Miller to Tour Neighborhood in Greensboro Hard-Hit by Foreclosures

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Brad Miller (NC-13) by a 256 to 160 vote that would affirm the longstanding right of States to regulate the home foreclosure process.

The Miller-LaTourette Amendment is part of the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act which will create a voluntary FHA program to provide mortgage refinancing assistance to allow families to stay in their homes, protect neighborhoods, and help stabilize the housing market.

The House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight today examined how and why the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a sister agency of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), failed to protect the public’s health after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The agency failed to translate scientific findings and facts into appropriate public health actions which would have resulted in properly informing and warning tens of thousands of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita survivors living in FEMA-provided trailers and mobile homes of the potential health risks they faced. Instead of pushing to have the residents removed immediately, the agency did virtually nothing.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives General Counsel filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of the House Judiciary Committee to enforce subpoenas issued by the committee seeking information on the U.S. Attorney firings. The defendants in the case are former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten who were cited by the House for contempt of Congress last month. Contrary to federal law, the Department of Justice (DOJ) refused to present the House-passed contempt citations to a grand jury.

“The Bush Administration’s claim of executive privilege goes well beyond any privilege recognized by any court decision,” said Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) who worked closely with House leadership to help pass the contempt resolution.

Washington, D.C. – Amid a GOP walkout in the U.S. House of Representatives today, lawmakers approved contempt citations against White House officials which will implement a two-part strategy that allows Congress to pursue the matter in both criminal and civil court.

Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) worked closely with House leadership to help pass the contempt resolution. The action comes after Harriet Myers, former White House counsel, and presidential chief of staff Josh Bolton ignored subpoenas from Congress to cooperate with an inquiry into whether the firings of U.S. Attorneys were politically motivated at the direction of President Bush.

Republicans boycotted the vote and staged a walkout.

President George W. Bush gave on Monday night his last State of the Union address of his presidency.

Bush limped through his speech, an obvious cut-and-paste job during the final lame-duck leg of his journey.

While our economy flounders, our soldiers are encamped in Iraq with no end in sight, and working families grapple with many challenges, the President offered few ideas for solving many of the country’s most pressing problems.

Voters are calling for change. We see it in the overwhelming support and record turnout in the presidential nominating contests on the Democratic side and lagging enthusiasm among Republicans.

The 110th Congress is heeding the call for change by moving America in a new direction and squarely facing challenges that demand more action.

The following is a round-up of Democratic responses to Bush’s cut and paste approach to our nation’s problems.

The Durham Herald Company

The Federal Emergency Management Agency manipulated scientific research in order to play down the danger posed by formaldehyde in trailers issued to hurricane victims, according to an investigation by congressional Democrats released Monday.

Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., led the investigation.

FEMA "ignored, hid and manipulated government research on the potential impact of long-term exposure to formaldehyde" on Katrina and Rita victims now living in FEMA trailers, Democrats on a House Science and Technology subcommittee wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. FEMA is part of the Homeland Security Department.

In a separate letter, lawmakers said the federal health agency that provided guidance to FEMA was "complicit in giving FEMA precisely what they wanted."

Rep. Brad Miller (NC-13) returned to Washington today after visiting with U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

News of the trip, which began January 8, was strictly embargoed until the Congressman and other members of the congressional delegation reached Kuwait earlier yesterday. This is Rep. Miller’s third trip to Iraq.

"I met with a number of soldiers from North Carolina deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Whatever our views on the wisdom of our nation’s policy in Iraq, our men and women in uniform have served admirably there and deserve our thanks for their service,” Miller said. "They are good at what they do."

Miller says improved equipment and technology was noticable in both Iraq and Afghanistan for U.S. forces. Military vehicles have been redesigned to deflect some of the force of roadside bombs, for instance.

Congressman Miller met North Carolina soldiers from Henderson, Smithfield, Apex, Morganton, Charlotte and Fayetteville. "There is no doubt that repeated deployments are taking a toll on military families."

The Congressman also met with Gen. David Petraeus, Commander, Multi-National Forces Iraq and Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.

(Washington, DC)- The House Judiciary Committee will consider a substitute version of the Miller-Sánchez "Emergency Homeownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007" during a markup TOMORROW, December 12, at 10:15 a.m. in room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The substitute reflects a compromise made with Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) that will help hundreds of thousands of homeowners save their homes from foreclosure while seeking bankruptcy to reorganize their debts.

"This is a major step toward providing substantive relief to combat the mortgage crisis that is occurring in communities across our nation," Conyers said. "This bipartisan compromise assists a broad category of homeowners who would not otherwise benefit from the Administration's proposal, namely those homeowners who most need assistance and are facing foreclosure."

The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007, introduced by Rep. Brad Miller (NC-13), passed the House of Representatives this Thursday. The bill passed by a vote of 291 to 127

The comprehensive anti-predatory lending legislation will help stop bad loans from being made, and will make sure that consumers get mortgages they can repay. Rep. Miller, Rep. Mel Watt (NC-12), and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank introduced the bipartisan national legislation to address the mortgage crises.

Specifically, the bill will do the following:

Requires lenders to ensure a borrower's ability to repay. The bill establishes a simple federal standard for all home loans: institutions must ensure that borrowers can repay the loans they are sold. Lenders would have to determine that a borrower has a "reasonable ability to repay," based on income, credit history, indebtedness and other factors. For refinancing, the bill will require that all loans provide a net tangible benefit to the consumer.

Rep. Brad Miller (NC-13), co-chairman of the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus introduced HR 3981, the “Preserve America and Save America’s Treasure’s Act” at the historic Sewall-Belmont House. The Congressman delivered remarks about this bipartisan bill, which will provide Congressional authorization to the Preserve America and Save America’s Treasures Programs run by the Department of Interior.

Also delivering remarks were First Lady Laura Bush, founder of the Preserve America program, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), the original chair of Save America’s Treasures and co-sponsor of the companion bill in the Senate (S. 2262), Congressman Mike Turner (OH-3), co-chair of the Historic Preservation caucus and co-sponsor of the House bill and Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), co-sponsor of the Senate bill.