Political Quotes

“I thank Senator Dodd so much for his great leadership on this issue. The reason I very much wanted to speak this morning is because California is on the front lines of this crisis. We have about 25 percent of all the foreclosures in our State. I want to show Senator Dodd where we rank in terms of the cities. We make up 7 of the top 10 highest foreclosure filing rates nationwide. First is Stockton, Modesto, Merced--Merced is No. 4, actually. These are very much in the farmland countryside. Riverside- San Bernardino, which is east of Los Angeles and one of the fastest growing areas--and by the way, the place where all of the freight goes through to get to the rest of the country as it comes in from Los Angeles. Bakersfield is No. 7, Vallejo-Fairfield, 8, and Sacramento, right near our capital, 9. We have 7 of the top 10 highest foreclosure filing rates nationwide. And the reason I stress it is because the things I am about to say are not theoretical. I have seen them happening. I held five roundtable discussions in various parts of my State, in many of these communities, and everything Senator Dodd is saying about what occurs in a community is right on target because when you start with one foreclosure, and a house gets boarded up, and then someone else puts their house up for sale and it sits, suddenly you have a circumstance where crime is going up and properties are going down. It is a vicious cycle.”