Throughout his tenure as a member of the House Financial Services Committee and now as the leader of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, Congressman Kanjorski has acted to resolve many economic problems, including the difficulties now directly affecting many homeowners.  The Congressman understands that owning a home is the most significant and complex investment that most people will ever make.  He wants to ensure that homebuyers are treated honestly and that they get the best possible mortgage based on their circumstances.

As early as 1993, Congressman Kanjorski helped to introduce a bill, which became law in 1994, establishing national standards to protect borrowers against the predatory lending practices of those who try to deceive homebuyers.  The Congressman then joined with his Democratic colleagues in 2000 to propose a bill to establish more protections against predatory lending and raise penalties and fines for violations of the law.

The dramatic rise in foreclosures in the Poconos earlier in the decade led to further action by Congressman Kanjorski.  At the Congressman's request, the Financial Services Committee held a field hearing at East Stroudsburg University in 2004 which brought national attention to the housing problems in Monroe County.  Also at the Congressman's insistence, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac worked to review the problematic loans with their lenders and ultimately 300 people who purchased homes at inflated prices were offered the chance to have their loans written down by as much as $60,000.

Experts generally agree that the current problems with subprime lending grew significantly in early 2006 and continued into the first half of 2007.  Congressman Kanjorski, however, acted before these problems began nationally by developing tough, bipartisan legislation aimed at protecting mortgage borrowers from abusive and deceptive lending practices.  Specifically, Congressman Kanjorski worked to draft and introduce H.R. 1295, the Responsible Lending Act, in early 2005.

H.R. 1295 would have strengthened underwriting standards, improved housing counseling assistance, ensured fair appraisals, bettered mortgage servicing, and put in place a broker licensing and oversight system.  These five reforms would have helped many American homeowners to avoid their current problems, and even foreclosures.  While this bill did not become law in the 109^th Congress, it had wide bipartisan support.

In the 110^th Congress, Congressman Kanjorski continues to fight to protect borrowers against predatory lending.  The Congressman's leadership on these issues has significantly shaped the content of a major bill recently passed by the House.  In November 2007, the House approved H.R. 3915, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act.  Currently pending in the Senate, the House-passed bill contained each of the five key elements that Congressman Kanjorski previously identified as necessary for effectively halting predatory lending practices.  Additionally, legislation on fair appraisal practices, appropriate mortgage servicing policies, and mortgage loan modification practices drafted by Congressman Kanjorski has passed the House in recent months.