Al Franken: “I am truly disappointed that my colleague would object to an amendment such as this one. This amendment does not contain…”

“I am truly disappointed that my colleague would object to an amendment such as this one. This amendment does not contain any new appropriations or authorization of appropriations. But, more importantly, it is about helping people who have worked their whole lives to own homes but now are at risk of losing them, often through absolutely no fault of their own. When I last spoke about this on the Senate floor, I told my colleagues about a woman named Tecora, a homeowner from south Minneapolis. Tecora now owes $317,000 on a $288,000 loan due to an exotic mortgage called an option ARM--or option adjustable rate mortgage--that made her monthly payments double. Tecora has not missed a mortgage payment, but unless something changes, she is going to lose her home. She had been looking forward to retirement, but now she looks at her future with a sense of dread. ``I'm squeaking by,'' she told the Minneapolis Star Tribune, ``by the plaque on my teeth.'' It shouldn't have to be this way.”