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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 340 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 340

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that lenders holding mortgages on 
homes in communities of Louisiana devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and 
Rita should extend current mortgage payment forbearance periods and not 
   foreclose on properties in those communities until such time that 
     Congress can consider legislation to provide relief to those 
                              homeowners.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 20, 2005

Ms. Landrieu submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
          the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate that lenders holding mortgages on 
homes in communities of Louisiana devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and 
Rita should extend current mortgage payment forbearance periods and not 
   foreclose on properties in those communities until such time that 
     Congress can consider legislation to provide relief to those 
                              homeowners.

Whereas the Gulf Coast of the United States has experienced one of the worst 
        hurricane seasons on record;
Whereas Hurricane Katrina and multiple levee breaks destroyed an estimated 
        205,330 homes in Louisiana;
Whereas 18,752 businesses in Louisiana, 41 percent of the overall number of 
        businesses in the State, sustained catastrophic damage from Hurricane 
        Katrina and Hurricane Rita;
Whereas according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the Department of 
        Commerce, personal income has fallen more than 25 percent in Louisiana 
        in the third quarter of 2005;
Whereas in the time since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Small Business 
        Administration has only approved 20 percent of disaster loan 
        applications for homeowners in Louisiana and has a backlog of more than 
        101,400 applications for this assistance as of December 20, 2005;
Whereas of the 11,644 homeowner disaster loan applications that have been 
        approved in Louisiana by the Small Business Administration, only 835 
        have been fully disbursed;
Whereas, in response to these circumstances, commercial banks, mortgage banks, 
        credit unions, and other mortgage lenders instituted 90-day loan 
        forbearance periods after Hurricane Katrina and did not require home 
        owners in Louisiana to make mortgage payments until on or about December 
        1, 2005;
Whereas after the termination of the 90-day forbearance period, many home and 
        business owners have received notice from their lenders that they face 
        foreclosure unless they make a lump sum balloon payment in the amount of 
        the mortgage payments previously subject to forbearance; and
Whereas foreclosure on homes and businesses in Louisiana will have a detrimental 
        impact on the economy of the State, will deprive property owners of 
        their equity at a time when they can least afford it, and will have a 
        negative impact on lenders who will be holding properties that may not 
        be readily saleable on the open market: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) Congress should consider legislation to provide relief 
        to homeowners in Louisiana whose properties were devastated by 
        Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; and
            (2) commercial banks, mortgage banks, credit unions, and 
        other mortgage lenders should extend mortgage payment 
        forbearance to March 31, 2006, in order to allow Congress the 
        time to consider such legislation.
                                 <all>
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