Political Quotes

“Let me thank Chairwoman Waters for continuing to take on the tough issues as she once again is taking on this tough issue of the foreclosure crisis with this bill. I want to thank her for her leadership and also Chairman Frank. This bill will give HUD the tools to work with States and local governments to identify distressed neighborhoods and purchase and rehabilitate vacant houses before they become a blight on their neighborhoods. There are entire neighborhoods in my district in Oakland, California that are threatened, quite frankly, with complete collapse. The longer homes stay empty, the more likely they will further destabilize already fragile communities, discourage investment, depress home values, and create a spiraling cycle of foreclosures. This bill provides $15 billion in loans and grants to directly relieve these neighborhoods. This is just half of what this administration has already spent on bailing out Bear Stearns. Thank goodness Congresswoman Waters has provided this plan to help stabilize communities. I urge an 'aye' vote.”