Press Release - The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds President Obama’s Housing Initiatives
For Immediate Release
Contact: Shin Inouye, 202.869.0398, inouye@archives.civilrights.org
January 27, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of 200-plus national civil rights and human rights organizations, issued the following statement on today’s announcements by the Obama administration to collaboratively investigate the residential securities market with state attorneys general and the Department of Justice and to enhance the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP):
“Today’s announcements mark a significant breakthrough for the communities hardest hit by mortgage foreclosures, and for our economy overall. The administration’s moves to step up enforcement of fair lending and financial regulation laws, and to encourage the greater use of principal reduction within the HAMP program, demonstrate that it has been listening to those most affected by the housing crisis. We applaud President Obama for putting real teeth into these initiatives.
Further, we commend Secretary Donovan, Attorney General Holder, and the White House team responsible for these reforms. However, we remain concerned that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may not embrace these solutions due to the recalcitrance of Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. With the housing crisis dragging on, DeMarco must commit to intervening before millions more lose their homes.
The president’s principal reduction enhancement of the HAMP program will have a direct impact on the economic security of the homeowners and tenants who have been most preyed upon in this crisis. Homeowners will be able to make real headway in taking control of their finances and securing housing for themselves and their families. And HAMP will be more helpful in preventing evictions of tenants who have made good on their rental agreements but are being forced out of their homes by landlords who are underwater on their mortgages. Keeping people in their homes benefits entire communities and the national economy.
By establishing an inter-agency working group composed of high-level officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate mortgage fraud and other lending abuses, the president is leading the charge to punish the misconduct that caused this crisis and to ensure better enforcement of these laws. We are also pleased that his overtures have drawn the commitment of New York’s attorney general Eric Schneiderman, one of the most forceful advocates for holding the financial industry accountable for these abuses.
We look forward to our continued work with the administration on implementing these initiatives and applaud this step forward to stabilize communities across the country.”
Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit archives.civilrights.org.
