Archive: 2009

“The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act will prevent tragic home foreclosures, strengthen the housing market and our economy, and protect the American Dream of homeownership for America’s families. Americans all agree that homeowners bear personal responsibility for their actions and their debts, but lenders must also act in good faith, lend responsibly, and work with homeowners who are at-risk of foreclosure because that is in the interests of lenders, borrowers, neighborhoods, and our nation’s economy.”

By a vote of 234 to 191, the House has passed the Helping Families Save their Homes Act (HR 1106). Before final passage, Chairman Barney Frank argues against the Republican Motion to Recommit which would have weakened the bill if agreed to:… Continue

“It may not have the cachet of the Oval Office, but there is no more commanding view in Washington than the one enjoyed by the speaker of the House. The picture windows in Nancy Pelosi’s office frame the National Mall, where, only three weeks earlier, 2 million Americans gathered to celebrate Barack Obama’s inauguration. In the distance, centered in the windows, rises the pinnacle of the Washington Monument.”

“For the moment, Pelosi is cloaking her instincts as an experienced street fighter in the soothing tones of bipartisanship. Though her eyes flash green when she puts a sharp point on an argument, she seems reticent to take shots at the House Republicans who voted en masse against the recovery package. For the first time since she rose to the speakership two years ago, Pelosi can at last brush aside the GOP’s obstructionism and get on with the work of undoing the damage done by eight years of Republican misrule.”

The Wall Street Journal reports there is a foreclosure every 13 seconds in America. Today, the House will complete consideration of the Helping Families Save their Homes Act (HR 1106), which begins to put part of President Obama’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability… Continue

“As public officials, we take an oath of office to uphold the Constitution. It is the institutional duty of Congress — as an independent branch — to ensure against abuse of power through meaningful oversight over the Executive Branch. When there are credible allegations about the politicization of law enforcement, the need for Congressional oversight is at its greatest.”

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. and the former Bush Administration have reached an agreement in which Karl Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers will testify on matters related to the dismissal and retention of U.S. Attorneys. Rove and Miers… Continue

Today, the Supreme Court issued a decision preserving the right of patients injured by FDA-approved drugs to seek compensation through lawsuits against drug makers. USA Today explains: The Supreme Court on Wednesday enhanced the ability of people to hold drug companies financially… Continue

Today, while speaking at the Department of the Interior, President Obama announced that his Administration would reverse a Bush Administration regulation that allowed federal agencies to decide on their own whether or not to comply with the consultation requirement of the Endangered… Continue

“When Shirley Chisholm joined our colleagues Chairman John Conyers and Chairman Charlie Rangel, among others, to found the CBC, it had just 13 members. In that year, 1969, she imagined the organization that would grow to 42 members today, and serve as the conscience of the Congress. It stands as tribute to Congresswoman Chisholm’s vision of a Congress that represents all Americans.”