House Proceeding on May 7th, 2009 :: 0:17:55 to 0:25:35
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0:17:52 to 0:18:12( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: without instructions. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for one hour. mr. cardoza: thank you, madam speaker. for the purpose of debate only i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions. all time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and

0:17:55 to 0:25:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Dennis A. Cardoza

0:18:13 to 0:18:33( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: extend their remarks on house resolution 406. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. cardoza: thank you. house resolution 406 provides consideration of h.r. 1728, mortgage reform and anti-predatory lending act, under a structured rule.

0:18:34 to 0:18:54( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: the rule makes in order 14 amendments which are listed in the rules committee report accompanying the resolution. five republican amendments, eight democratic amendments, and one bipartisan amendment have been made in order. each amendment is debatable for 10 minutes except the manager's amendment which is debatable for 30 minutes. the rule also provides for one motion to recommit with or

0:18:55 to 0:19:17( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: without finally i would like to take a moment to make a clarification regarding the description of one of the amendments that has been made in order under the rule, specifically amendment number 2 by chairman frank. the inadverttly listed a description from an earlier version of this amendment. the amendment was later modified but the change to the description was not updat.

0:19:18 to 0:19:40( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: i want to emphasize that this -- that the actual amendment text which was made in order correct. i would also ask unanimous consent to submit for the record the corrected description for the frank amendment listed as number 2 in the rules committee report. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. cardoza: thank you, madam speaker.

0:19:41 to 0:20:02( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: a significant crossroads. the likes of which we have never known. business continues to shed payroll, job losses continue to molt, an hardworking -- mount, and hardworking families across america continue to struggle. many economists have correctly stated the foreclosure crisis is the root of our economic meltdown, and i firmly believe

0:20:03 to 0:20:25( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: that until the housing market is stabilized, the economy will continue to worsen and people will continue to spend less, more business also shut their doors, and mass layoffs will further spread. until that happens, however, more and more american families are at risk of losing their homes. in the first quarter of 2009, more than 800,000 mortgage loans

0:20:26 to 0:20:47( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: entered into the foreclosure process. with over 340,000 in march alone. both are record highs which goes to show that the foreclosure cris is far from over. i can personally attest to the damage of the foreclosure crisis that it has left in the wake and the long effects it will have into the future. i have the honor of representing

0:20:48 to 0:21:08( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: california's 18th congressional district which encompasses the san joaquin valley. today my district is suffering like no other. my district has the highest rates of foreclosure in the nation and a loss of 70% of home equity over the last three years. with each passing month, it seems that the numbers are worsening.

0:21:09 to 0:21:29( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: as a result of the rampant foreclosures in my district, once vibrant neighborhoods have become vacant yards, overgrown with weeds and houses crumbling from vandalism and disrepair. swimming pools are abandoned and these house vs. become havens for mosquitos. crime and vandalism are on the

0:21:30 to 0:21:51( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: rise in what was previously safe neighborhoods. yet that's not all. home values in surrounding areas are also beginning to plummet and what started out as a foreclosure cris in my district is quickly spinning out of control creating economic disasters. in many parts of my district, they now face unemployment rates of over 20%. small businesses and neighborhood restaurants which

0:21:52 to 0:22:13( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: were once packed with customers are now almost empty and are shutting their doors at alarming rates. our longest serving community bank was swept up in the foreclosure is and recently closed. on top of that, my dairy farmers are in crisis and we have one of the worst droughts in the country. madam speaker, as i have been saying for quite some time, the devastation has hit my district

0:22:14 to 0:22:36( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: as massive and widespread is somewhat similar to what katrina left behind. only it wa daily by extreme event but over the course of weeks, months, and years. long after the foreclosure cris has come and gone, the central valley will continue 20 -- to cope with the aftermath of this devastation for years to come. my district and our nation will

0:22:37 to 0:22:57( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: not overcome this overnight. and it will take unprecedented action to help us rebuild and recover. congress has taken several important steps and actions not just to combat this crisis but to ensure a housing crisis of this magnitude will never happen again. the bill before us today is one more step in that direction.

0:22:58 to 0:23:19( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: some say the foreclosure crisis can be traced back to the rapid increase in subprime mortgages and risky underwriting practices which most -- most of whic were made with no federal supervision. many of the families targeted by subprime lenders were in fact low-income families with poor credit histories who felt this

0:23:20 to 0:23:42( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: was the only opportunity for them to achieve the arican dream. they were lured into low teaser and introductory interest rates which morphed into loans they had little chance of repaying once rates increased, starting the uptick in the foreclosure market. h.r. 1728 is aimed at preventing these predatory practices in the future.

0:23:43 to 0:24:03( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: among other things, h.r. 1728 requires borrowers can actually repay their loans in order to ensure that vulnerable consumers aren't pressured into loans and terms they can't meet. it eliminates incentives to steer consumers into high cost loans. it also provides much needed regulation of the lending

0:24:04 to 0:24:24( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: industry. er h.r. 1728 is not a cure for the foreclosure crisis. but it is an important component in eliminating the unscrupe pew luss practice that is -- unscrupulous practices that ran amuck and helped lead to the collapse of the housing market. i want to thank chairman frank for once again bringing this bi forward and for his

0:24:25 to 0:24:46( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: continued commitment to turning the tide in our nation's foreclosure cris. i want to take this opportunity to thank chairman frank for working with me to insert lang amendment of this bill that would create and make publicly available a national database of foreclosure and default statistics which we don't currently have. the federal government keeps

0:24:47 to 0:25:07( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: track of many economic indicators, including home price declines and unemployment. but right now there is no government agency that keeps tabs on defaults and foreclosure rates. as a taught us, foreclosure and default rates are critical statistics not only for monitoring the nation's economy, but also for determining which

0:25:08 to 0:25:28( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: areas of the country have been hardest hit in the downturn. my amendment calls on the secretary of h.u.d. to create this database so the federal government and congress can better detect and assess the housing cris so that we can respond in a timely and targeted manner. again i thank chairman frank for incorporating my amendment and i ask my colleagues on both sides

0:25:29 to 0:25:38( Edit History Discussion )

Dennis A. Cardoza: of the aisle to support the manager's amendment and the underlying bill so we can stop predatory lending and establish a federally maintained database