[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 41 (Thursday, March 17, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NSP TERMINATION ACT

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 16, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 861) to 
     rescind the third round of funding for the Neighborhood 
     Stabilization Program and to terminate the program.

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, today's legislation is the third in a 
series of four announced bills explicitly intended to dismantle our 
nation's foreclosure prevention efforts.
  In this case, the initiative being terminated is the Neighborhood 
Stabilization Program, which has to date impacted over 100,000 
properties in our nation's hardest hit areas while supporting an 
estimated 93,000 jobs. The program works by providing critical 
assistance to states, local governments and non-profit organizations to 
demolish or rehabilitate blighted properties, as well as establish 
financial assistance programs for low- and middle-income homebuyers. 
The resulting redevelopment of foreclosed and abandoned homes has 
helped stabilize communities, preserve the value of adjacent 
properties, and begun to restore municipalities' tax base.
  Mr. Chair, with seven million people having lost their homes to this 
housing crisis so far, another three million foreclosures expected 
through 2012, and unemployment still hovering around 9 percent, now is 
not the time to pull the rug out from under distressed homeowners and 
communities struggling to get back on their feet.

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