Senate Proceeding on Jul 25th, 2008 :: 2:18:57 to 2:24:23
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1:55:02 to 2:18:57( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Jack Reed

2:18:46 to 2:18:57( Edit History Discussion )

Jack Reed: bill. i hope we can do it. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader. mr. durbin: mr. president, first i want to welcome back our coleagues, senator reed

2:18:57 to 2:19:07( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: of rhode island, who has just returned from a trip to iraq and afghanistan with senators obamaen and hagel. i know he's made many trips there and i thank him for his service in the senate and his contact with

2:18:57 to 2:24:23( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Richard Durbin

2:19:07 to 2:19:14( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: our troops and we're glad to have you back, jack. mr. president, i have two unanimous consent unanimous consent questions for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval

2:19:14 to 2:19:21( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent these requests be agreed to, the requests be printed in the record . the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president,

2:19:21 to 2:19:32( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: how much sometime remaining on the democratic side? -- how much time is remaining on the democratic side? the presiding officer: 5 1/2 minutes. mr. durbin: very briefly then, i will say we have

2:19:32 to 2:19:44( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: pending before us a housing bill. you couldn't have missed this story in america. it's hit so many communities so hard. my home state of illinois is fourth or fifth in the nation in mortgage

2:19:44 to 2:19:56( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: foreclosures. our largest country, cook county, is number two among counties in the nation in mortgage foreclosures. give to theest side of chicago and take a look with bob fieorett a, the local alderman,

2:19:56 to 2:20:06( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: and find a beautiful row of houses and among those are many well-kep t places with the lawns manicured and smack dab in the middle is one bored-up house with trash all over the front yard and a sign

2:20:06 to 2:20:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: that says it's going to be up for auction in just a few weeks. of course that's dragging down property values for the good neighbors who are trying to keep their homes nice and make their mortgage

2:20:16 to 2:20:25( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: payments on time. 10 mortgage foreclosure isn't just your neighbor's -- so mortgage foreclosure isn't just your neighbor's misfortune, it's your misfortune. and when 2 1/2 million ame 2ricans lose their

2:20:25 to 2:20:36( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: home to foreclosure, 44 million homes will see a decline in values n. my hometown of springfield, illinois, if somebody files for foreclosure a block or two away, it's going to affect my property value. and

2:20:36 to 2:20:45( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: of course a home is one of the most important assets most families own. so we want to get this under control. so people who have been defrauded by mortgage practices that never should have been allowed

2:20:45 to 2:20:56( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: need a second chance. those speculators, high flyers who are trying toar make a fortune, i don't have any sympathy for them. but for those families who need a second chance to stay in their homes and

2:20:56 to 2:21:09( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: not be -- not to lose everything they've put into them, this bill can help. you know, we set down and worked on this bill in a bipartisan basis. we now have the president's support. the simple fact of

2:21:09 to 2:21:20( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: the matter is this bill ought to be on the president's desk today, and it could be.. sadly, one republican senator is holding up this bill, making the senate stay in session until tomorrow. i hope that

2:21:20 to 2:21:32( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: senator is here for the vote when it takes place tomorrow, but it's totally unnecessary. it's just a matter of delaying critically important bipartisan legislation that can really try to address the terrible

2:21:32 to 2:21:47( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: home situation we have across america america. national association of realtors tell us that home sales have dropped yet again last month, leaving sales 15.5% below where they were a year ago. the

2:21:47 to 2:21:57( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: median price of a home snoald june dropped 6.1% from a year ago -- sold in june dropped 6.1 from a year ago. that's the sixth month in year over year home price reduction n. my home state, sales are

2:21:57 to 2:22:10( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: down, median home prices are down 6.1% and unfortunately it doesn't look like it's going to get better soon. six months arc the center for responsible lending estimated 2.2 million homes may be lost

2:22:10 to 2:22:21( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: to foreclosure in the near future. 44.5 million families seeing a decline in value of their homes, a decline in values of homes across america of over $220 billion. this bill that we have before

2:22:21 to 2:22:33( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: us that will be passed i hope tomorrow with a strong bipartisan vote, the housing and economic recovery act, will take several steps to help families facing foreclosure keep their homes, help other

2:22:33 to 2:22:44( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: families avoid foreclosure and help communities that have been devastated by foreclosure to recover. chairman chris dodd is a democrat of connecticut, chairman richard shelby is a republican of alabama.

2:22:44 to 2:22:54( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: they came together and they crafted a bipartisan bill and worked hard to do it. chairman barney frank of massachusetts over in the house did an extraordinarily good job. and we were able to not only

2:22:54 to 2:23:06( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: improve the regulation of fannie mae and freddie mac, two government agencies that are directly involved in almost half of the home sales in america, the bill also gives tax benefits to families who want

2:23:06 to 2:23:17( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: to buy homes in cities trying to rebuild low-income housing. it helps veterans -- and we always should do that -- by increasing loan limits for their mortgages and extending the period of time

2:23:17 to 2:23:29( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: that elapses after a soldier returns from service before he can face foreclosure. cities receive $4 billion under the bill to purchase and rehab foreclosed property, and it helps avoid foreclosures in

2:23:29 to 2:23:38( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: the future by tightening licensing requirements on mortgage brokers. all of thee steps are in the right direction. but we also need a good-faith effort from lending institutions institutions. for too

2:23:38 to 2:23:49( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: long, they have stood by the sidelines watching these foreclosures stack up. they should be in the game, working with these families to save the homes where they can. that's not only the right thing

2:23:49 to 2:23:59( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: to do morally, it's the right thing to do for their industry. if we're going to get the american economy moving again, create jobs and have a bright economic future, we need to get our housing sector

2:23:59 to 2:24:09( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: back on its feet. i'm sorry that one senator makes us wait until tomorrow to get it done, but i trust tomorrow we will get it done. we're going to pass this bill, send it to the president and i hope

2:24:09 to 2:24:23( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: start the economic turnaround that country really needs. mr. presiden t, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. mr. coleman: thank you. mr. president,

2:24:23 to 2:24:36( Edit History Discussion )

Norm Coleman: i join with the assistant democratic leader in de looking forward to passage of the housing bill. americans are caught in what appears like a perfect storm. the subprime mortgages stimulates, causes

2:24:23 to 2:35:11( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Norm Coleman