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On December 5, 2008, Congresswoman Kaptur wrote a letter to Secretary Paulson detailing the devastating impact of rising foreclosures on Toledo and northern Ohio. She requested that the Secretary look to the region as a test bed to learn how federal programs could be better crafted to improve the economic conditions of local communities. Congresswoman Kaptur then hand delivered to the Treasury the list of more than 4,000 foreclosures that have occurred in Lucas County this year.
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Marcy delivering the four-column list of 2007 Lucas County foreclosures to the Treasury Department.
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The $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) has not been an
effective tool at the local level because it fails to address the root
of our economic woes—rising foreclosures. The $300 billion Federal
Housing Administration program designed to help modify troubled
mortgage loans has been similarly ineffective: The program has received
fewer than 200 applications nationwide since taking effect on October
1, and as of December 10, not a single loan had been modified. If
nothing is done, another 600 families will lose their homes in Lucas
County by the end of January, as will thousands more nationwide.
To this end, Congresswoman Kaptur convened a televideoconference with
Washington agency officials (such as the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)) and local Ohio experts to answer the
question, "What is it that the U.S. Government could be doing better to
make a difference in the housing foreclosure crisis?" Federal government officials received a firsthand account of the challenges and roadblocks
faced by county commissioners, legal aid attorneys, realtors, housing
counselors and other advocates in Ohio working to meet the needs of
troubled homeowners. The agency officials agreed to continue to work
with our region to better understand local needs.
(Click here to read Marcy's letter to Secretay Paulson.) |
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