Statement of Terence M. O'Sullivan, General President of LIUNA, On the Senate's Foreclosure...

Statement of Terence M. O'Sullivan, General President of LIUNA, On the Senate's Foreclosure Prevention Act

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
Last week the Senate basked in the glow of bipartisanship as it
came together on a compromise version of the Foreclosure Prevention
Act. Unfortunately they compromised their goal of focusing on helping
struggling homeowners facing foreclosure. While there are provisions
in the bill that will address the needs of homeowners, the bulk of the
bill's spending is taken up with a multi-billion dollar handout for
corporate homebuilders and those on Wall Street who helped cause the
mortgage and housing crisis.

Under the Act's "carry-back" provision, corporate homebuilders and
Wall Street investors would get $25 billion in tax breaks through 2010
compared to the $9 billion designated to actually help homeowners. The
carry-back would allow homebuilders to apply losses from 2008 and 2009
as far back as four years against taxes paid on profits - a two-year
extension of the current carry-back allowance - even though much of
the builders' profit came from their own subprime lending and
speculative over-heating of the market.

The Senate's bill will use taxpayer money to pay for corporate
homebuilders' reckless and unethical behavior.

This crisis has caused real pain across America. More than 350,000
construction workers have lost jobs due to the crisis, including
51,000 in March alone. Nearly 3 million Americans are facing
foreclosure or have already lost their homes. Americans are seeing
their retirement security threatened by tainted mortgage investments.
Home values - the primary investment for most Americans - are in
severe decline.

America's pain should not result in corporate gain.

LIUNA - the Laborers' International Union of North America -
expected more from the Senate. We now look to the House to show real
leadership where the Senate has failed. The Foreclosure Prevention Act
should focus on the needs of regular Americans instead of corporate
special interests. The greed of Wall Street should not beat out the
needs of Main Street.

We call on the House to stand up to corporate special interests
and keep the homebuilder giveaway out of a bill intended to help
homeowners facing foreclosure. Only then will the Foreclosure
Prevention Act live up to its name.

The half-million members of LIUNA - the Laborers' International
Union of North America - are on the forefront of the construction
industry, a powerhouse of 10 million workers who produce 5 percent of
the U.S. economic output.

Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA)
Jacob Hay, 202-942-2285
202-445-4788
jhay@liuna.org

Copyright Business Wire 2008