[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 151 (Friday, October 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3648, MORTGAGE FORGIVENESS DEBT 
                           RELIEF ACT OF 2007

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                               speech of

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 4, 2007

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be a co-sponsor to 
this bill that will provide relief to those people in my district, the 
entire State of Florida, and the country as a whole who are losing 
their homes.
  Foreclosures in south Florida are escalating way too quickly. They 
have tripled in Miami-Dade County and more than doubled in Broward 
County from this time last year. In fact, Florida as a whole is second 
only to Nevada in new foreclosures from January through March of this 
year.
  Why this fast increase in foreclosures? Mostly because lenders gave 
high-priced loans to borrowers during the housing boom, particularly 
borrowers in low-income, largely minority neighborhoods. Starting in 
2000, because property values were rising quickly, financial 
institutions made risky loans that put them and the borrowers in 
jeopardy. About $1.3 trillion in subprime loans was lent to these 
borrowers. Specifically to south Florida, in Miami-Dade, about 23 
percent of these loans are subprime--in Broward about 18 percent are 
subprime--in Miami Gardens about 66 percent are subprime.
  Florida homeowners are now bearing about one tenth of that 1.3 
trillion dollar debt. This is more than any other state except 
California. Now the value of these homes is declining but these 
homeowners have this huge outstanding mortgage debt. It's bad enough 
that these homeowners are losing their homes, but under current law 
they would also have to include their discharged mortgage debt in their 
income and pay tax on it.
  This bill will give some relief to those homeowners by eliminating 
that tax. Equally important, the bill will help those homeowners who 
are doing their best to avoid foreclosures--those that are having a 
portion of their mortgage discharged as part of a restructuring of 
their debt.
  It is time for those homeowners in Florida and elsewhere to get this 
badly needed tax relief.

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