WASHINGTON   –  U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) opposed $75 billion mortgage relief legislation voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives last night.  She says the bill grants the judiciary too much power to rewrite mortgages and rewards some Americans who invested in speculative or fraudulent real estate deals hoping to turn a quick profit.

“Maybe it’s old-fashioned, but I think everyone ought to play by the rules.  Obviously, we need to find a way to help Americans who are struggling to keep their homes amid job losses and other factors outside of their control, but we shouldn’t be giving a break to people who tried to take advantage of the system and failed,” Emerson said.  “If you purposely took on more mortgage debt than you could afford, or if you were flipping homes every three or six months, then you shouldn’t fall into the same category as someone living in a home for the last five years that suddenly lost 50 percent of its value.  You can’t put every situation into the same category.”

A major provision of the bill allows the terms of a mortgage to be rewritten by judges if homeowners and lenders cannot agree to modify the terms of a loan.

“Americans who are in trouble with their loans need to work with their lenders, with both parties acting in good faith.  In Southern Missouri, I know I have talked to lots of professionals in the banking and mortgage businesses who are saying, ‘come to us and we are happy to try to work something out with you.’  Instead, this bill puts those folks in a courtroom with a judge who has the power to unilaterally rewrite the terms of a loan – when that happens, every homeowner bears the expense of the process and the cost of the result,” Emerson said.

The legislation was approved, despite Emerson’s opposition, by a vote of 234-191 yesterday evening.