Expanding American Homeownership

Owning a home in this country is called the American dream for many reasons: Pride of ownership, a sense of responsibility, the feeling of settling down and belonging to a community and a neighborhood. But the American dream is in peril for many families in this country as foreclosures rise and dreams shatter.

I'm sorry to report, Mr. Speaker, that in my home state of Ohio we have the nation's highest rate of mortgages that are seriously delinquent or in the foreclosure process. In April of this year, Ohio had nearly 12,000 default notices, auction sale notifications and bank repossessions. Sadly, one in 10 Ohio homeowners with a mortgage is at least a month behind in payments and one in four with a subprime loan is delinquent or in foreclosure.

Now these staggering statistics are not just numbers. They are families and individuals whose American dream is quickly becoming a nightmare. I have talked with many hard-working proud families who are struggling to pay their mortgages and afford health insurance, struggling to put food on the table and pay for their children's college education. They're working hard and playing by the rules, but nonetheless, the American dream has moved out of their reach.

The homeownership crisis is part of a larger problem for our nation, where policies and laws have not worked for our low and middle-class families the way that they should. This is unacceptable for my constituents, and it should be unacceptable for a nation built by working men and women that prides itself on ownership, responsibility, and fairness.

Mr. Speaker, the problems in the housing market are not new, but they have become what they are because of a lack of action and leadership from prior Congresses and this administration. The lack of oversight has led to the abuse of a mortgage system by unscrupulous lenders and others looking for easy profit by preying upon those who are most vulnerable. And it is wholly unacceptable that is a system that should be an avenue to homeownership has instead become a path to heartache for far too many families. Today, by passing the Expanding American Homeownership Act, we take a bold step forward on what is going to be a long road to fix this broken system. H.R. 1852 raises loan limits, helps reduce the burden for high-risk borrowers, expands counseling for home buyers and provides new ownership incentives for low-income families.

And these are very important and positive measures. This is a demonstration of our commitment to restore the American dream. But we also understand that there is no easy fix for this issue. In coming days, I plan to introduce legislation that will bring together many interests and groups involved in foreclosure and mortgage lending crisis so that we can continue to act to improve this situation. I hope that working together, we will be able to quickly offer a comprehensive and meaningful solution to move forward.

A similar effort has been made in Ohio, spurred by our new Governor, Ted Strickland. And they came back with some very important recommendations that will hopefully make an important impact in the state. But we at the federal level need to do our part.

Mr. Speaker, never again do I want to have to hear that a family has lost their home simply because our laws and regulations have worked against them. I urge passage of this rule and the underlying legislation. Thank you.