Majority Press Releases
Statement of Chairman Dodd in reaction to Secretary Paulson’s remarks yesterday
“Secretary Paulson’s comments in France about the wave of foreclosures that are expected to sweep through our country are disappointing, to put it mildly. More than two million Americans are in very real danger of losing the homes they have worked so hard to buy due to what Secretary Paulson himself has referred to as ‘bad lending practices.’ Those practices must end and this administration must act instead of continuing to sit on their hands and do nothing while thousands of Americans face for… Continue Reading
September 18, 2007
Statement of Chairman Dodd on Fed Interest Rate Decision
“Americans have seen their financial security badly shaken by recent economic turmoil in the housing markets. Far too many have lost their homes, causing tremendous hardship for them, and increasing a sense of uncertainty in our financial markets. My hope is that today’s decision and statement by the Fed can help provide stability in our economy. During my meeting last month with the Fed Chairman and Treasury Secretary Paulson, Chairman Bernanke assured me that he’ll use every tool at his di… Continue Reading
September 12, 2007
Dodd, Bond Secure Senate Approval for Funding to Help American Homeowners Struggling with Foreclosure
Washington, D.C. - Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and Senator Kit Bond, R-Mo., successfully won Senate approval for a measure to help provide $100 million to help homeowners facing foreclosure to remain in their homes. “Homeowners are being battered by the rising tide of foreclosures,” said Dodd. “This measure can act as a lifeline to help keep them in their homes.” “Across the country too many families are facing the nightmare threat of foreclos… Continue Reading
September 10, 2007
Statement of Chairman Dodd on Today’s SEC Senior Summit
“I am alarmed by the unscrupulous, fraudulent and abusive practices highlighted by the SEC at today’s Senior Summit. Our older citizens deserve the peace of mind of a safe and secure financial future, not the worry of being robbed blind of their hard-earned savings by a crooked salesman with a flashy, deceptive title. But regrettably, these practices appear to be part of a growing trend of predatory behavior targeted towards America’s seniors in the sale of securities, annuities and other fin… Continue Reading
September 7, 2007
Statement of Chairman Dodd on Labor Department August Employment Report
“These numbers aren’t just statistics - they represent real families facing real economic hardship. Today’s announcement by the Labor Department that U.S. employment fell for the first time in four years is cause for deep concern and it is further proof that the economic policies of the Bush Administration are failing America’s working families. Most troubling is that the data, specifically the construction job loss numbers, suggest that the subprime mortgage market troubles may be spreading t… Continue Reading
September 6, 2007
Statement of Chairman Dodd on Foreclosures in Second Quarter
“Today, data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that foreclosures have, for the second quarter in a row, hit historic highs. Unfortunately, today’s information, as heartbreaking as it is for the nearly 290,000 additional American families that face the loss of their homes, is just the leading edge of a tidal wave of foreclosures that is expected to sweep through the communities and neighborhoods of our country in the coming 18 months, when more than 2 million families with subpr… Continue Reading
September 5, 2007
Statement of Chairman Dodd on Death of Edward M. Gramlich, former member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
"I was very saddened to learn that former Federal Reserve Governor Edward ‘Ned’ Gramlich died today. Throughout his career, including his service in academia and in public life, first at the Congressional Budget Office and then as a Governor at the Federal Reserve, Ned was a tireless advocate for policies that helped working Americans. Ned was steadfast when it came to protecting consumers and his wisdom and guidance will be sorely missed. My condolences and prayers go out to his family.”… Continue Reading
September 5, 2007
Chairman Dodd Announces Legislation to Protect American Homeownership
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today announced his intention to introduce legislation to reform mortgage lending practices that have created problems for homeowners and investors in the subprime market. “Let me be clear: affordable home loans are a good thing; predatory lending is not. Predatory lending needs to be stopped, which is why I intend to introduce legislation that will put an end to the practices that have forc… Continue Reading
September 5, 2007
Chairman Dodd Announces Legislation to Protect American Homeownership
Washington, D.C. - Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today announced his intention to introduce legislation to reform mortgage lending practices that have created problems for homeowners and investors in the subprime market. “Let me be clear: affordable home loans are a good thing; predatory lending is not. Predatory lending needs to be stopped, which is why I intend to introduce legislation that will put an end to the pract… Continue Reading
September 5, 2007
Statement of Chairman Dodd on President Bush’s Remarks on Housing Crisis
For too long this president has sat on his hands, as families were losing their homes and others called for action. His action today, while welcome, is late. I urge the President to get serious about this problem and to do the following: First, lenders and servicers must modify or refinance these abusive loans to make them affordable over the long-term. This is the heart of the Principles many of the leading industry players adopted at the Homeownership Preservation Summit I convened in Apri… Continue Reading
September 4, 2007
Statement by Chairman Chris Dodd in Response to Regulators’ Guidance on Loan Modifications
“Today’s statement by the financial regulators comes very late and only underscores the failure of this Administration over a period of years to protect homeowners from predatory lending practices. In fact, several months ago, I convened a homeownership preservation summit, at which lenders, servicers, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agreed to take affirmative steps to prevent foreclosures and preserve homeownership. “Not only is today’s statement late in coming, but it will not in and of i… Continue Reading
August 24, 2007
Dodd Calls on Secretary Paulson, Secretary Jackson to Act Quickly to Modernize FHA
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Alphonso Jackson urging them to take the necessary administrative steps to enable the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to provide more affordable loans to American homeowners in danger of foreclosure due to bad lending practices. Chairman Dodd has also mad… Continue Reading
August 16, 2007
Chairman Dodd Expresses Dissapointment with Administration Decision to Reject SEC Position in Stoneridge Case
Washington, D.C. - Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today reacted to the Administration’s decision to reject the recommendations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and instead file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on behalf of companies involved in the case of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., et al. “I’m very disappointed by the decision by the Administration to … Continue Reading
August 14, 2007
Chairman Dodd calls on President, Solicitor General to endorse SEC position in Stoneridge Case
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today sent letters to President Bush and Solicitor General Paul Clement to convey his disappointment that the Solicitor General chose not to file a brief with the Supreme Court expressing the views recommended by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the case of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., et al, which is scheduled to come before the Court this fa… Continue Reading
August 14, 2007
Chairman Dodd calls on President, Solicitor General to endorse SEC position in Stoneridge Case
Washington, D.C. - Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today sent letters to President Bush and Solicitor General Paul Clement to convey his disappointment that the Solicitor General chose not to file a brief with the Supreme Court expressing the views recommended by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the case of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., et al, which is scheduled to come befor… Continue Reading
August 10, 2007
Statement of Senator Dodd on the Ongoing Subprime Mortgage Problems
“People all across America are hurting because of serious and on-going problems in our housing markets. The Administration can’t continue to close their eyes to the scope of the problem and hope it goes away. This problem isn’t ‘contained’ as the Administration contends. The President needs to immediately reconsider his ill-advised position that he won’t even consider the possibility of easing GSE credit caps, provided it is done in a safe and sound manner by regulators, until there is statut… Continue Reading
August 9, 2007
Statement of Senator Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, on Departure of Roel Campos at SEC
“I appreciate the distinguished service of Roel Campos. His work in the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley, his role in the development and oversight of the Public Accounting Oversight Board, and his promotion of cooperation among securities regulators and accounting bodies internationally have enhanced the stature of the Commission and effectively promoted investor protection and the fairness and efficiency of the securities markets. “The American securities markets are vital to the economic… Continue Reading
August 7, 2007
Statement of Chairman Dodd in Reaction to Continued Subprime Mortgage Market Turmoil
“As Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee I have taken a number of steps to reduce foreclosures and protect the American Dream of homeownership. These include: · Documenting through multiple hearings the failure of the Federal Reserve and other federal regulators to protect homeowners from the kinds of predatory lending which has been responsible for the record number of foreclosures which we are witnessing. · Successfully persuading the Fed… Continue Reading
August 3, 2007
Statement of Chairman Dodd on Today’s Announcement by American Home Mortgage and the State of the Mortgage Market
Washington, D.C. - “The continuing bad news in the mortgage markets ultimately means greater distress for families all across our nation. It highlights, once again, that regulators were too slow to react to subprime and other lending practices that were clearly unsustainable, particularly higher-risk adjustable mortgages that were underwritten with the full knowledge that borrowers could not afford the payments after interest rates started to rise. The regulators simply did not meet their resp… Continue Reading
August 1, 2007
Dodd, Shelby Laud Committee Approval of Legislation to Protect U.S. Jobs, Combat China Currency Manipulation
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, along with ranking Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) today announced that the Committee passed S. 1677, the Currency Reform and Financial Markets Act of 2007. The legislation, which was introduced by Dodd and Shelby on June 21, is intended to level the playing field for American workers and businesses. China’s ongoing intervention to keep the yuan undervalued has contributed to the loss of approx… Continue Reading
