[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 39 (Thursday, March 5, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E569]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HELPING FAMILIES SAVE THEIR HOMES ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1106) to 
     prevent mortgage foreclosures and enhance mortgage credit 
     availability:

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Chair, the mortgage foreclosure crisis is the center 
of the financial crisis that our country is now facing. And, until we 
take on the foreclosure crisis, and find a way to help keep people in 
their homes, we are never going to get to the root causes of our 
economic downturn.
  That's why I support judicial modification of primary residences in 
bankruptcy proceedings. This important provision in H.R. 1106, the 
Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, would allow judges who are 
presiding over bankruptcies to modify the terms of a mortgage, allowing 
homeowners who are trying to keep their heads above water and stay in 
their homes. The more people who are facing foreclosure, the worse this 
crisis is going to get.
  It's important that, as this bill makes its way through Congress, we 
work with our counterparts in the Senate to ensure this provision isn't 
used as a tool for those who would be tempted to commit fraud. It's 
equally important to ensure that those institutions who have acted in 
good faith are not unfairly punished by the good intentions of this 
bill. There are many lenders, like some of the credit unions in my 
district, who have not traded in the sub-prime market, and have bent 
over backwards to keep their members in their homes. It would be 
shameful if anything that we are doing with H.R. 1106 negatively 
impacted those who are actively trying to solve the foreclosure 
epidemic from the lending side of the ledger.
  Mr. Chair, I hope that this is only the first of many bills that come 
to the House Floor to address the housing crisis, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.

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