Happy Thanksgiving

Statement

This week, Americans are preparing to celebrate with their family and friends and share the simplest blessing a meal with the people we love. I've spent time with thousands of families in Ohio's 2nd District, and over the last year I've spoken to more and more of them who have been personally affected by the mortgage crisis sweeping the United States.

I was inspired to see that, last week, the House of Representatives passed the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act (HR 3915). This bill provides lenders with a set of national standards and helps ensure that the dream of home ownership doesn't become a nightmare.

The bill passed by a wide margin, 291-127, as 64 Republicans broke ranks and voted with Democrats to fix a problem that strikes at the heart of the American Dream. But Rep. Jean Schmidt voted against the bill.

We need real change in Washington. I support this bipartisan, common sense effort to rein in an industry that has spun out of control, and would have voted for it. I believe we must protect all Americans from unfair and predatory lending practices.

We know what's happening in our neighborhoods and towns. According to Malia Rulon of The Enquirer, "Ohio ranked fifth in the nation for foreclosures in the past three months, and Cincinnati had one foreclosure per 145 households. A quick search on Yahoo shows 2,103 foreclosures in Cincinnati alone, and a shocking 75 in Jean Schmidt's home town of Loveland, OH, population under 12,000.

What do Jean Schmidt's neighbors think of her voting against them?

Unlike Rep. Schmidt, Republican Senator George Voinovich knows that this is an important issue, saying that "Ohioans can no longer wait while Congress fails to act." [Cincinnati Enquirer, 11/16/07.]

We need to stand up for our hard working families, not the Wall Street insiders who made billions when times were good and are now looking for a government bailout. Maybe she's listening to the developers who have supported her political career.

Some, including Rep. Schmidt's friends in the White House, have attacked the bill by claiming that it will restrict access to the borrowing and make it harder to participate in an ownership society. I have one question for Jean Schmidt: isn't it Congress' job to protect families who save up and buy a home in good faith and then lose it because the system was rigged from the start against them?

Source