December, 16 2009, 09:34am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Rick Bielke
Communications Director
(Ph)202.293.0222 | (Fx)202.293.0202
Congress Rejects Measure to Help Struggling Families Amid Shower of Special Interest Money
45 House Members who supported mortgage provision in March now opposed
WASHINGTON
When the House of Representatives passed a sweeping financial reform
package last week, it rejected several high profile amendments,
including the so-called "cramdown" provision. Introduced by Rep. John
Conyers (D-Mich.), whose district has one of the highest foreclosure
rates in the country, the provision would temporarily allow bankruptcy
judges to adjust the value of a mortgage to reflect the current value
of the home.
In March, the House passed an identical
proposal as a stand-alone bill, the Helping Families Save Their Homes
Act of 2009. But the same chamber rejected it this time, thanks to
nearly four dozen members of Congress who switched their position on
the issue since the spring.
In fact, 45 House members
changed their vote from an 'Aye' to a 'Nay' on the mortgage provision
when it was voted on Friday. This same group of House members has
received nearly $3.4 million from the real estate, commercial banking,
and credit union industries during the last election cycle and so far
this year, according to an analysis of data from the nonpartisan Center
for Responsive Politics. The vote-switching members received more than
$900,000 from these industries in the first nine months of this year
alone. All three industries have been fiercely opposed to the
provision.
"There is no question this provision would
help keep families in their homes," said Common Cause President Bob
Edgar. "But the banks don't want to have to face more losses for all
their risky lending, so they have showered Congress with campaign cash."
Some
of these members also represent districts in areas of the country
hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), for
example, represents parts of southern California that have been at the
epicenter of the foreclosure crisis. He received $68,900 from these
industries over the last three years and his district ranks as the 19th
hardest hit district in the country as measured by the foreclosure
rate. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), who received $146,934 and
switched his position on the mortgage provision from March, represents
a district covering portions of Monroe and Miami-Dade counties. Rep.
Diaz-Balart's district ranks as the 23rd hardest hit. And Rep. David
Scott (D-Ga.), whose district in suburban Atlanta covers Fulton,
Douglas and DeKalb counties and ranks 27th in foreclosure rates,
switched his vote as well. He received $158,885 from these industries
over the past three years.
"Good people caught in this
economic downturn are losing their homes because of campaign
contributions," commented Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public
Campaign. "It's time to end this immoral pay-to-play system that lets
the banks 'own the place.' Congress should adopt the Fair Elections Now
Act," said Nyhart, referencing Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) words
earlier this year when a similar "cramdown" provision was defeated in
the Senate.
The Fair Elections
Now Act is a comprehensive campaign finance proposal that mixes small
donations and public financing and frees federal Congressional
candidates from the pressures of fundraising. Bills have been
introduced in the Senate by Sen. Durbin, the Assistant Senate Majority
Leader, and in the House by Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), the Democratic
Caucus Chairman.
# # #
Common Cause
is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to restoring the
core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest, and
accountable government that works for the public interest, and
empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard.
Public
Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to
sweeping campaign reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of
big special interest money in American politics.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
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Holocaust Survivor Message to US Campus Protesters:
This survivor of the Holocaust is against Genocide in Gaza & conflating Jewishness with Zionism, which does nothing but increase antisemitism.
Your protests are so persistent, large and global that eventually the Western… pic.twitter.com/IDCH0NTO6m
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On Wednesday, far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implored U.S. authorities to crack down even harder on the students, whom he called an "antisemitic mob."
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Kapos predicted that "today's marches are having a very hopeful aspect that is so large, so persistent, so global that eventually the Western leadership—which are trying to deny what is actually going on—will be forced to face up to it, and I think we are not far from that."
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Kapos and his comrades are part of a long history of Holocaust survivors speaking out against Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
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A report published Wednesday found that the number of people around the world suffering acute hunger surged to 282 million last year amid the intensifying climate crisis and military conflicts—including Israel's assault on Gaza—that have further enriched weapons manufacturers.
The Global Report on Food Crises estimates that 281.6 million people in 59 countries faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2023, an increase of 24 million compared to the previous year.
2023 marked the fifth consecutive year that global hunger has worsened, according to the new report, which found that Gazans account for 80% of the people facing imminent famine globally. Dozens of people in the Gaza Strip, mostly children, have starved to death in recent weeks as Israel continues to bomb the territory and impede the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid.
The report, a collaborative project of more than a dozen organizations including the World Food Program (WFP), said military conflict was the "primary driver affecting 20 countries with nearly 135 million people in acute food insecurity—almost half of the global number."
"The Sudan faced the largest deterioration due to conflict, with 8.6 million more people facing high levels of acute food insecurity as compared with 2022," the report found.
Extreme weather events fueled by the continued burning of oil, gas, and coal "were the primary driversin 18 countries where over 77 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity, up from 12 countries with 57 million people in 2022," the document added.
"When we talk about acute food insecurity, we are talking about hunger so severe that it poses an immediate threat to people's livelihoods and lives," said Dominique Burgeon, director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Liaison Office in Geneva. "This is hunger that threatens to slide into famine and cause widespread death."
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Late last year, AFSC created an online database that allows users to see which companies are profiting from Israel's military assault on the Gaza Strip.
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The 3-2 vote along party lines to reclassify broadband as a public service under Title II of the Communications Act came seven months after FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel announced the push in the wake of the U.S. Senate confirming Commissioner Anna Gomez.
Commissioner Geoffrey Starks joined Rosenworcel and Gomez to launch the rulemaking process last year and finalize the policy change on Thursday. Commissioner Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington both aligned with the powerful telecom industry by opposing the effort to prevent internet service providers from blocking, throttling, or engaging in paid prioritization of lawful online content.
Demand Progress Education Fund senior campaigner Joey DeFrancesco said the revival "has been desperately needed" since former FCC Chair Ajit Pai—an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump—led the "disastrous decision" in 2017 to gut a 2015 agency policy codifying the principle that has been foundational to the internet since its inception.
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"The FCC's vote today returns the internet to the American people."
Free Press co-CEO Craig Aaron declared that "everyone should celebrate today's FCC vote."
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Aaron praised Rosenworcel and her staff for leading the restoration effort, as well as Starks and Gomez for working with her to reverse the Trump FCC's move and ensure "that the agency can once again protect internet users whenever big phone and cable companies like AT&T, Comcast, Spectrum, and Verizon attempt to harm them."
"Big cable and phone companies won't be able to pick and choose what any of us can say or see online. Net neutrality is a guarantee that these companies will carry our data across the internet without undue interference or unreasonable discrimination," he emphasized. "This is what democracy should look like: Public servants responding to public sentiment, taking steps to protect just and reasonable services and free expression, and showing that the government is capable of defending the public interest."
Michael Copps, a former FCC commissioner and current Common Cause special adviser, was similarly enthusiastic, saying that "if I weren't out of the country today, I would be personally at the FCC jumping up and down, saluting the majority for reinstituting the network neutrality rules that were so foolishly eliminated by the previous commission."
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The vote notably comes during an election year—and as Democratic President Joe Biden, a net neutrality supporter, is gearing up for a November rematch against Trump.
"The internet is crucial to civic engagement in the United States today. It functions as a virtual public square where social justice movements organize and garner support," said Common Cause's Ishan Mehta. "The FCC's vote today returns the internet to the American people."
Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, also piled on the praise, proclaiming that "today marks the last day that internet service providers can continue to put profit over people."
"We are thrilled that the FCC now has the authority it needs to protect consumers, promote the exercise of First Amendment rights online, and ensure that everyone has access to high-quality, affordable internet," she said. "However, we urge the commission not to exercise its authority to preempt consistent state laws that grant consumers additional protections."
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