Two weeks ago we called on top housing finance regulator and Bush administration holdover Edward DeMarco to reduce mortgage principal for struggling homeowners. “Move or be removed,” we said. Thousands of you responded.
But it’s not just us. The head of the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and the Bloomberg News editorial board have all told DeMarco this month: Quit stalling and take action to reduce principal.
Yet he refuses to listen to reason. If he won’t be the solution, it’s time to stop letting him be the problem.
DeMarco shouldn’t even be in this job. President Obama nominated someone else to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency. But Senate Republicans refused to give the President’s nominee an up-or-down vote, leaving DeMarco as “acting director.”
It’s time to stop letting conservatives dictate housing policy and sabotage the economy.
Fair-minded experts from across the ideological spectrum agree: Reducing the principal of mortgages for struggling homeowners will save taxpayers billions, keep people in their homes, help families make ends meet and bolster the overall economy.
Even the major banks have figured this out and agreed to make principal reduction a key part of the recent foreclosure fraud settlement.
Yet DeMarco won’t budge. He is stopping progress on some 20 percent of underwater mortgages, which are owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and regulated by DeMarco’s FHFA. He won’t move, so it is time to remove him.
The President has the power to right this wrong. He has used recess appointments before to stand up to obstructionist conservatives. Now he needs to act again. And he needs to hear from us. It is time to move.
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