Pelosi: New Direction Congress Acts to Protect American Dream of Homeownership

WASHINGTON, May 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after the House approved comprehensive bipartisan legislation to address the housing foreclosure crisis:

"The New Direction Congress acted today to protect the American Dream of homeownership with a comprehensive package of housing policy reforms that will help protect families facing foreclosure and stem the continuing drop in home values around the country.

"In a forum Democrats convened this week on the economy, several leading economists agreed that aggressively addressing the crisis in the housing sector is essential to restoring growth in our economy. This legislation will slow down the growth of foreclosures, and restore confidence in the housing market by providing more affordable refinancing and borrowing options for American families.

"As Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said, 'Doing what we can to avoid preventable foreclosures is not just in the interest of the lenders and the borrowers, it is in everyone's interest.' Our nation's long-term economic health is tied to Congress and the President coming together to address this severe housing foreclosure crisis. I hope that the President will work with us to see that it soon becomes law."

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House