December '09 Nevada Government—U.S. Congresswoman Dina Titus Column

Titus Supports Bill to Create Jobs, Provide Relief to Nevada’s Families

December 16, 2009 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District voted today for legislation that will create jobs in Nevada. By redirecting TARP funds from Wall Street to Main Street, the bill will invest in highways and transit, job training, school renovation, affordable housing, and hiring teachers, police, and firefighters. The Jobs for Main Street Act passed by a vote of 217 to 212.

“With Nevada facing near record unemployment, we cannot sit back and hope the economy turns around,” Congresswoman Titus said. “We must take action that creates jobs and puts Nevadans back to work. Using TARP funds sends a clear signal that it is time to help Main Street recover from the deepest recession since the Great Depression. While there are more innovative ideas that we must implement down the road, provisions in this bill, such as investing in infrastructure, will provide a boost to our hard hit construction industry while improving our aging roads and highways. By providing critical assistance to Nevada’s families that have struggled to make ends meet, we will offer some relief at a time when every dollar counts.”

Specifically, the Jobs for Main Street Act provides $48 billion to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges, modernize public buildings and clean our air and water. Nevada would receive more than $564 million for highways and bridges. It also includes $27 billion for the hiring of teachers, police, and firefighters and for job training. Small businesses will also benefit from initiatives that help them create jobs, such as eliminating fees on SBA loans and raising the portion of a loan that SBA will guarantee to 90 percent.

For those hardest hit by the recession, the bill extends unemployment benefits, protecting approximately one million Americans who will otherwise lose their benefits. It also helps workers who have recently lost their job afford health care with assistance for the COBRA program. In addition, states will receive funding for Medicaid. Finally, the Child Tax Credit will be available to all low-income working families with children.

Titus Votes to Support Troops and Military Families

Bill Also Extends Unemployment Benefits and COBRA Assistance

December 16, 2009 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District voted today to support our nation’s troops and military families by providing them with the equipment, support, and training they need to be successful. The Defense Appropriations Act, which passed by a vote of 395 to 34, makes critical investments in the health, well-being, and readiness of our armed forces. The bill also includes provisions to help families who are struggling to make ends meet in the deepest recession in a generation.

“Our troops and military families, many of whom are proud Nevadans, are making a tremendous sacrifice to serve our nation,” Congresswoman Titus said. “It is our duty to provide them with the best equipment and resources available to that they can carry out their mission and return home soon. This legislation honors our commitment to the men and women who protect our country.”

The Defense Appropriations Act helps our troops and their families by providing a 3.4 percent pay raise for the military. In addition, troops who served under stop-loss orders and had their service involuntarily extended will continue to receive an additional $500 for each month served under stop-loss. More than $29 billion is invested in the bill to care for military families through programs like child care, job training for spouses, and expanded counseling services.

In addition to providing critical funding for our troops, the legislation includes funding to extend vital programs that have helped American families weather the economic recession. The bill extends unemployment insurance, helps workers who have recently lost their job afford health care with assistance for the COBRA program, and funds nutrition assistance programs to help families put food on the table.

“Nevada’s families have been stretched thin during this recession as too many people have lost jobs and struggled to afford the necessities such as food and health care. Today we took an important step to provide Nevadans with vital assistance while we focus our efforts on creating jobs and turning our economy around,” Titus added.

Titus: Financial Reform Will Protect Consumers by Reigning in Wall Street Banks and Streamlining Regulation

December 11, 2009 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District voted today for critical financial regulatory reform that will help ensure that the financial crisis leading to the worst economic recession since the Great Depression will not happen again. The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act passed the House by a vote of 223 to 202, and includes an amendment offered by Congresswoman Titus that protects seniors from predatory lending practices for reverse mortgages.

“Almost a year ago our economy was losing more than 700,000 jobs a month and our financial system was on the verge of collapse,” Congresswoman Titus said. “Congress took necessary action to pull the nation back from the brink of disaster. While we still have our work cut out for us to turn the economy around, there are hopeful signs on the horizon. Now we must implement reforms that will prevent a similar crisis from ever happening again. That means reigning in Wall Street banks that gave their executives obscene bonuses while steering our economy into a ditch and it means closing loopholes and increasing oversight enforcement so that government regulators cannot fall asleep at the wheel.”

The legislation creates a Consumer Financial Protection Agency that will consolidate and streamline enforcement of approximately 20 laws currently overseen by seven different agencies. The agency will provide consumers with clear information and empower them to make good decisions.

“Southern Nevada has paid the steepest price for greed and the dangerous underregulation of the mortgage market with a foreclosure crisis that is dragging our economy down. This bill will ensure that the proper regulation and safeguards are in place so that we can prevent a crisis of this magnitude in the future,” said Titus.

The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ends taxpayer bailouts by establishing a process to dissolve failing large financial institutions in a way that does not wreak havoc on the whole economy. The costs of unwinding these financial institutions will be borne by Wall Street firms, not taxpayers.

“These important changes to our financial system will streamline regulation and force Wall Street banks, hedge funds, and credit card companies to be more responsible and accountable. Passage of this legislation means that the days of taxpayer bailouts are over once and for all,” Titus added.

Titus: Amendment Safeguards Seniors Against Deceptive Mortgage Practices

December 11, 2009 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District spoke on the House floor today on an amendment to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that she offered with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. The amendment protects seniors from predatory lending practices for reverse mortgages. Below are her remarks as delivered.

“Every day, seniors are targeted by lending agencies through mailings, phone calls, and TV ads offering reverse mortgages with promises of free money to finance trips, new cars, and gifts in their golden years. While a reverse mortgage may be an appropriate product for some seniors, it is a complex financial instrument which is being aggressively marketed to our most vulnerable in society.

“Accordingly, many seniors today find themselves in financial hardship due to unfair and unclear agreements along with excessive fees that come as a result of reverse mortgages. They learn the hard way that the reality of a reverse mortgage is not always as advertised and now they face severe financial consequences in what is supposed to be their golden years.

“The amendment that we are offering today provides needed safeguards for our nation’s seniors by requiring that the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency oversee the reverse mortgage industry to ensure seniors are not exposed to unfair and deceptive practices.

“Protecting our seniors from unfair and unclear financial products is long overdue. Reverse mortgages need to be clearly and closely monitored and regulated in an effort to ensure seniors do not lose their home and equity they have built up through a lifetime of hard work. I am confident that the amendment, which has the endorsement of AARP, will offer appropriate flexibility and protections for our seniors.

“I want to thank my colleague, Representative Schakowsky, and also the Chairman of the Committee for working with me on this important issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this important amendment.”

Titus Amendment to Financial Reform Will Protect Nevada Seniors from Predatory Mortgage Agreements

December 10, 2009 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada joined with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois to introduce an amendment to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 that will help protect seniors from predatory practices by lending agencies. The amendment will protect seniors from lenders trying to entice them into reverse mortgages without providing clear information that is needed to make important decisions about such complex financial instruments.

“Too often lenders prey on senior citizens with reverse mortgage agreements that promise free money or gifts in order to rope them into confusing agreements that leave them facing excessive fees and higher than expected costs,” Congresswoman Titus said. “These unfair agreements threaten the financial security of our seniors and are the latest tool in predatory lending practices. Reverse mortgages need to be closely monitored and regulated in an effort to ensure seniors do not lose their homes and the equity they have built up through a lifetime of hard work.”

Specifically, the amendment provides needed safeguards by requiring the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) to examine the reverse mortgage industry to ensure our country’s seniors are not exposed to unfair and deceptive practices. In addition, the CFPA will ensure that all disclosures relating to reverse mortgages are just as clear and easy to understand as all other mortgage products.

The amendment, which is expected to be debated and voted on later today or tomorrow, is endorsed by AARP, the nation’s largest membership organization for people 50 and over.