Durbin Meets with HUD Secretary Nominee, Steven Preston of Downers Grove

Press Release

Durbin Meets with HUD Secretary Nominee, Steven Preston of Downers Grove

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Steven Preston, nominee for Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to discuss his nomination and plans to respond to the housing crisis. Preston is currently serving as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and was a former Executive Vice President of Service-Master, in Downers Grove, IL.

"I met with Mr. Preston several times during his tenure as SBA Administrator and I hope that he brings the same open mind to the challenges in housing as he did to the challenges at the SBA," said Durbin. "With more and more hardworking Americans losing their homes, I hope Mr. Preston will work with us to provide real help to homeowners who desperately need it."

The collapse of the subprime mortgage market has put approximately 2.2 million families in danger of losing their homes. Durbin has been critical of the Administrations slow response to the crisis and has introduced legislation which will allow hundreds of thousands of homeowners to modify their mortgages in bankruptcy. Such changes would allow homeowners the opportunity to pay back their obligations while remaining in their homes.

Durbin's bill has received broad support from groups which include: AARP; ACORN; American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee; American Association of People with Disabilities; American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations; CDFI Coalition; Center for Responsible Lending; Community Action Partnership; Consumer Action; Consumer Federation of America; Consumers Union; International Union, United Auto Workers; Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; Legal Momentum; NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys; National Association of Neighborhoods; National Association of Social Workers; National Coalition on Black Civic Participation; National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients); National Council of La Raza; National Federation of Filipino American Associations; National Partnership for Women & Families; National Women's Law Center; Service Employees International Union; U.S. Conference of Mayors; and U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

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