Tell Congress: Confront the Mortgage Meltdown

Some corporate chief executives have taken home millions of dollars by encouraging lending practices that may result in real estate foreclosures.  These lending practices include loans with low down payments and low, “teaser” interest rates that balloon after a short period so that mortgages become unaffordable. 
 
We need to take action to help homeowners and to limit the economic fallout from these lending practices.

Now is the time to let lawmakers know what provisions they must include in legislation to ensure it eases the financial stress of the millions of homeowners who were encouraged to take on these risky mortgages.  The AFL-CIO believes that any legislation that Congress passes must include the following provisions:

  • An immediate short-term moratorium on home foreclosures.
  • A conversion of the low, ”teaser” interest rates on home loans to the standard 30-year fixed mortgage.
  • Expanding Chapter 13 bankruptcy court protection to enable homeowners to shield their primary residences from foreclosures.

Please send a message to your senators and representative today to urge them to include these critical provisions in the legislation Congress passes.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Confront the Mortgage Meltdown

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to urge you to support legislation this session that will address the mortgage crisis by helping millions of Americans who have been victims of deceptive lending practices and may lose their homes. It is crucial that you and your colleagues do not lose sight of the human toll of this crisis when determining what actions you should take. Sen. Dodd and Rep. Frank have already shown commendable leadership by drawing attention to the plight of millions of homeowners and drafting legislation that would ease their financial stress.

It is important that the final legislation that you support and pass include these key provisions:

--An immediate short-term moratorium on home foreclosures.

--A conversion of the low, "teaser" interest rates on home mortgages to standard 30-year fixed mortgages.

--Expanding Chapter 13 bankruptcy court protection to enable homeowners to shield their primary residence from foreclosure.

The inclusion of these provisions will show that you recognize the pain of working-class Americans.

If the government can see the need to buttress the financial system by facilitating and insuring a transaction between large corporations as it did earlier this year when JP Morgan purchased Bear Stearns, surely lawmakers can enact legislation to help the millions of homeowners who are suffering the most from the collapse of the housing market.

Your leadership is needed to ensure that these provisions are included in the final bill.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 11, 2008


Background Information

Some corporate CEOs have encouraged lending practices that include offering loans with low down payments and low, "teaser" interest rates that balloon after a short period of time so that mortgages become unaffordable.  These practices may result in real estate foreclosures.

These types of loans are economic timebombs that damage the well-being and value of neighborhoods and the health of the American economy when they finally go off.  The problems these CEOs have helped create are not small ones that will correct themselves over time.  They are problems that will continue to spread in a destructive chain reaction if not confronted in a serious way as quickly as possible.