The Hamp Termination Act of 2011

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Chair, I rise today to oppose this spurious legislation to eliminate a program that has just begun to help our constituents recover from the horrible housing crisis that has taken hold of our communities.

This program has helped more than 600,000 families stay in their homes while helping neighborhoods avoid the associated blight that comes with vacant and foreclosed homes.

The legislation allowed hard-working American families in danger of losing their homes to refinance into lower-cost government-insured mortgages they can afford to repay.

Florida has had over 82,000 permanent and trial modifications under this program. This is over 82,000 families who do not have to worry about where they are going to sleep tomorrow. 82,000 families who know where their kids are going to go to school tomorrow.

I was able to hold foreclosure workshops in cities and towns throughout my district to help these families at risk of losing their homes. With this program's help, these families were able to stay in their homes, keeping neighborhoods intact.

I believe that more money should be used to keep people in their homes. To the administration's credit, they attempted to create other programs that would do that. The Republican majority has spent the last weeks attempting to eliminate those programs also.

Eliminating this program without a replacement program for the people on the front lines of this recession is heartless and should be criminal.

Defeat this legislation and vote to keep people in their homes and our communities living and vibrant.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source