TARP Reform And Accountability Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment, along with Representative Kathy Castor, to help homeowners across our country. Our amendment expresses the sense of the Congress that financial institutions who receive future TARP funds should not foreclose on any principal homeowner until the new loan modification program in the bill is implemented and deemed fully operational.

Mr. Chairman, the foreclosure crisis is the root cause of our current economic crisis. Sadly, there is no end in sight.

Right now, more than 8 million homeowners are expected to face foreclosure over the next 4 years. That is one in six mortgages in the United States. The rising unemployment will cause even more Americans to face foreclosure.

California, and in particular my home district of Sacramento, has been greatly impacted by the foreclosure crisis. I've hosted foreclosure workshops. I've seen the hardships and looks of desperation on so many faces not knowing if they will lose their home.

At one workshop, I was approached by a woman that had a loan through one of the financial institutions that had taken TARP funds. When we met, she had been talking to the bank's representatives for a few months to no avail. She was one step from losing her home. It took her dozens of phone calls and letters over many months for her and the bank to settle on a new loan. I worry that without a true moratorium on foreclosures, people like her will not be as lucky.

Similar situations are occurring throughout the country.

Congress must use all of our available resources to keep Americans in their homes. The bill we're considering today calls for the strongest foreclosure prevention program to date. It requires the Treasury and the FDIC to develop a comprehensive systemic loan modification program by April 1. However, that is more than 3 months away, and the plan is estimated to take an additional month or two to become operational. In the meantime, thousands of homeowners could be foreclosed upon.

Our goal is to help Main Street. It would be devastating if homeowners were foreclosed on before they had an opportunity to qualify for the new loan modification program under this bill.

That is why I have offered my amendment with Congresswoman Castor that calls on the mortgage industry to implement a temporary timeout on foreclosures.

Our constituents and businesses need breathing room to find solutions to help Americans stay in their home. I've been calling for a moratorium on foreclosures over the last 8 months. Last May, I introduced the Home Retention and Economic Stabilization Act that calls for a 9-month moratorium on foreclosures for responsible homeowners.

Yesterday, I reintroduced the same bill, along with Senator Menendez in the Senate. I will continue to actively pursue a meaningful moratorium on foreclosures in the coming days and months.

Until then, a timeout in foreclosures is a necessary stop-gap measure that will give Congress, regulators, and homeowners some breathing room while everyone works to craft a fair, sensible, and lasting solution to the foreclosure crisis. I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this amendment.

I reserve the remainder of my time.

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