Rep. Barney Frank Threatens Banks that if They Don't Modify More Mortgage Loans, Congress will Enact Legislation to Force Them into Action

Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has issued a stern warning to banks that if they don't volunteer to save more homeowners from foreclosure, Congress will make them. Amen to that! He said Congress will revive legislation that would let bankruptcy judges write down a person's monthly mortgage payment if the number of loan modifications remain low. That bill should have never died in the Senate by a 45-51 vote, falling 15 votes short of the 60 needed to overcome procedural hurdles. Oh wait, how could I forget that some of these same banks are big donors to many senators, so they are not motivated to give a heck about the "little person's" financial hardships. The Democrats have 60 senate votes, there is no reason why this bankruptcy write-down cannot be revisited, passed and sent to the President for his signature. The time for action is now, not later when the situation becomes more dire.

Frank also said his committee won't consider legislation to help banks lend unless there is a "significant increase" in mortgage modifications. His statement comes on the heels of a deal struck yesterday between Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and more than two dozen mortgage companies. The two sides agreed to set the goal of adjusting 500,000 loans by Nov. 1.
Loan servicers have said that they are still playing catch-up with the deluge of customer requests by hiring and training thousands of new employees. Banks also are trying to sort through which customers face a legitimate financial hardship. Hello, that shouldn't be so hard to figure out in this economic climate. The unemployment rate is skyrocketing in many states as we speak. I am no fan of Barney Frank, but he is right, something drastic needs to be done to stem this foreclosure tide that not seem to be ebbing one iota.

President Barack Obama Nominates Judge Sonia Sotomayor as First Hispanic Female Supreme Court Justice

President Barack Obama has nominated federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court this morning. She is the first Hispanic woman in history picked to wear the robes of a justice. If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor, 54, would succeed retiring Justice David Souter. I dare the Republicans to vote against the first Hispanic woman for the high court when they are pandering for Hispanic votes in general.

Administration officials have said that Sotomayor would bring more judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice confirmed in the past 70 years. The president has said publicly he wanted a justice who combined intellect and empathy — the ability to understand the troubles of everyday Americans. If approved, she would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the current court.

Sotomayor is a self-described "Newyorkrican" who grew up in a Bronx housing project after her parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico. She has dealt with diabetes since age 8 and lost her father at age 9, growing up under the care of her mother in humble surroundings. As a girl, inspired by the Perry Mason television show, she knew she wanted to be a judge.

A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, a former prosecutor and private attorney, Sotomayor became a federal judge for the Southern District of New York in 1992. As a judge, she has a bipartisan pedigree. She was first appointed by a Republican, President George H.W. Bush, then named an appeals judge by President Bill Clinton in 1997.

At her Senate confirmation hearing more than a decade ago, she said, "I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it." In one of her most memorable rulings as federal district judge, Sotomayor essentially salvaged baseball in 1995, ruling with players over owners in a labor strike that had led to the cancellation of the World Series. Source: Breitbart

Again, I dare the Republicans to filibuster her nomination. The political risks of doing so are great, especially at a time when Hispanics are the fastest growing group in this country and they are important politically as well. I am pretty sure they do not want to be on the wrong side of history with elections coming up in 2010. I applaud President Obama for nominating Judge Sotomayor. I must also add that history seems to have forgotten that the first Hispanic to sit on the Supreme Court was Benjamin Cardozo, whom President Hoover appointed to the court in 1932. Perhaps we forget Cardozo because of historical amnesia or have just gotten caught up in the euphoria of the moment.