PRESS RELEASE
Akron City Council Unanimously Calls for Homeowners and Bank Protection Act
Jan. 31, 2008 (EIRNS)—This release was issued yesterday by the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee (LPAC).
On Jan. 28, Akron, Ohio's city council unanimously voted up a resolution to Congress to enact the Homeowners and Bank Protection Act. Akron is the 5th largest city in Ohio, with a population of 214,000, and is reported to have been the 11th worst city in the nation in terms of foreclosures, at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2007. The former rubber manufacturing capital of the world, Akron had 1 out of every 76 households in foreclosure.
In a press release issued after the adoption of Resolution No. 33, for the HBPA, Council President Marco Sommerville stated: "This resolution is more than symbolic. It marks a historic step that a municipal body has elected to take which seeks real and meaningful action on a federal level to address local concerns that have major national implications. In a time like this, our futures depend on this kind of local-fedeal cooperation."
The full resolution reads:
RESOLUTION NO. 33-2008 urging a moratorium on home foreclosures and congressional enactment of a Homeowners and Bank Protection Act; and declaring an emergency.
WHEREAS, a financial crisis involving home mortgages, debt instruments and the United States banking system threatens economic stability; and
WHEREAS, the financial crisis threatens the integrity of federal and chartered banks such that consumer deposits and life savings are jeopardized; and
WHEREAS, financial investments and home ownership is the fabric of economic stability and the stability of financial institutions; and
WHEREAS, millions of Americans and thousands of Ohio residents are facing foreclosures on their homes; and
WHEREAS, historically the federal government has intervened to protect financial institutions and home ownership and to provide guarantees of social and economic stability; and
WHEREAS, the quality of life in any community can be directly related to the responsiveness of government and its ability to meet the needs and expectations of its citizens; and
WHEREAS, the resident of Akron understand the connection and elect local leaders with certain expectations regarding the service they will provide and the role they will play in their lives; and
WHEREAS, those elected to serve the residents of Akron accept the privilege of service with the understanding of their responsibility and the expectation of the community; and
WHEREAS, the accountability for the city's viability, prosperity and overall well-being lies with those elected to serve local government,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Akron:
Section 1. That Council hereby calls upon the United States Congress to take emergency action to protect homeowners by enacting a Homeowners and Bank Protection Act specifically to:
(A) Create a federal agency to place Federal and State chartered banks under protection, freezing all existing home mortgages for a period of time, adjusting mortgage values to fair prices, and restructuring existing mortgages at appropriate interest rates and writing off speculative debt obligations of mortgage-backed securities, financial derivatives and other forms of financial pyramid schemes that have brought the banking system to the point of bankruptcy;
(B) Declare a moratroium on all home foreclosures for the duration of the transitional period, allowing families to retain their homes;
(C) Require affordable monthly home mortgages payments, the equivalent of "rental payments," to be made to designated banks for use as caollateral in normal lending practices for recapitalization of the banking industry and to factor such affordable payments into new mortgages thereby deflating the housing bubble, establishing appropriate property valuation and reducing fixed mortgage interest rates.
(D) Provide an interim period during which homeowners may not be evicted from their homes and protection to banks pending the resumption of traditional banking functions, including serving local communities and facilitating credit for investment in productive entities; and
(E) Authorize state governors to administer the implementation of programs, including provisions for "rental" assessments payable to specific banks, and with provisions for necessary federal guarantees and credits to assure successful transition.
Section 2. That this resolution service as notice that the Council of the City of Akron has been, is, and shall be vigilant as guardians of the public interest of the citizens of Akron, Ohio, in all matters to the extent legally feasible and possible.
Section 3. That the Clerk of the Council of the City of Akron is hereby directed to transmit a true and correct copy of the adopted resolution to members of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.
Section 4. That this resolution is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, health, safety and welfare for the reason that immediate action is necessary to protect residents who are facing foreclosure on their homes, and provided this resolution receives the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected or appointed to Council, it shall take effect and be in force immediately upon its passage and approval by the Mayor; otherwise, it shall take effect and be in force at the earliest time allowed by law.
