December 1, 2007 (LPAC)— The Arkansas General Assembly on November 29 drafted LaRouche's Homeowners and Bank Protection Act. Below is the resolution:
State of Arkansas
86th General Assembly
First Extraordinary Session, 2007 HR
HOUSE RESOLUTION
URGING CONGRESS TO TAKE EMERGENCY ACTION TO PROTECT HOMEOWNERS AND BANKS AND TO ENACT A HOMEOWNER AND BANK PROTECTION ACT.
WHEREAS, the onrushing financial crisis involving home mortgages, debt instruments of all types, and the banking system of the United States threatens to set off an economic collapse worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s; and
WHEREAS, millions of Americans are faced with the possibility of foreclosures and the loss of their homes in the coming months; and
WHEREAS, the hedge funds that spread the financial collapse among markets worldwide by dominating speculation in all the markets are going bankrupt and demanding government bailouts of their securities and derivatives, and the nominal value of the derivatives based on mortgages alone is the size of the combined gross domestic product of the nations of the world; and
WHEREAS, the financial crisis threatens the integrity of both federal and state-chartered banks, typified by the run on deposits of Countrywide Financial Corporation in California on August 16, 2007, which could wipe out the life savings of too many Americans and drastically undermine the economic stability of our states and cities; and
WHEREAS, under similar circumstances in the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt successfully intervened to protect banks and homeowners, addressing Congress with a declaration of national policy on April 13, 1933, which stated that the broad interests of the nation require that special safeguards should be thrown around home ownership as a guarantee of social and economic stability, and that to protect homeowners from inequitable enforced liquidation in a time of general distress is a proper concern of the government,
NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE EIGHTY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
THAT the House of Representatives of the Eighty-Sixth General Assembly of the State of Arkansas calls upon the United States Congress to take emergency action to protect homeowners and banks by enacting a Homeowner and Bank Protection Act specifically to:
(1) Establish a federal agency to place federal and state19 chartered banks under protection, freezing all existing home mortgages for a period of time, adjusting mortgage values to fair prices, restructuring existing mortgages at appropriate interest rates, and writing off speculative debt obligations of mortgage-backed securities, financial derivatives, and other forms of financial pyramid schemes that have brought the banking system to the point of bankruptcy;
(2) Declare a moratorium on all home foreclosures for the duration of a transitional period that may take several years to achieve, during which:
(A) No homeowner shall be evicted from his or her property, allowing families to retain their homes; and
(B) Federal and state-chartered banks shall be protected so that they can resume their traditional functions, serving local communities and facilitating credit for investment in productive entities;
(3) Make affordable monthly payments, the equivalent of fair rental payments, to designated banks permitted to use the funds as collateral for normal lending practices, thus recapitalizing the banking system;
(4) Factor the affordable monthly payments into new mortgages to achieve the orderly deflation of the housing bubble, the establishment of appropriate property valuations, and the reduction of fixed mortgage interest rates; and
(5) Authorize:
(A) The governors of the individual states to assume the administrative responsibilities for implementing a Homeowner and Bank Protection Act, including the rental assessments to designated banks; and
(B) The federal government to provide the necessary credits and guarantees to assure a successful transition.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States and to each member of the Arkansas congressional delegation for immediate action.
