Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague. Let me say that my colleague is having a problem with her voice with laryngitis, so I am actually going to be speaking for her from her talking points. So I will continue talking about Ohio, which has been particularly hurt by the current mortgage foreclosure crisis. In a ranking of metropolitan areas with the highest foreclosure rates, Ohio has the sad distinction of having four areas in the top 20. Northeast Ohio, which includes Lorain and Elyria in her district, had the sixth highest rate. Nearly 3 percent of all households in these cities are in some stage of foreclosure, a 112 percent jump from 2006. Akron came in at 12, Dayton at 15 and Toledo at 19. The current subprime mortgage crisis has not stemmed from a single cause, and mitigating its effects will not be achieved with a single solution. Housing problems stem from predatory lending practices, job losses, and situations such as death, divorce and health emergencies. We must pursue innovative solutions, and this includes trying the provisions of volunteerism and Service-Learning grants to areas that have been adversely affected by the mortgage crisis.”