Letter to Stephanie Mudick Executive Vice President JPMorgan Chase & Co. - Portion Settlement Funds

Letter

Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), sent a letter urging JPMorgan Chase to consider using a portion of funds from the settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in November toward struggling Ohio communities.

In the letter, Portman and Brown write, "Ohio cities continue to cope with a housing crisis that has brought significant challenges to communities across our state. Following the announced settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and JPMorgan Chase in November, we want to share with you a proposal from a broad coalition of Ohio civic groups on how these settlement funds could make the most significant impact in struggling communities throughout the Buckeye State."

Portman and Brown have worked together to assist Ohio communities affected by the housing crisis. Both called for portions of the Hardest Hit Fund to be used to help communities rebuild from the housing crisis, and have sought ways to further assist struggling Ohio neighborhoods.

In June of last year, Portman introduced the Neighborhood Safety Act, which simply states that any amounts of assistance that have been allocated through the Hardest Hit Fund program may be used to demolish blighted structures. A companion bill was introduced by Representatives David Joyce (R-OH-14), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9) and Marcia Fudge (D-OH-11). The legislation was endorsed by the Mayors of Lima, Mansfield, Middletown, Warren, and Youngstown, as well as the Health Commissioner of the City of Portsmouth, the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, and the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority.

Text of the letter is below and can also be found here.

Stephanie Mudick
Executive Vice President
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
270 Park Avenue, Floor 46
New York, NY 10017-2014

Dear Stephanie,

Ohio cities continue to cope with a housing crisis that has brought significant challenges to communities across our state. Following the announced settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and JPMorgan Chase in November, we want to share with you a proposal from a broad coalition of Ohio civic groups on how these settlement funds could make the most significant impact in struggling communities throughout the Buckeye State.

These groups have shared a number of constructive ideas on community redevelopment activities to help stabilize and restore Ohio communities hard hit by the foreclosure crisis. The proposal includes specific ideas on how to achieve such progress through investments in demolition, foreclosure prevention, renovating blighted homes, and repurposing vacant properties.

With JPMorgan Chase's significant presence and long history in our home state of Ohio, we believe that investing settlement funds in Ohio is appropriate as our state continues to climb out of the housing crisis. Further, with the expertise already in place at Ohio civic and housing organizations, these funds can be put to use quickly and efficiently with the strongest impact.

We appreciate your consideration of these proposals.

Source