Houston, TX - Congressman Al Green (TX-09), today, applauded the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now's (ACORN) plans to conduct a large scale outreach program to find homeowners at risk of losing their home due to a predatory loan.  Last week, Congressman Green passed an amendment to the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007 which would impose on mortgage brokers and correspondent lenders, the least regulated part of the mortgage industry, duties that would let consumers know that they are not on their own. The Congressman's comments on ACORNS efforts and the passage of his amendment are below.

"As a representative of the Houston area and a member of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity this is an issue that is of particular importance to me.  The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area ranks 4th in the nation in terms of delinquencies of 30 days or more," stated Congressman Green.  "We are living at a time when predatory lending costs homeowners an estimated $9.1 billion each year and the overall cost of all the mortgage foreclosures to homeowners could be as high as $164 billion.  In times such as these it is imperative that at-risk homeowners are provided with information regarding the foreclosure process and timeline, their possible options to prevent foreclosure, ways to avoid foreclosure rescue scams, and be made aware of any and all resources available to help them.  I applaud ACORN’s efforts to reach out to homeowners and provide them with this essential information.  I also encourage anyone in our community that feels they may be at risk for facing foreclosure or suffering from predatory loans to contact ACORN's toll-free national hotline at 1-866-67ACORN."

"I came to Congress with the hope of helping those people who work hard but find themselves not getting results.  In the United States it is believed that if you work hard and play by the rules you will have the opportunity to succeed, however there are many people who do of all of this and still never realize this opportunity, as it relates to home ownership," continued Congressman Green. "My Mortgage Broker Amendment would impose on mortgage brokers and correspondent lenders the duty to safeguard and account for any handled money for the borrower, follow reasonable and lawful instructions from the borrower, and act with reasonable skill, care and diligence.  This amendment also stated that any broker found by the Secretary to have violated the requirements in this amendment, would no longer be allowed to originate any FHA-insured mortgage loans.  It is imperative that we do what we can to ensure to both FHA and its customers that adequate supervisory processes remain in place. I look forward to being able to be of service to America's hard-working American families in their quest of the American dream of homeownership through my work on the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity."

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