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Democratic Congress Acts to Counter Mortgage Crisis
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) today praised the Democratic Congress for its passage of the most comprehensive response yet to the housing mortgage crisis. “This historic legislation will help families facing foreclosures keep their homes, help other families avoid foreclosures, and help spur an economic recovery in our communities hit hardest by empty homes caught up in the foreclosure crisis,” Ellison stated. “This is one of the most important bills that this Congress has passed because it reaches out to all of us where we live – and hope to stay living,” Ellison said.
The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act, H.R. 3221, will allow hard-working American families in danger of losing their homes to refinance into lower-cost government-insured mortgages they can afford to repay – at no cost to the American taxpayer. The legislation also:
- Strengthens neighborhoods such as North Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park, hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, by providing resources to allow cities and states to buy up and rehabilitate foreclosed properties that are currently driving down home prices, reducing state and local revenues, and destabilizing neighborhoods;
- Expands homeownership opportunities for veterans and helps returning soldiers avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes;
- Provides tax breaks to spur home buying; and
- Creates a new fund to boost the nation’s stock of affordable rental housing in both rural and urban areas for low-income individuals and families.
“I want to thank Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) who came to Minneapolis and heard the concerns of my constituents at risk, the lending community, as well as housing advocates. This historic bill reflects the testimony Chairman Frank heard that day,” Ellison stated. “States and municipalities now have available to them nearly $4 billion in grants to purchase foreclosed homes, and to help our neighborhoods recover from the foreclosure crisis,” the 5th District Congressman commented.
The legislation also includes a provision that will help restore confidence in financial markets and shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by providing the Department of Treasury with emergency and temporary financing authority for them. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hold or guarantee nearly half of all mortgages in the United States.
This legislation earned the support of Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate. As a result of this broad support, President Bush withdrew his veto threat and now intends to sign it into law.
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