Issue Position: Housing Crisis

Issue Position

We continue to experience the negative impact of the instability in the housing market on our friends and neighbors here in South Florida, as well as throughout the nation. Miami-Dade County now has the third highest foreclosure rate for a large metropolitan area according to Realty Trac. (One in 264).

Home ownership is one of the most important goals of the American Dream. It is vitally important that we support efforts to ensure the markets' future stability. During our economic recovery, we must work toward long-term and fiscally responsible housing policies that provide incentives for responsible homeowners.

I am a cosponsor of H.Res. 25, a bipartisan resolution that affirms the importance of the mortgage interest deduction (MID) towards maintaining the market for housing. The resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the MID should not be cut back, but rather that the present law should be retained.

To restrict it any way would undermine progress in the still-fragile housing recovery. The single most important contribution Congress can make to that recovery is to assure stability in the laws--particularly the tax rules--that directly impact the housing economy.

The nation cannot emerge from its current economic distress unless and until the housing crisis has abated. Congress must do everything in its power to shore up consumer confidence in housing by reaffirming its support for the tax benefits that support housing. Therefore, the worth and value of the MID must be preserved.

As your Member of Congress, I will continue to work hard with local, state, and federal officials to address our community's housing needs. I remain committed to working at all levels to help restore opportunity to the housing market while avoiding the financial hyperinflation of the past.

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