Fire Dog Lake Email on Ellen Tauscher

President Obama says that allowing bankruptcy judges to write down mortgages is an important part of his plan to arrest the downward spiral of the foreclosure crisis, but corporatist members of Congress and bank lobbyists are trying to stop that.

For every foreclosure in a neighborhood, home values drop by an estimated 1%. Credit Suisse says that if judges have the ability to write down mortgages, it will stem the tide of foreclosures by 20% and it won't cost the taxpayers a single dime.

But banks want taxpayers to bail them out -- and members of Congress like former Wall Street investment banker Ellen Tauscher and her New Democrat Coalition are helping them.

http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/02/action-tell-speaker-pelosi-to-stand-up-to-ellen-tauscher-and-the-bank-lobbyists-she-represents/

They are bragging that Nancy Pelosi "buckled" under their pressure and now the bill is sidelined at a time when mortgage relief is desperately needed and time is of the essence.

Can you help?

Write a letter to the editor of your local papers (just enter your zip code) saying you expect your Member of Congress to represent you, not the banks, and you'll be watching to see if they oppose Tauscher and her bank lobbyist cronies:

http://action.firedoglake.com/page/speakout/Bankers

Sign a petition to Nancy Pelosi telling her not to "buckle" to pressure from bank lobbyists working through greedy corporatist Members of Congress, and to act swiftly to give judges the authority they need to write down mortgages:

https://secure.firedoglake.com/page/petition/BankLobbyists

It's time to let Congress know they need to represent the people who elected them, not bank lobbyists.

Thanks for your help,

Jane Hamsher and the Firedoglake Team