[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 68 (Tuesday, May 5, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H5105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       MORTGAGE REFORM IS NEEDED

  (Ms. HIRONO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, Hawaii has some of the least-affordable 
housing in the country. Many of my constituents have more than one job 
just to make enough to put food on the table and pay their bills. 
Others have lost jobs due to the bad economy and the downturn in 
tourism.
  Families are struggling to stay in their homes. In Hawaii, 
foreclosures are up 500 percent from a year ago, and one in 29 homes 
with high-cost loans are likely to go into foreclosure.
  Forestalling foreclosure is often an exercise in frustration for 
homeowners. Some people in Hawaii are 2 or 3 months behind in their 
mortgages and are spending hours trying to reach out-of-state lenders 
in a different time zone to get their loans modified. To make matters 
worse, lenders tell them that their paperwork is lost and slap them 
with fees and penalties.
  We recently passed H.R. 1106 to help families like these restructure 
or refinance their mortgages. We also need to pass H.R. 1728 to support 
counseling efforts, provide foreclosure prevention assistance and 
strengthen loan standards.

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