[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20266]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       VACANT AND ABANDONED HOMES

  (Ms. FUDGE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the large number of vacant 
and abandoned homes in my district and across the Nation.
  Remnants of the foreclosure crisis still linger everywhere. Home 
values plummeted during the country's economic crisis and have 
continued to decline year after year due to the blighted and abandoned 
homes. Nationally, nearly 4.5 percent of mortgages are in foreclosure. 
More than a quarter of mortgage borrowers are underwater, and 11 
percent of all homes are vacant.
  City and State governments need our help. In the Cleveland area, 
15,000 homes are vacant and in need of demolition. Demolishing these 
structures will cost approximately $100 million.
  Homeowners are depending on us to help stop the free-fall of their 
property values. It is time we develop and pass meaningful legislation 
that promotes the revitalization of our neighborhoods.

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