Chris George, CEO of CMG Mortgage, San Ramon, Calif., is one of 13 businessmen picked by the Republican Party to offer a rebuttal of sorts to tonight's job creation speech being given by President Obama.
George, whose company funded about $2.4 billion in home mortgages last year, said his focus (if he is asked to speak on television) will not be to make any political statements per se, but to offer his perspective on how over-regulation is harming the mortgage industry – particularly when it comes to hiring new workers.
The CMG CEO said that thanks to low interest rates his company is swamped with new applications, but he's holding off on hiring full-time workers, in part, because of the high cost associated with providing health care insurance.
One of his biggest gripes with regulations is the proposed 'Qualified Residential Mortgage' rule, but he's not sure how to explain the QRM debate to the general media and the public at large.
During the president's speech George will be sitting in a seating area designated for guests of the Speaker of the House John Boehner.
