Just a quick post here:
Last week the House of Representatives debated a new piece of legislation, the catchily-named Aiding Those Facing Foreclosure Act of 2010 (H.R. 5510) that would allow Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to be used to aid homeowners dealing with foreclosure. The bill failed when it did not garner the 2/3 (237 votes) vote needed to cut debate short and pass the bill. The final vote was 210-145. Somehow 78 representatives did not vote, which is odd because it seems to me that voting is our elected officials primary job function.
Said Rep. Maxine Waters:
“It is unthinkable that we could have used TARP funds for every major corporation, all of the banks, all of the ‘too big to fail’, and yet we would deny homeowners in the hardest-hit states some assistance…This whole industry has failed us, and we’re allowing homeowners to swim out there, alone, by themselves, with no help. Let’s help the American people; it’s the least we can do as we close out this 111th Congress. We can not only send this message…we can stand up and demand that they get the kind of help that will keep them and their families in their homes.”
This comes after the Treasury Department determined that under the current law, TARP funds could not be used to help distressed homeowners. There is considerable debate as to whether this is a correct interpretation of the law or not. In any case, it appears this legislation has stalled for the time being.
Loading ...
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Leave a comment