Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act

Floor Speech

MORTGAGE REFORM AND ANTI-PREDATORY LENDING ACT -- (House of Representatives - May 07, 2009)

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I am proud to offer this amendment to the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act. This important bill will crack down on many of the most common predatory lending practices that have contributed to the housing crisis. H.R. 1728 also includes essential provisions to establish an office of housing counseling to provide consumers with the information they need to make informed mortgage decisions.

I am proud to represent the city of Stockton, California, a city that unfortunately suffers from one of the Nation's highest foreclosure rates. Back home, I have hosted several foreclosure assistance workshops where mortgage counselors approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development provided unbiased advice to struggling homeowners. I have seen firsthand how effective these counselors are. But counseling resources remain very stretched.

The amendment I offer today simply helps counseling agencies serving areas with high rates of foreclosures to get their fair share of grant funding. I am proud to support the bill we are considering today, and I would ask all of my colleagues to join me in making sure that the areas most hard hit by the housing crisis receive the counseling resources they need.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I just want to say I thank the gentlewoman from Illinois for her leadership on this issue for housing counseling. Again, I have seen too many families that are in trouble and could have used help early on in the process or that are in trouble and could use help now to salvage the best of a bad situation.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

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