Housing
Homeownership has long been a central element of the American Dream. However, millions of American families are now at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure.
I am focused on finding solutions that will lead us out of both the immediate housing crisis and the larger financial crisis.
Even before analysts and the press were focusing on our current housing crisis, I was working tirelessly to help struggling renters make their monthly payments, which can be as high as half of their income. It’s easy to sometimes forget about this substantial portion of Americans, but it is critical that we continue to support these families.
I am committed to doing everything in my power to keep Americans in their homes. I have been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting loan modifications, housing counseling and mortgage servicer reform. I also am dedicated to fully funding our nation’s public housing and expanding the number of housing choice vouchers so that our nation’s most at-risk individuals can access the safe, decent and affordable housing of their choice.
This housing crisis developed over many years through neglect, so moving forward it is important to fully fund our nation’s housing programs.
More on Housing
Responding to a prompt asking what she is most optimistic about heading into the New Year, the Congresswoman replied:
The top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee called Tuesday for Congress to "immediately" hold a hearing to investigate a controversial $8.5 billion foreclosure abuse settlement reached this year.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) was unanimously elected Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee today by the House Democratic Caucus. Following the election, Congresswoman Waters released the following statement:
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35) released the following statement in response to the Federal Housing Administration's annual financial status report issued to Congress today:
But as the California congresswoman prepares to become the top Democrat on the House Financial Services panel, she is engaging in an aggressive outreach effort with some of the very institutions that she has heavily criticized for their role in the financial crisis and recent home foreclosure scandals.
From organizing industry roundtables to one-on-one meetings with Wells Fargo's CEO to holding fundraisers targeting banking donors, Waters is opening the door to big banks and Wall Street.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) authored the following opinion editorial for the Huffington Post:
Rep. Maxine Waters sent the letter below to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward DeMarco on implementation of the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) and the latest version of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP 2.0). The letter is sent in response to a recent report by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which found that HHF, which was funded at $7.6 billion, has only spent 3 percent of its funding.
Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters along with Rushmore Cervantes, Interim General Manager, Los Angeles Housing Department; Timothy Watkins, CEO, Watts Labor Community Action Committee; and Charles Quarles, President, Bedford Group joined Shaun Donovan, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) during his visit to Los Angeles for a tour of several properties that have benefited from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) in South Los Angeles. Congresswoman Waters statement about Secretary Donovan's visit is below:
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