PITTS’ WORST VOTES #38:  WHO NEEDS MORTGAGE REFORM?
 
September 22, 2010 —  One of the interesting things about sifting through Joe Pitts’ votes is discovering how many of them are against the interests of his constituents.  Who among Joe’s middle-class constituents, aspiring to home ownership, would guess that he stood up for sleazy mortgage brokers, deceptive lenders and predatory mortgage servicers?
 
Vote 38:  H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act
 
In March, 2009, as the U.S. economy was hitting rock bottom, this act was introduced.  It would protect borrowers from being steered to mortgages they couldn’t afford or which would cost more than other mortgages available to them.  Minimum standards were set for appraisals, mortgage servicing, refinancing and loan payoffs.  On May 7th, the bill came before the full House, and (wait for it),
 
Pitts votes NO.
 
The House passed the bill 300-114, despite Joe Pitts’ anti-homebuyer vote.  Guess he could hear the financial industry’s lobbyists better than the folks back home.  After all, the political action committees (PAC’s) from the mortgage lending business are among Pitts’ biggest campaign contributors.  The bill went on to the Senate, while Pitts returned to back-slapping his predatory-lending cronies.
 
We’re just getting started, folks.  There are 37 more of Pitts’ Worst Votes to come, one each day.  Be the first on your block to collect them all.