April 30, 2009: Foreclosure Amendment Defeated in Senate

The US Senate rejects an amendment to the US Bankruptcy Code supported by President Barack Obama that would have saved nearly 2 million homeowners facing foreclosure. Sponsored for the second time in as many years by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), the controversial amendment would have given judges the power to modify home mortgages, but strong opposition from the banking industry—as well as 39 Republicans and 12 Democrats—prevents passage. The House version of the controversial measure passed in March 2009. Called the ‘cramdown,’ the provision was supported by Obama as a final recourse for people to keep their homes. The amendment was a major priority of congressional Democrats and the Obama administration in a drive to tackle the housing crisis. “[H]ard to believe in a time when we’re facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created—[that the banks] are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place,” Durbin said earlier in the week during an interview with Illinois radio. [ProgressIllinois.com, 4/29/2009; MinnPost.com, 4/30/2009]