[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 50 (Tuesday, April 1, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2262-S2263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ORDER OF PROCEDURE

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that after I 
speak for up to 15 minutes, Senator Hatch be recognized for up to 15 
minutes, and then following Senator Hatch, Senator Durbin for 15 
minutes, and then Senator Reed of Rhode Island for the remainder of the 
Democratic time; if there is a Republican to speak between Senator 
Durbin and Senator Reed, that Republican Senator be recognized.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I come to the floor once again to urge my 
colleagues to begin serious work that is needed to address the housing 
crisis. The news keeps getting worse. Home prices continue to decline 
steeply. Home sales are reaching record lows, and the resulting shock 
to our broader financial system keeps getting worse. In the 2 weeks 
since we adjourned, we saw the Federal Reserve act to bail out a major 
investment bank by facilitating the purchase of Bear Stearns by 
JPMorgan. This marked the first time in history the Fed had acted to 
rescue a financial institution of this kind. It did so because of the 
impact a Bear Stearns collapse would have had on the entire economy.
  Last week, it was reported home prices in the 20 largest metropolitan 
statistical areas suffered their largest drop in history, over 10 
percent in 1 year. In some cities, such as Miami, Las Vegas, and 
Phoenix, the drop is as high as 18 or 19 percent. Yet because of the 
Republican filibuster in this Chamber 2 weeks ago, the Senate has 
failed to act to deliver meaningful solutions to this crisis which is 
at the center of the economic storm pummeling the middle class.
  When we look at the headlines, they keep coming: From USA Today, 
``Battered Home Prices Keep Toppling;'' from the New York Times, 
``Slump Moves from Wall Street to Main Street;'' from the Wall Street 
Journal, ``Housing, Bank Troubles Deepen;'' from the Washington Post, 
``Mortgage Foreclosures Reach All-Time High.''
  We voted on the Foreclosure Prevention Act several weeks ago. The bad 
news since then has, in fact, gotten worse. This is a scene all too 
familiar across the States. All across America families are feeling the 
pain of the housing crunch. Price-reduced homes are on sale because 
they have been foreclosed upon. It is not just families who are being 
foreclosed upon; it is their neighbors whose home values have declined 
steeply as a result of foreclosures in the neighborhood. Again, it was 
reported last week that home prices in the 20 major metropolitan areas 
declined over 10 percent between January of 2007 and January of 2008. 
Price reduced, price reduced, price reduced--that is not a sign any 
homeowner wants to see on their lawn or on their neighbor's lawn or on 
their street. These are not just families who found themselves in 
financial situations they could not afford to climb out of; these are 
families who bought houses between 2002 and 2006, stayed current on 
their payments, and hoped to see the value of their homes continue to 
appreciate. But through no fault of their own, these families have seen 
their homes, their single most valuable asset, decline precipitously in 
value.
  The next chart demonstrates how widespread the problem has become in 
my own State of Colorado. These are figures from the Center for 
Responsible Lending which has projected that we can expect to see 
troubles ahead in terms of the continuing tide of foreclosures over the 
next several years and how these foreclosures will affect not only 
owners of the foreclosed homes but entire neighborhoods and, in fact, 
most homeowners across the State of Colorado.
  The Center for Responsible Lending projects that in Colorado we will 
experience nearly 50,000 additional foreclosed homes in 2008 and 2009, 
as the adjustable rate mortgages reset and as home values continue to 
plummet.
  As stated on this chart, which is a map of my wonderful State of 
Colorado, we see expected foreclosures are going to be right at about 
50,000. The spillover impact for surrounding homes that will suffer 
decline during that same period is almost 750,000 homes. That is more 
than a third of the homes of the State of Colorado are going to see 
this declining spiral. We are going to see a decline in home values in 
the aggregate of $3.2 billion in my State in the loss of home ownership 
value.
  The situation is clearly getting worse. Many middle-class families 
whose budgets are already stretched thin cannot afford such a steep 
decline in the value of their most important asset. Congress has a 
responsibility to act aggressively to help families stay in their homes 
and to stem the tide of foreclosures that continues to serve as a 
serious drag on our overall economy. That is why we are here again 
today, working to move on the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, 
legislation introduced by Senator Reid, in consultation with the chairs 
of the committees of jurisdiction. That legislation would take several 
steps to provide meaningful and immediate assistance to families and 
communities affected by foreclosures and to prevent other families and 
communities from finding themselves in the same situation in the 
future.
  The legislation does three simple things. First, it seeks to help 
families facing foreclosure to stay in their homes by expanding State 
authority to issue tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds, increasing 
funding for credit counseling, and allowing bankruptcy judges to 
restructure mortgages. Second, it provides critical help to communities 
across the country that have been affected by foreclosure by increasing 
funding under the Community Development Block Grant program. Third, it 
takes steps to help families and communities avoid foreclosures in the 
future by requiring simplicity and transparency on mortgage documents. 
I am especially glad these provisions are included in the legislation.
  The two tax-related provisions reported out of the Finance Committee 
on a bipartisan basis as part of the bipartisan economic stimulus 
proposal represent important steps that provide low-interest loans to 
homeowners seeking to refinance their mortgages and to allow ailing 
businesses, including those in the home construction industry, to carry 
back their losses a longer period of time to average out their good and 
bad years.
  I also support funding increases for credit counseling, which will go 
a long way toward helping families understand the financial burdens 
associated with taking out a long-term home loan and to avoid 
foreclosure. In my State of Colorado, we have already seen how 
beneficial these kinds of services can be. Last fall, a consortium of 
government, private sector, and nonprofit organizations launched the 
Colorado foreclosure hotline which connects borrowers with nonprofit 
housing counselors who can provide information on a borrower's options 
when facing foreclosure. Counselors can facilitate communications 
between lenders and borrowers. The hotline itself has already

[[Page S2263]]

received over 10,000 calls in the last 6 months.
  This is a sign from the foreclosure hotline in Colorado. Since it was 
first formed, this consortium between the government, the private 
sector, and nonprofit organizations, more than 29,000 people in 
Colorado have called this hotline.
  This legislation will go a long way toward helping us implement this 
kind of program all the way across the country. The American dream of 
home ownership is today a dream which is becoming nebulous for the 
people of our country because of the huge foreclosure crisis we have 
seen across the country which has caused such a decline in home values 
all across America.
  I believe it is our responsibility in the Senate to move forward to 
provide relief to these middle-class families who are in danger of 
losing value in their homes and in danger of losing their homes. This 
is an economic stimulus program which I think is timely for us to act 
upon. I hope our colleagues will join us in voting aye on the motion to 
proceed to the housing legislation.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.

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