Once again, the judicial mortgage modification amendment intended to assist home owners with houses which are significantly upside-down has failed in the the House of Representatives, this time failing on a 188-241 vote late last week.
Similar legislation passed the House earlier this year on a 224-191 vote. Today, 50 Democrats who had voted in favor of H.R. 1106 switched their position and voted against the judicial mortgage modification amendment. This is especially baffling, given all the evidence that the voluntary program is not working …and the escalating foreclosure crisis.
If you want to know how your Member of Congress voted today, go to http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll963.xml. If you want to compare your Representative’s vote today with that on H.R. 1106, go to http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll104.xml to see their earlier vote.
Of course, there were a number of variables associated with the vote that were not a factor in the earlier vote, particularly given that Members also were being asked to vote against the banks by supporting the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). As hard as it may be to believe, some Members just could not vote twice in the same day against the interests of the financial services industry. It is just that simple.