Brown Joined by Columbus Homeowners Facing Foreclosure at Rehabilitated Home in Neighborhood Hard-Hit by the Housing Crisis

COLUMBUS, OH – June 23, 2008 – United States Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today joined the Columbus Housing Partnership and homeowners facing foreclosure to discuss federal legislation that would help homeowners avoid foreclosure and revitalize struggling communities. Brown toured a rehabbed home on North 21st St., a block that has been particularly hard hit by the housing crisis.

“The American Dream is slipping away from thousands of middle class Ohioans due to the rise in foreclosures,” said Senator Brown. “We must act swiftly to reverse this trend and invest in our neighborhoods. This week, I’ll be fighting for legislation that will help families hold onto their homes and assist in the rebuilding of communities. We will not be deterred by the president’s veto threat of this effort to help Ohio neighborhoods.”

“In central Ohio, thousands of homeowners are no longer able to pay the mortgage, have been foreclosed and now the homes are vacant,” said Columbus Housing Partnership President/CEO Amy Klaben. “Without public investment, foreclosure’s effect on our neighborhoods and the families that inhabit them will be devastating.”

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 will be voted on by the Senate this week. This bipartisan legislation, which would provide $11 billion in additional bonding authority and $3.9 billion in grants to support community development projects like North 21st Street in Columbus, faces a veto threat from the White House.

According to Policy Matters Ohio, more than 30,000 homes went into foreclosure in Franklin County in the last four years. Of these, 9,145 occurred in the last year. Throughout Ohio, new foreclosure filings grew by 6.7 percent last year, to 84,751 cases in 2007. Foreclosures have led to vacant homes and a reduction in property values in surrounding areas.

Earlier this year, Brown helped secure an additional $80 million in the foreclosure assistance bill for housing counseling, bringing the total to $180 million. Brown also successfully fought to add $200 million in the final report for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act of 2008 for HUD-certified nonprofit organizations to conduct foreclosure prevention counseling. Additionally, the Borrower’s Protection Act of 2007, legislation which Brown co-authored, would upgrade standards by which mortgage brokers and originators must abide when making new loans to borrowers.