[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5309]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             HOUSING CRISIS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I know the main event isn't housing, 
but I would like to start by thanking the majority leader once again 
for realizing the only way to address the housing crisis was to do so 
on a bipartisan basis, and we are on the verge of doing that. We have 
now made significant progress, and I am confident that before the week 
is out, we will be able to stand together to announce completion of a 
good and responsible bill.
  Most homeowners will be relieved to know one of the earlier proposals 
we heard from the other side--a proposal to let bankruptcy judges 
rewrite the terms of existing mortgages--will not be a part of the 
Senate's final product. Although well intentioned, this proposal would 
have led to a sharp increase in mortgage rates for millions of 
homeowners, and Republicans weren't going to allow that at a time when 
families are already stretched quite thin.
  The final bill will help neighborhoods that have been hit hard by 
foreclosure with provisions that limit the amount of time empty homes 
sit on the market--a proposal by Senator Isakson. This, along with the 
economic growth package we passed earlier this year, will put more 
money in the pockets of homeowners, and it will help homebuilders climb 
back from the slowdown.
  Americans don't want to bail out the speculators and those who tried 
to game the system at everyone else's expense, so this is a targeted 
bill that will help homeowners in the short term without jeopardizing 
the long-term economy. Its likely passage later this week is something 
we can be proud of on both sides of the aisle.

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