the members of this organization have seen some extraordinary things over the past 100 years, but it's hard to imagine any period quite like the last five years. back in the fall of 2008 we saw lehman brothers collapse, and i will never forget sitting in

that famous bullpen that mike bloomberg set up at city hall in new york. we were watching the giant television screen that he had set up, and usually on normal days kicking on that screen would be how many potholes had been filled in the city of new york, how many lights were out in various places, all the major metrics he would measure for how the city was doing. very, very bloomberg. but on that day the entire screen was focused on cnn, on the floor of the house of representatives. and we were watching as the vote was being taken on the first financial rescue package. and at the very moment it became clear that that vote was going to fail, mike bloomberg walked into the bullpen and said four words i'll neff forget: the world is ending.

indeed, the events of that time led to the worst economic crisis that any of us has seen in our lifetimes. when president obama took office in 2009, the housing market was in freefall, home prices had fallen nearly 20% from the year before, the largest one-year drop ever measured. roughly three million borrowers were seriously delinquent, construction projects and plans came to a halt causing the industry to lose 100,000 jobs a month. across the board we saw dramatic declines. and, of course, these drops represented more than shifting numbers on a spread sheet. they represented people's lives, savings and struggles. so when the president and i took office, we set in place a number of priorities which still guide us today. one, to provide immediate assistance to those in need. two, to work with public and private sector partners to strengthen the housing market and help fuel an overall

economic recovery. and three, to insure that a crisis of this magnitude never happens again. so let me start with the first goal, providing immediate assistance to those in need. when i last spoke at your ap yule conference in finish annual conference in 2011, i told you about a number of initiatives we had undertaken with your partnership to help families and heal the market. and although the crisis has eased, i'm proud to report that we together keep pushing for progress. back then i told you that we had helped 5.1 million responsible families stay in their homes through mortgage modifications. today that number is over 7 million. back then we had just launched t.a.r.p. 2.0. in the time since, the number of homeowners who have refinanced through the effort has soared from 400,000 to 2.8 million as

of july. i also mentioned our neighborhood stabilization program which addresses the foreclosed and abandoned properties that often hold back communities trying to rebuild. today i'm proud to say that $7 billion has gone to neighborhoods many in all 50 states -- in all 50 states to refurbish those properties, turning blight into progress. in fact, in more than 70% of those neighborhoods vacancies are down and home prices are up compared to their surrounding neighborhoods. and during the most trying times, the federal housing administration stepped up to keep capital flowing and stabilize the market. of course, taking on such a big role carried costs, and fha recently took a mandatory appropriation of $1.7 billion to close out fiscal year 2013. but let's be clear, this doesn't reflect the mmi fund's current health.

this was an accounting transfer that is not yet caught up with reality. it's based on the housing market more than a year ago and doesn't reflect policy changes we've made since then. in fact, fha's strengthened underwriting standards in its portfolio resulting in dramatic improvements since this time last year. a 15% drop in delinquency rates, a 20% drop in foreclosure starts, a 26% improvement on recoveries. and more than a 90% improvement in early payment defaults. fha has nearly $50 billion in liquid assets including more than $17 billion added in the fiscal year that just ended. and it continues to provide a wide variety of qualified buyers with the opportunity to become homeowners. through these efforts and more, we're sending a clear message that even as the financial crisis becomes more distant in our nation's rearview mirror, the obama administration's commitment to our recovery will

never waver. and in the larger picture, these actions combined with leadership like yours has helped write quite a comeback story since 2008. sales are up, prices are up, construction is up and optimism is up. in short, so many critical trends are going in a positive direction, and i want to thank each and every one of you for the role you played in this growth. you've had to be creative and resilient in the face of incredible challenges, and i'm sure that you're going to continue to be as you face the challenges that lie ahead whether a decline in refinancing business or the work that we have to do together to make sure credit remains available to all responsible americans. but through it all you've more than earned the right to highlight your strengths with your conference theme this year, 100 years strong. and we're determined to work

with you to insure that the best years are ahead. there are, obviously, key building blocks to achieving this goal; empowering families with the tools they need to succeed in today's housing market, making it easier for single-family lenders to get your quality products to those ready to buy and to multifamily lenders, supporting your work to develop quality affordable housing. we're doing this in a number of ways. first, hud is working to give families the tools and support they need to make the best choices in today's increasingly complex financial system. as we all know, a significant cause of the crisis was that many buyers simply didn't know what they were getting into. that's why in the last four years hud-approved housing counselors have worked with more than nine million families both in the prepurchase and postpurchase phases by giving borrowers access to reliable and

unbiased information. they will make better decisions, and the entire market will benefit. of course; knowledge is only one critical component to successful home ownership. another factor and perhaps the most obvious is putting more money if in people's pockets. and that means jobs. the good news is that american businesses have been growing for 43 consecutive months resulting in 7.6 million new jobs. and as budget talks evolve over the next few months, the president will continue to fight for investments that will grow our economy and create economic opportunities. we need your help to make sure we get a sane resolution to our budget challenges in the coming months. and while doing so, we're undertaking other efforts to relieve the financial pressures facing the american people. literally just a few thousand dollars can make a huge difference in helping families secure sustainable housing. that's what makes the affordable

care act so important to all of us in the housing community. two particular reasons. one, the less the american people have to spend on health insurance, the more they'll have available for housing. two, we all know that a sudden surge in medical costs can lead to families missing payments and losing their homes. now, the good news is the first few weeks of enrollment have seen an enormous interest in affordable health insurance. 700,000 applications for health insurance have been submitted nationwide. but unfortunately as we've all seen, the web site has not been prepared to handle that volume of interest. the president has said it will get fixed in the short term, and i foe he means business -- i know he means business. but in the long term, we know that families will have access to affordable health care and that the aca is paving a path that will save lives and money, and that's good for all of us. another effort that will be good

for our pocketbooks is immigration reform. on the most basic level, we all know that the system is broken and needs to be fixed. that's why last week the president once again could on congress -- called on congress to pass comprehensive reform. it's good for our country, and it's good for the housing market. home ownership has long been viewed as part of the american dream. one of the outcomes of fixing our broken system is a stronger housing marketplace. from 2000 to 2010, immigrants accounted for almost 40% of new homeowners nationwide. that's a lot of demand for your purposes. so expanding that circle of opportunity for those who are ready to own creates incredible benefits. the president stressed that it's in all of our interests to get this done, so let's do it now. it's also in our interest to shape an environment that encourages good lenders to get their quality products to creditworthy families.

unfortunately, as you know better than anyone and as dave talked about, one of the major obstacles blocking a full housing recovery is regulatory uncertainty, and i understand. having been a lender, i can't imagine what it's like sitting at your desk back in your home state as you've watched the federal government respond to the crisis. we take -- we've taken a lot of steps that were, in my view, necessary to restore confidence and insure that many of the bad practices that caused the mess were eliminated. but one of the outcomes is that too often the rules of the road weren't clear enough, and that led to a tightening of credit. according to the federal reserve from 2007 to 2012, mortgage lending to borrowers with credit scores over 780 fell by a third. lows to those with scores between 620 and 680 fell by 90%. there are a lot of qualified buyers out