William Bryan: “Yesterday in the Senate Banking Committee American consumers were dealt a major setback. The committee was expected to…”

“Yesterday in the Senate Banking Committee American consumers were dealt a major setback. The committee was expected to vote out legislation that would have ended a practice that costs hundreds of thousands of homeowners millions of dollars per year. The Banking Committee was scheduled to vote out S. 318, the Homeowners' Protection Act of 1997 which is sponsored by Senators D'Amato, Dodd, Domenici, and myself. This bill would outlaw the practice of overcharging homeowners for private mortgage insurance they no longer need. Unfortunately, Chairman D'Amato was forced to cancel the markup because a number of Members put the interest of a small, yet highly profitable, industry over the public's interest. To make matters worse, this industry is clearly taking advantage of millions of Americans in an unconscionable manner. The opponents of Chairman D'Amato's legislation argue that the bill places too heavy a burden on this one industry. I do not share their opinion and believe the interests of millions of American homeowners should be put ahead of an industry that is clearly taking advantage of these same homeowners.”