Frank Wolf's Foreclosure Failure

Foreclosure is a real problem in the 10th District. Foreclosures in Loudoun even have their own blog. Another blog, LoudounStats, puts the mortgage crisis in perspective:

Although sales per day are up approximately 1.25 per day throughout the county, that entire windfall can be attributed to more foreclosure and distressed properties being sold. In October 96 properties that were either foreclosures, short sales or pre-foreclosures compared to only 59 in September. The percentage of homes sold in October that were distressed was 33% of all sales, up from 25% in September. - LoudounStats

Every week, hundreds of our neighbors are subjected to heart-wrenching decisions and circumstances around their homes. Can they stay here? Can they afford to move? Will their children have to deal with the trauma of seeing their home auctioned off?

The mortgage crisis can be traced in large part to predatory lending by unscrupulous mortgage brokers, aided and abetted by the lending and construction industries. Now Congress is seeking to take common-sense action to mitigate the practices which lead to the troubles faced by so many of our neighbors. There is a bill in Congress, H.R. 3915, "The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007," which recently picked up two Republican co-sponsors. Even Republicans are beginning to see the light on predatory home lending. This bill would bar mortgage brokers from getting bonuses to sign up borrowers for more costly loans and force lenders to verify whether consumers are able to repay loans.

And through it all Frank Wolf stands mute. Not that this should come as a surprise, as Congressman Wolf has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Real Estate and Construction industries. Frank Wolf's silence on the local mortgage crisis should come as no surprise from a man who voted against homeowner protections.

What has Frank Wolf done for us, really, in the midst of a local housing crisis and slowing economic growth? Oh, right, he funded the morality police in states other than Virginia, while campaigning for a State Senator whose strategy for managing traffic was to buy herself a second million-dollar condo closer to work.

Frank Wolf does not represent the 10th District's voters, he represents the industries that extract money from the 10th District's voters, no matter the cost. That is not true representation. It is time for Frank Wolf to be retired. It is time for new leadership for the 10th District in Congress. Go Judy Feder!