[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11669-11670]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HELP AMERICANS REDUCE DEBT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Clarke) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CLARKE of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, today I'm asking this House and 
this Congress to cut the debt that's truly crushing the American people 
right now, the debt that Americans and American families have to pay 
month after month, year after year, without any help from anyone else. 
It's a direct burden on our people.
  And I'm not talking about the Federal debt. I'm talking about the 
debt that Americans must pay on their mortgages and on their student 
loans. So today I'm offering a resolution to strongly urge this body, 
that as we work to prevent the government from defaulting on its 
obligations, that we do the same thing to help the American people, 
that with equal intensity and drive and commitment, we work to help 
Americans free themselves of debt.
  Now, if we help the American people reduce their debt burden, that's 
going to help our families to be more financially secure. Now, yes, 
jobs are important. I represent metro Detroit, a region that has one of 
the highest unemployment rates in the country. But you know what? I 
know folks that are working, they have jobs, but they don't have any 
money because all of their income is going to pay off creditors. That's 
outrageous.
  A couple of days ago, I made a big issue to the American people about 
not borrowing and handling their money responsibly. The reason why I 
said that is because many of us think that being in debt is the 
American way. It's not. This country was founded on the principles 
based on the Declaration of Independence, that we all have a God-given 
right to life, to liberty, to the pursuit of happiness. But who can be 
free when drowning in debt?
  So I'm urging this Congress, cut the mortgages, forgive the student 
loans. That will help American families be secure. But also this: by 
reducing that debt burden that Americans have to directly pay, that 
will create more jobs because that will free up money that Americans 
are earning for themselves. So instead of spending it on creditors, 
they can save that money, they can invest it, they can spend it 
responsibly on businesses, who in turn will hire more people. That's 
how you create jobs in a sustainable way. It's by helping Americans get 
out of debt.
  Yes, Americans have a responsibility to manage their own finances, 
but likewise Congress has the duty to help Americans get out of the 
debt that this body, over the years, helped put people into debt by 
changing the laws, by allowing lenders to loan money under imprudent 
terms and target certain people with the sole objective to put the 
American public into debt, into a

[[Page 11670]]

debt that they can't repay or would take them a lifetime to free 
themselves of. We have that responsibility and that obligation.
  I'm going to close because the underlying point I'm trying to make is 
this: yes, the Federal Government is important; how the Federal 
Government manages its money is important. This debt, it's critical 
that we manage it properly. We have to avoid default because if this 
government goes into default, everyone's interest rates on their loans 
are going to go up. That could force people into bankruptcy, force 
folks into foreclosure, and ruin property values for everyone else. 
Just so you know, property values have been ruined because of 
foreclosure. So if we help homeowners stay in their homes by modifying 
their loans, that's going to save the property values of other 
homeowners who never missed a payment, because you are the same 
homeowners right now that can't sell your home to pay off your 
mortgage.
  You can't retire. You are depending on selling your home to pay off 
your mortgage, but you can't do it because your other neighbors are so 
under water they had to walk away from their homes or had to be evicted 
because of foreclosure. So by helping families reduce their debt, that 
helps all of us in America and it helps our American economy.
  You see, this country is a great country. Our economy has been a 
strong one, not necessarily because of government, but because of the 
American people. So you know what, folks? If we want this economy to 
rebound, let's make sure that Americans are financially secure. And one 
of the most effective ways to do that is to free Americans from 
mortgage and student loan debt.

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