[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HOUSING CRISIS IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY

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                         HON. DENNIS A. CARDOZA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 25, 2009

  Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues that 
the housing crisis continues to devastate communities across the 
country.
  By all measures my district has been among the hardest hit by the 
foreclosure epidemic and the recession.
  Constituents in Merced, California, near my hometown of Atwater, are 
suffering from 19.9% unemployment, the highest rate of foreclosures in 
the nation, and a loss of 70% of their home equity over the last three 
years.
  They are experiencing an economic tsunami that will leave the Central 
Valley struggling for many years to come.
  I am working on an effort to devise an Economic Disaster Area 
designation.
  So places like my district, whose communities have been 
disproportionately affected by the country's recession, can receive the 
additional federal funding they need to keep from falling off the map.
  The future of my constituents and my district is in jeopardy.
  That is why I am asking my colleagues to support me in my efforts to 
create this Economic Disaster Area designation and to help my 
constituents and the entire Central Valley recover from this economic 
downturn.

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