Baker: Bush Offers NOLA "Death Blow"

Louisiana Republican Richard Baker of the Baker Bill said this of Bush's approach to NOLA..."There is a price to pay for blind neglect. The current plan would be a death blow to the state's economy." So Baker has vowed to continue to fight for legislation to bail out homeowners and educate Bush and the nation on the necessity of it.

He says that his bill is not as costly as Bush has made it out to be. Here's how the plan would work....

Baker's bill, which enjoys broad bipartisan support among Louisiana politicians and planners, would create a public corporation financed by the sale of federal bonds. A board appointed by the president would use the proceeds to offer buyouts to the owners of flood-damaged homes for at least 60 percent of the equity based on pre-Katrina value. It also would pay off the mortgages, heading off a possible wave of foreclosures.

Unlike the block grant approach, Baker said the corporation would attempt to recoup some of the money -- and fuel the economic recovery of the region -- by selling tracts of land to developers who would rebuild communities according to local plans.

The Mortgage Bankers Association who supports the bill out of "fear that widespread homeowner bankruptcies in metropolitan New Orleans will cost them dearly" says this....

"Some people will simply never be able to repay those loans if the property is worth nothing," Kurt Photenhauer, a lobbyist for the mortgage bankers, said. "Any proposal, including Congressman Baker's, which proposes a method of restoring value gives lenders and borrowers something to work with."

Keep in mind Baker has been a loyal Bush ally voting with the administration 91% of the time. However now he finds himself allied more with LA Democrats. Yesterday he complained Bush "misconstrued" his bill as a drain on federal treasury when in fact 50% would be "repaid when land, whose value would presumably increase, is resold to developers."

Also keep in mind what I wrote yesterday that without the Baker bill those developers will make a killing on cheap land.

It should be asked everyday. Who is Bush working for........ The people of NOLA or his Cronies in NOLA?

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee has agreed to a Feb. 15 hearing on the legislation.

Do something for the people of NOLA and Call your Rep and tell them to support the Baker bill.