Center for Responsible Lending's president, Michael Calhoun, on the House approval of H.R. 1106, which makes court relief on mortgages available for financially distressed homeowners:
"We applaud lawmakers in the House for passing legislation that is a crucial piece of the broader White House plan to stem foreclosures. With another family facing foreclosure every 13 seconds, the need to put the economy before politics couldn't be clearer. New numbers released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association underscore how quickly the housing situation continues to deteriorate: In 2008 more than a million families joined the ranks of borrowers in default on their mortgage, half of them in the last three months of the year.
Too much time already has been lost: Since the hemorrhaging of foreclosures began over two years ago, hundreds of thousands of families have lost their homes unnecessarily, and tens of millions of neighboring families have watched the value of their homes plummet. We urge the Senate to act quickly to approve this bill and put it on President Obama's desk for his signature."
For more information: Kathleen Day at (202) 349-1871 or kathleen.day@responsiblelending.org; or Ginna Green at (510) 379-5513 or ginna.green@responsiblelending.org.