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We have spent – as the Speaker indicated – several weeks in a sort of a hurry up offense mode to respond to the crisis that is, I think, now only beginning to take shape and there is every indication that it will only get worse.

We want to have the right policies in place now to stem the rising tide of foreclosures. As folks are well aware, in the state of Michigan, we rank 7th in the nation in terms overall foreclosure rates.

In January alone, 11,000 homes were foreclosed on in Michigan. 11,000. Last year, 145,000 homes were foreclosed on. That's 145,000 thousand families, 145,000 plus coworkers, relatives, neighbors. This is a real crisis in Michigan, and make no mistake that this is the center of the financial crisis we're experiencing nationally.

To that end, we sought to craft a policy that would bring more borrowers and lenders, excuse me, homeowners and lenders to the table to achieve loan modifications that would allow homeowners to stay in their homes.

We in the House Democrats are committed to giving homeowners the time they need to get the loan modifications they deserve. So what we are calling for today in the plan that we have put forth and will move on swiftly, gives homeowners a 90 day moratorium – a 90 day freeze on their foreclosure process if the homeowner is committed to a housing counselor that they will be referred to by the Michigan Housing Development Authority.

The housing counselor will help the homeowner to chart a course for their near and long-term future, and will facilitate a meeting between the homeowner and lender. We will require lenders come to the table, actually physically sit with the borrower – the homeowner – to try to achieve these loan modifications that are out there to be had.

Now, we know that for many homeowners, loan modifications may not be a reasonable expectation. But at the very least we think it's important to give them this 90 day breathing room to help sort out their life and give them the aid of a housing counselor to help them chart a course for their future.

We know that giving homeowners the time that they need and the resources that they need from the housing counselor standpoint will go a long way to achieving the loan modifications that we need to see in this state. The important thing to emphasize is that every time a home is foreclosed, no matter the reason it is foreclosed on, it hurts all of us. It lowers all of our property values; it deteriorates all of our neighborhoods. And so I think we are past the time of arguing of why we got here: we are here and we need a public policy that recognizes that it's important that homeowners and lenders are sitting across the table from one another to negotiate the terms of new mortgages that can keep more of our fellow citizens in their homes.