Dive summary:

• A senator from Georgia says regulators are going beyond what the Dodd-Frank law intended when they propose a 20% down payment for loans to be deemed "qualified" mortgages for which banks hold no responsibility after selling them.
• Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican, says the law had the right idea – making banks retain a piece of the risk if they make edgy mortgages – but setting the threshold at 20% will keep credit tight as banks watch out for their own health.
• The National Association of Home Builders has regularly said too-tight credit is holding back a housing recovery from what it could be, and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and others have delivered similar messages.

From the article:

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., believes the proposed qualified-residential mortgage rule defies the original intent of Dodd-Frank in its current form.

The Senator jumped off Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's Thursday comments about lending being too tight, citing those statements as proof regulators have gone too far in drafting Dodd-Frank mortgage rules. ...