Barbara Lee Addresses The Impact Of Mortgage Crisis On Her District
Lee & Dellums Co-Hosts Town Hall & Fair in Oakland
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: January 12, 2008
Contact: Cleve Mesidor, (202) 225-2661
(Oakland, CA) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9) today co-hosted a consumer mortgage town hall and resource fair in Oakland with Mayor Ronald Dellums to provide information and access to support services to residents having trouble with their mortgages and released the following statement:
“The ongoing mortgage crisis is impacting millions of Americans, especially those in my Congressional District. It is a nightmare for hardworking families who face the possibility of losing their homes.
“California has sadly become the poster child of this crisis. With 180,000 sub-prime foreclosures in 2005 and 2006 alone, 5 of the top 10 metro regions with the highest rates of foreclosure are in California. Oakland is in that dubious top ten. Of those loans made in Oakland during 2006, 21.3% are expected to go into foreclosure compared to only 4.6% on similar loans made between 1998 and 2001.
“The statistics also support what we’ve long known - communities of color are being particularly hard hit. It’s estimated that 1 in 2 home loans made to the African American community were subprime loans, 2 in 5 loans were subprime for the Latino community, while only 1 in 5 loans to whites were subprime.
“I have worked with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to bring projects like the With Ownership Wealth (WOW) program to the 9th Congressional District, which is working to prevent foreclosures, and to get first time buyers into homes. Prior to joining the Appropriations committee, where I continue to fight for vital housing programs, I served on the Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Housing for eight years and worked to create and expand homeownership opportunities. I will fight even harder to increase federal funding in 2009.
“But the Republican Majority and the Bush administration have blocked our reform efforts at every turn and watched as the entire house of cards began crumbling around them. Even more disappointing, the Bush mortgage plan was business as usual. We need real reform and common sense rules to protect struggling subprime borrowers.
“Strong new federal standards must act as a floor to establish minimums for states and must not act as a ceiling that ties the hands of the State of California to protect Californians. A first step is to immediately pass the Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act (H.R. 3609). It will bring fairness back to bankruptcy laws and gives homeowners who are in trouble now a way to keep their homes and saves everyone involved from the high cost of foreclosure.
“The consumer mortgage town hall and resource fair is an important way to provide access to valuable resources to affected families. I especially want to recognize the State and Consumer Services Agency, the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, the City of Oakland and the Economic Development Agency-Housing and Community Development, as well as the credit counselors, loan servicers and lenders who were on-site to educate and assist homeowners at this critical time.”
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