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Senate Proceeding on Apr 23rd, 2009 :: 4:27:00 to 4:47:00
Total video length: 12 hours 29 minutes Stream Tools: Stream Overview | Edit Time

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Sherrod Brown

4:20:50 to 4:27:00( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Sherrod Brown

4:29:26 to 4:29:31( Edit History Discussion )

quorum call:

Claire McCaskill

4:30:30 to 4:30:50( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: quorum call: ms. mccaskill: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. ms. mccaskill: madam president, once -- the presiding officer: we're in a ms. mccaskill: i ask that the quorum call be set aside. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. mccaskill: madam president, once upon a time, someone had a good idea about trying to open up the mortgage

Claire McCaskill

4:30:30 to 4:40:25( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Claire McCaskill

Claire McCaskill

4:30:51 to 4:31:13( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: market to as many people as possible, and between that moment and now, we have seen a giant economic crisis that has mushroomed out of control, and we've sat around here for months now trying to figure out how did it happen and why did it happen. and one of the reasons it

Claire McCaskill

4:31:14 to 4:31:34( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: happened is just using common sense. we said to people, you can go make money by talking people into borrowing money, and you don't have to worry about whether they pay it back. we said to a market, the mortgage market, we said, you

Claire McCaskill

4:31:35 to 4:31:56( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: know, if you go talk people into borrowing more money than they can affor they can pay it back. you don't immediate to worry about that because you're going to -- you don't need to about that because you're going to make your money anyway. the people were not a partner to the risk. that's how you got people

Claire McCaskill

4:31:57 to 4:32:18( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: qualifying for loans, by wearing a special costume and a photograph. they were called liar loans. everybody knew people were lying to get these loans, but no one was doing anything about it because the people noaa who were making the loans were make the money. and they had no risk. now, you would think that this occurring, that we would now be

Claire McCaskill

4:32:19 to 4:32:39( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: on hyper alert for the exact same set of circumstances. but we're not, because it's going on today as we speak. you turn on any cable channel almost in america and before midnight you're going to see an ad that says to seniors, you need to take advantage of a

Claire McCaskill

4:32:40 to 4:33:00( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: great government program, a government benefit. you can be paid cash for the value of your house without any risk. they're called reverse mortgages. it is a type of home loan that converts the value in your home that you have acquired over a

Claire McCaskill

4:33:01 to 4:33:23( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: lifetime and converts it to cash. now, in and of itself, this is not a bad concept. people oughto be able to borrow against the value of their homes. we do it with home equity loans. here's the problem: we've got the people closing these loans that have no skin in the game. guess who's insuring all these loans? we are.

Claire McCaskill

4:33:24 to 4:33:46( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: the taxpayers. there is no risk. to those people paying for those ads on cable tv, no risk. reward, no risk. we're taking the risk. so if in fact the housing markets go down and the someone's property goes down and it's time for that loan, the value of that loan to be recovered when the white house

Claire McCaskill

4:33:47 to 4:34:09( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: house is sold, if it doesn't -- when the house is sold, if it doesn't sell for enough money, guess who's left holding the bag? hello? subprime mortgage, chapter 2 -- we're back. we've got the same issue as we've got with the subprimes. since we began in program in 1990, h.u.d. has endorsed and

Claire McCaskill

4:34:10 to 4:34:31( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: insured 500,000 loans. but wait ... we took the cap off recently. we anticipate that h.u.d. will in fact insure 200,000 of these loans this year alone. so we've done 500,000 loans

Claire McCaskill

4:34:32 to 4:34:52( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: since 1990 and we're going to do 200,000 loans this year. we're talking about a huge growth in the potential liability to the american taxpayer. these are complex and expensive loans, and for many elderly, the

Claire McCaskill

4:34:53 to 4:35:14( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: equity they have in their home is it. with the economic circumstances we have right now, there's going to be a lot of pressure on the elderly to enter into one of these reverse mortgages, maybe to help other family members that have lost a job. so it is really important that

Claire McCaskill

4:35:15 to 4:35:36( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: we fix this program. it is embarrassing that we let the subprime mess go for as long as we did without anybody saying, whoa! hold on. it will be doubling embarrassing if we allow this reverse mortgage situation to go down

Claire McCaskill

4:35:37 to 4:35:57( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: the exact same path. with these loans we're also seekers as they increase dramatically in number and value, we're also seeing an increase in fraud. the h.u.d. inspector general has en working in the reverse mortgage field and, as all the other inspectors general in our

Claire McCaskill

4:35:58 to 4:36:19( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: country, hasone a great job beginning to find problems of specific nature as it relates to aud. some of it is where we've got inflated appraisals. i mean, some of it is where you've got shoddy repairs being done, which decrease the value of the home, which increases the

Claire McCaskill

4:36:20 to 4:36:40( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: risk to the taxpayer. some of it is people continuing home, past the time they should, past perhaps the death or the moving out of the senior that did the loan in the first place.?? we -- and why is the fraud increasing?

Claire McCaskill

4:36:41 to 4:37:02( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: fraud is increasing. all the bad actors who were over there in subprime, they're looking for a new extreme of money. so they're all sliding over and saying, hey, let's start marketing these reverse mortgages to seniors. we have got to do someth about this now. i filed an amendment to the legislation that is in front of

Claire McCaskill

4:37:03 to 4:37:23( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: the senate that will do some important things in terms of fraud prevention and detectio detection and enforcement provisions. we are going to require the borrower to report the termination of the residence to h.u.d. require that in the case of a property that is purchased with the proceeds

Claire McCaskill

4:37:24 to 4:37:44( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: mortgage, that the property is owned and occupied for at least 180 days so that we do not have the flipping that we've seen in the subprime morgt t market. require these properties being appraised by certified appraisers -- h.u.d.-certified aprayers. we've got verify the the

Claire McCaskill

4:37:45 to 4:38:06( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: purchase price and make sure too high in relation to comparable properties. you can imagine how i this is right now since our housing market values are in such flux. to require the counselors to report suspected fraud or abuse to the h.u.d.'s inspector general and to inform perspective borrowers how they

Claire McCaskill

4:38:07 to 4:38:28( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: can report fraud and consumer abuse. require that the lenders and counselors maintain a system to maintain compliance. ensure that the h.u.d. inspector general has the authority to conduct independent audits of the lenders. wouldn't it have been nice if we had done this back with subprimes? conduct independent audits and inspections of reverse mortgage

Claire McCaskill

4:38:29 to 4:38:50( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: lenders to ensure they're in compliance with the requirements and to compare the reverse borrower's records against the social security's death file for early indications of payouts. the pay the recipient. -- the recipient of the reverse mortgage. provide any limitation on when

Claire McCaskill

4:38:51 to 4:39:11( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: criminal charges can be brought against fraud perpetrators i this area be calculated on when we find out about the criminal activity, not when it occurred. because many instaes we may not find out about the fraud until the elderly person dies and then they find out that maybe they thought that they still had value in their home, but they were lied to.

Claire McCaskill

4:39:12 to 4:39:33( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: and this is an important one: provide that advertising for reverse mortgages cannot be false or misleading and must present a fair and balanced portrayal of the risks and the benefits of the you know, the fraud is the first step. and we've got -- we've got -- going after fraud is the first

Claire McCaskill

4:39:34 to 4:39:54( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: step, but we it is very, very important that we protect our predatory lenders. you know, when you see these on tv, it sounds be true -- it sounds too good to be true.

Claire McCaskill

4:39:55 to 4:40:15( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: government benefit, no risk. but there is a huge risk. there is a risk of a senior paying more than they should for a product that doesn't work for them and a very big risk for the taxpayers of this country. so i look forward to working with the senate judiciary banking com

Claire McCaskill

4:40:16 to 4:40:25( Edit History Discussion )

Claire McCaskill: well as h.u.d. and the h.u.d. inspector general and g.a.o. to get the things done we must do to clean up this problem.

Patrick Leahy

4:40:26 to 4:40:46( Edit History Discussion )

Patrick Leahy: if we do not learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them, so i urge all my colleagues to become knowledgeable about this mortgage area, get word to their constituents to be careful about these reverse mortgages. they are very dangerous. and at the end of the day, somebody is making money off of you and they don't care whether

Patrick Leahy

4:40:30 to 4:41:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Patrick Leahy

Patrick Leahy

4:40:47 to 4:41:08( Edit History Discussion )

Patrick Leahy: you can pay it back, it is a dangerous, dangerous combination. thank you, mr. president. -- thank you, madam president. i yield the the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: madam president, i want to thank the senator from missouri for her i hope that people listen to what she had to

Patrick Leahy

4:41:09 to 4:41:30( Edit History Discussion )

Patrick Leahy: i think it is a warning to many again, i would reiterate that one. we've tried to move this fraud bill is because everyone is against fraud and crime, but as the senator from missouri knows so well, you got to have some laws on t enforce to go after fraud and go after crime.

Patrick Leahy

4:41:31 to 4:41:36( Edit History Discussion )

Patrick Leahy: and i will speak further on that but i see my dear friend and distinguished colleague from

Bernard Sanders

4:41:37 to 4:41:57( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: vermont on the yield the floor so that he also speak on the matter. mr. sanders: i thank my colleague from vermont -- the presiding officer: the junior senator from vermont. mr. sanders: thank you. i want to congratulate the senior senator from vermont for bringing forth a very

Bernard Sanders

4:41:40 to 4:48:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Bernard Sanders

Bernard Sanders

4:41:58 to 4:42:19( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: piece of legislation. clearly, if we are going to begin to address the crisis our financial need the manpower to go out there to do the investigations. we don't have it, and this legislation does that. madam president, i wanted to say a few words in the midst of this debate on an issue that i will

Bernard Sanders

4:42:20 to 4:42:40( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: not -- in which i will not be bringing forth an amendment, but did i want to say a few words on it, and that is in and i suspect in every senate office -- we with e-mails and letters and telephone calls expression outrage at the high interest rates nah this

Bernard Sanders

4:42:41 to 4:43:02( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: across this country are being forced to pay by these very same financial institutions that we're in the process of bailing out. what is going on now is that while we spend hundreds of billions of dollars bailing out our friends on wall street and while they receive loans from the fed, they're

Bernard Sanders

4:43:03 to 4:43:24( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: saying, we're going to rae your interest rates to 15%, to 20%, to 25%, to 30%. and pure and simple, madam president, that is called usury. within biblical terms, in fact, that is immor type of action that we should b eliminating right now. and i have introduced legislation which is very

Bernard Sanders

4:43:25 to 4:43:45( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: similar to the type of legislation that regulates credit unions right now, which would have a maximum interest rate of 15%, with some exceptions going to 18%. so that the american people who are stress, who are buying groceries with the credit buying clothing for their kids with credit cards, who are

Bernard Sanders

4:43:46 to 4:44:06( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: paying their college expenses with their credit cards are not forced to pay 25% or 30% interest madam president, what i would like to do is,rather than just tell you what i feel, i'd like to read you a few of the e-mails that state of vermont, just a few, because we're getting a whole lot of them. let me just read one that comes from the northern part of our

Bernard Sanders

4:44:07 to 4:44:27( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: state. and this is what it "i, li so many others, am appalled at the hikes in credit card rates. everywhere in our small-town of montgomery, everybody is talking about the latest surge in interest rates. people who are never late in payments have seen their rates climb overnight. i, for one, used to overspie pay

Bernard Sanders

4:44:28 to 4:44:48( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: my payments but can't afford to no now. in addition i am a founding member after small agricultural co-op, and we have a shop and studio. today we found out that the charge four using credit cards has increased. how are people supposed to buy things when small businesses can't afford to process credit cards and people can't afford the interest rates if they use card

Bernard Sanders

4:44:49 to 4:45:12( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: no one has any money for anything anymore. the outrage which i am sure esn't surprise you is building. doesn't anyone get it?" well, doesn't anybody the united states senate get it? i hope that we do. here's another one that comes from the largest city in our state, burlington.

Bernard Sanders

4:45:13 to 4:45:34( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: i signed up credit card with an interest rate of 7.9% for the life of the credit card as long as i paid on time and didn't go over limit, et cetera. i received a notice yesterday that the interest rate is going to 13% on may 1. i called them. they said it is nothing to do with my credit. bank of america is raising its

Bernard Sanders

4:45:35 to 4:45:55( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: rate for business reasons only. one option was to pay down my balance at 7.9%, but not use ton future purposes. i appreciate your fight against this sort of action. basically they can do w they want. yeah, that's quite right. they can do whatever they want. sanders, we just received a note

Bernard Sanders

4:45:56 to 4:46:16( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: from bank of america where they tell us that they're raising our credit rate 15.74% on new and outstanding purchases using variable rate formula. i know you've been working cap on credit cards and concerned about big banks profiting so highly at the

Bernard Sanders

4:46:17 to 4:46:39( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: expense of consumers. here's another one. there is a lot of news on how credit card companies are trying to recoup losses from raising rates on credit cards. that's what my husband and i just experienced. two months ago i ran my husband's credit card report and between the three credit beaus we ranked around 800.

Bernard Sanders

4:46:40 to 4:47:01( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: we payment. we are proud to proud of our -- we are proud of our accomplishments putting through cetera. another one, yesterday in the mail i received notification for the bank of america they're hike up the interest on my visa card from 7% to over 12%, this seems

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