Congressman Watt has a long history of advocating against predatory lending and the mortgage practices that caused millions of families to lose their homes.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
For too long, Americans have fallen victim to financial abuses at the hands of predatory lenders that operate in the shadows.
The mortgage crisis is a clear instance of consumers who needed protection. There was predatory lending to people who didn't know what they were doing.
Millions of Americans are struggling to pay their mortgages. They have a right to know whether members of Congress receive sweetheart deals in order to pay for theirs.
Lawsuits against reverse mortgage companies, including the nation's largest, Financial Freedom Senior Funding, contend that those firms helped pressure older Americans into bad investments.
States used to protect consumers from predatory lenders, but strong state usury laws were obliterated by a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
After holding hearings to get input from Missourians, I led the fight to pass legislation that protects seniors from predatory lending in the mortgage industry. I stood up against efforts that would make it harder for seniors to vote, and battled telemarketers bent on defrauding seniors.
The biggest culprits in the housing fiasco came from the private sector, and more specifically from a mortgage industry that was out of control.
I had begun to worry about the housing market back in 2003, when lenders first resurrected interest-only mortgages, loosening their credit standards to generate a greater volume of loans. Throughout 2004, I had watched as these mortgages were offered to more and more subprime borrowers - those with the weakest credit.
The universe of mortgage lending has gotten to the point where there is a place in it for everybody.
I contend that, in spite of all that might be said about Watergate, Richard Nixon was good for the poor people of America.