Foreclosure Prevention Law Includes Feingold Measure To Examine Ways To Help Farmers Restructure Loans

Press Release

Today, President Barack Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, a bill which included a provision, authored by Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), that will examine ways to help more farmers and ranchers restructure their loans as an alternative to foreclosure. Following the signing, Feingold released the following statement:

"Now that this bill has become law, the panel that oversees the bank bailout will take a close look at ways to help ranchers and farmers facing foreclosure to restructure their loans and stay in their homes. Dairy farmers in Wisconsin have been especially hard hit by plummeting prices for their milk, while costs have remained relatively high. Since the government is going to help lending institutions with bailouts, I believe that these institutions should do what they can to help keep all Americans in their homes. My amendment takes a step toward this goal by requiring the oversight panel to consider extending the protections already provided for home mortgages to farm loans."

The Feingold-Gillibrand provision requires the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to promptly examine whether lenders that have taken bailout funds should help farmers and ranchers restructure their loans. In March, Feingold and Gillibrand led a group of senators in calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Treasury Department to require TARP recipients to implement a foreclosure mitigation program that includes loan restructuring for farmers, as they have already done for home loans. Many farm loans either include a home as part of the loan or as security against the loan, so extending this provision to farmers and ranchers would help save farms and homes from foreclosure. Feingold and Gillibrand also received a commitment from Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) to work to bring USDA and Treasury face-to-face with farm groups and farmer advocates so the agencies have a better understanding of the growing concern among farmers and ranchers.

The Feingold-Gillibrand efforts to provide restructuring by TARP recipients for farm loans are supported by a host of agriculture-related organizations including the American Farm Bureau Federation, Dairy Farmers of America, Food and Water Watch, Midwest Dairy Coalition, National Farmers Union, National Family Farm Coalition, National Milk Producers Federation, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI-USA) and more than 50 others.

Source