Houston, TX – Today, Congressman Al Green was joined by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank at a press conference to discuss housing issues and legislation pending in the House Financial Services Committee to address the ongoing subprime mortgage crisis. 

“The problems surrounding the subprime mortgage markets have put millions of hardworking Americans at-risk of losing their homes. While Texas has not been impacted as severely as other parts of our nation, there were still more than 184,000 prime and subprime mortgages in delinquency at the end of 2007.  Nationally, according to a Congressional Joint Economic Committee report, as many as 2.8 million Americans could lose their homes in the next five years due to the subprime mortgage crisis,” Green stated

There are currently two bills pending in the House Financial Services Committee aimed at stemming the rise in foreclosures.  The FHA Housing Stabilization and Homeownership Retention Act (H.R. 5830), introduced by Chairman Frank, is a voluntary program that allows mortgage holders to refinance loans and avoid foreclosure.  This voluntary program could potentially help hundreds of thousands and possibly over a million homeowners.  The Neighborhood Stabilization Act (H.R. 5818), introduced by Housing Subcommittee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, will establish a $15 billion, HUD-administered  loan and grant program for the purchase, rehabilitation and re-sale of owner-vacated, foreclosed homes.  Both H.R. 5830 and H.R. 5818 are scheduled to be marked-up in the House Financial Services Committee this week.

“H.R. 5830 and H.R. 5818 are not meant to be a hand out or a bail-out, they are meant to be a hand up,” Green stated.  “Foreclosures impact not only the borrowers who lose their homes but also neighborhoods, cities and our economy.  Studies have shown that foreclosures increase violent crime in neighborhoods.  Properties that have been foreclosed upon have been shown to decrease the value of other homes in the neighborhood.  Foreclosures also reduce city tax revenue, making it harder to provide good schools, police protection, fire code enforcement and other services.  We must take action not just for those on the verge of losing their homes, but for the overall well-being of our families, our communities, and our nation.”