Rep. Watson sponsors foreclosure prevention forum
Community invited to free event
Congresswoman Diane E. Watson (D-33) sponsors a free Foreclosure Prevention Forum to discuss the impact of the economic downturn and how to survive this crisis. The forum will be held Saturday, May 31, 1 p.m. at Los Angeles High School, located at 4650 West Olympic Blvd.
Rep. Watson backed key legislation that will help improve home values and assist Americans who are struggling with the housing and credit crises and in danger of losing their homes. The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, and the Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008 were approved by the House with bipartisan support.
“Owning a home is the American Dream, but thousands of Californians are on the brink of losing their homes and becoming the next victims of the housing crisis,” said Watson. “I am proud that we have backed a plan that will help homeowners who are struggling and help end this crisis.”
The housing crisis has had a significant impact in California. One in 20 California homeowners is projected to lose their homes to foreclosure over the next two years. Homeowners who do not lose their homes have also been hurt by the crisis. The Pew Charitable Trusts estimates that 64% of all Californian homeowners will feel the ripple effects of the housing crisis. The crisis could also cost state and local tax base $107 billion.
The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 will provide mortgage refinancing assistance that will help keep families from losing their homes and protect neighboring home values. The plan also expands programs run by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to enable borrowers in danger of losing their home to refinance into lower-cost government -insured mortgages they can afford to repay.
The plan is not a bailout and requires both homeowners and lenders to take responsibility. In order to qualify for refinancing and a new government backed mortgages, lenders and mortgage investors will be required to take a loss and borrowers must share any profit from the resale of a refinanced home with the government. Additionally, the new plan is open only to owner-occupied homes. Speculators, investors and vacation/second-home owners are not eligible.
The House also passed the Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008, which provides $15 billion in loans and grants to states to acquire vacant, foreclosed homes. The legislation will allow local communities to rehabilitate foreclosed properties, which currently drive down surrounding home properties, and place these homes back on the market.
“The housing crisis is impacting all of us,” added Rep. Watson. “Families who lose their homes are directly impacted, but their former neighbors have also seen their homes lose value. Our comprehensive approach will help end this crisis and get our economy back on track.”
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A 42-year-old South Los Angeles man was jailed for allegedly making death threats against former Rep. Diane Watson.
Sheron Lamont Nelson was jailed at the sheriff's Century jail Friday afternoon and denied bail. He was arrested at his parole agent's office, according to the sheriff's department.
Nelson allegedly made a series of phone calls in which he threatened to kill Watson, who announced last year she would not seek re-election to the office she held since 2001. A search of Nelson's home did not turn up any weapons.
Congresswoman Laura Richardson, center, recently recognized nine young people from Compton, Carson, and Long Beach who received Congressional Black Caucus scholarships.
Nearly one-third of African American students (32.9 percent) and one-quarter of Hispanic pupils (23.8 percent) dropped out during the 2007-08 school year compared to 18.9 percent of youngsters overall in California.
That figure from the California Department of Education represents a four-year adjusted rate and also the first time officials say they have been able to determine a true drop-out rate.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters was the keynote speaker at a recent forum designed to help Black and other non-White businesses, as well as those run by women, gain greater access to major banks and brokers to help sustain and establish their corporations.
“Since the recession really took hold in December 2007,” the congresswoman explained, “about 2.3 million homes have been repossessed by banks. Currently, about one in 10 American households, with a mortgage, is at risk of foreclosure.”
Congresswoman Laura Richardson has known since the age of six that she wanted to be a politician. Growing up in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement with a White mother and an African American father she couldn’t understand why the same people that she was taught were supposed to be there for her protection (law enforcement), were the ones beating people up and turning water hoses on them. Her mother told her that she should grow up to be a person who makes better laws; Richardson has been working towards that goal ever since.
