Owning a home is a part of the American dream and a serious responsibility.  For years, the mortgage industry issued subprime and adjustable rate mortgages to folks who now cannot afford to pay the higher interest rates. Speculators and scam artists also contributed to the current housing crunch. 

The housing industry needs reform and more transparency.  It is unfair to make American taxpayers foot the bill for the current housing crisis.  Instead, those involved ought to be held accountable for their actions. The so-called Foreclosure Prevention Act amounts to a bail-out and does not include the reforms needed to prevent another crisis of this kind. 

When this bill came to the House floor, I voted against it.  Unfortunately, it passed the House by a vote of 272-152 and was signed into law by the President.