[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 136 (Friday, September 9, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                STOP SETTLEMENT SLUSH FUNDS ACT OF 2016

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. KEITH ELLISON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 7, 2016

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5063) to 
     limit donations made pursuant to settlement agreements to 
     which the United States is a party, and for other purposes:

  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to this bill. I 
offered an amendment to rename it Another Wall Street Request to Avoid 
Accountability for Fraud. But, my amendment for a more accurate title 
was not accepted.
  Today, the majority wants to defund the organizations and attorneys 
that help people have a fighting chance against deep-pocketed multi-
national corporations and banks.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress returns after a seven-week district work 
period. During that time, I held many constituent meetings. Not one 
person asked me to weaken regulations on hedge fund managers or Wall 
Street bankers. And yet, Wall Street requests are what the majority 
prioritized for our first week back.
  This bill would defund the network of housing counselors and legal 
aid attorneys who help homeowners facing foreclosure.
  Homeowners who were tricked into buying a home with teaser rates that 
exploded into unaffordable payments.
  Homeowners who deserved a chance to catch up after a missed payment 
or two but were unable to get a response from their lender.
  And homeowners like Alan Schroit. Alan, a retired cancer researcher, 
visited his rental house in Galveston, Texas. He found the locks had 
been changed, the electricity shut off and a notice on the door said 
Bank of America was foreclosing on his home. Alan did not have a 
mortgage with Bank of America. Alan didn't even have a mortgage. His 
home was paid off. It took him 30 days to get someone at Bank of 
America to call him back.
  Homeowners like Nilly Mauck who lost all her possessions when a 
company mistakenly evicted her instead of her neighbor.
  Or homeowners like Charlie and Maria Cardoso who bought their 
retirement home with cash in 2005. While they continued living in their 
primary home, they rented their retirement home out. Their tenants came 
home one day to find the house cleared of all the possessions--again by 
Bank of America.
  Nilly, Alan and Charlie and Maria's foreclosures were some of 
thirteen million between 2006-2010. Far too many of them were 
fraudulent, people foreclosed on by firms who did not have clear title 
to the property. A significant number of these foreclosures could have 
been prevented if the lenders involved had followed the law. The new 
book, Chain of Title, by David Dayen reports that across our nation, 
homeowners who should have received assistance with a loan 
modification, or allowed to cure a delinquency, instead were hit with 
outrageous late fines, sold over-priced forced-placed insurance, 
punished with monthly property inspection and other junk fees. Using 
robo-signing, their eviction papers were signed by people who had no 
ownership of the loan.
  Congress and the states demanded change. Legal settlements pursued by 
the Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, the banking regulators and the states made sure that 
people have a fighting chance against deep-pocketed multi-national 
corporations.
  And yes, to correct this massive wrongdoing required that Bank of 
America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Ally Financial and others pay 
fines. Some of those fines supported nonprofit agencies who knew how to 
get banks to respond to homeowners and follow the law. The funds 
supported legal aid attorneys who knew how to ensure the banking doing 
the eviction actually had a right to the property. When lenders 
foreclose on the wrong people, or lie about their ownership of a 
mortgage, there should be consequences.
  When we require banks to fund housing counseling and legal aid 
agencies, we leveled the playing field. We realized it was unfair to 
require each individual person to figure out the unresponsive, 
complicated and too often predatory home mortgage market on their own.
  I oppose gutting initiatives to help homeowners, small business 
owners and families do battle with global corporations who have 
defrauded them out of their home or business, polluted their water or 
land or harmed their health.
  Therefore I will oppose H.R. 5063.
  I urge my colleagues to do the same.

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