January 27th, 2009 by Reed Allmand 
There’s a very revealing article in The Star-Telegram that exposes efforts by banks and mortgage companies to prevent very important bankruptcy legislation from being approved and implemented. We’ve talked about the need of homeowners facing foreclosure to be able to modify their mortgages in bankruptcy and many taxpayers and government officials (including President Obama) have voiced their support for the bankruptcy legislation allowing modification of home mortgages But now that it’s time to pass the bankruptcy legislation the bankers, mortgage companies and their very powerful and wealthy lobbying machine is attempting to take their bail out and leave the ordinary homeowner hanging, or holding the "hot potato" of toxic mortgages and massive foreclosures. They don’t want ordinary American homeowners facing foreclosure to be able to modify those toxic mortgages in bankruptcy. Why? Because they believe that modifying mortgages in bankruptcy would hurt their bottom-line. Don’t take my word for it; let the bankers, mortgage companies and their powerful lobbyist tell you for themselves.
The article said:
The chief lobbyist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, Steve O’Connor, said new homebuyers would end up paying higher interest and bigger down payments if lenders are saddled with the risk that a judge could change mortgage terms.
"We’re going to defend the industry" against "bad public policy," O’Connor said.
The association’s 23-member government affairs team is trying to persuade lawmakers to kill the bankruptcy legislation. The team includes six lobbyists and nine policy experts who double as lobbyists, said O’Connor, senior vice president of government affairs.
Don’t let this happen on your watch. Take action NOW to show the legislators and President Obama that you support changes in the bankruptcy law that will allow home mortgages to be modified in bankruptcy.
Below is a list of the powerbrokers behind the war on homeowners facing foreclosures who want to modify their mortgages in bankruptcy.
– U.S. Chamber of Commerce
-Mortgage Bankers Association
-American Financial Services Association
-Consumer Bankers Association
-Independent Community Bankers of America
-Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association
-Financial Services Roundtable
Also visit www.whitehouse.gov and let President Obama know that you support changes in the bankruptcy law that protect homeowners facing foreclosure.
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
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