Sen. Durbin presses for compromise on foreclosure legislation

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Dick Durbin said Wednesday he is seeking a compromise with Republicans to advance a bill that would empower homeowners facing mortgage foreclosures to turn to bankruptcy judges for help.

The Illinois lawmaker said he would work with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the Senate Judiciary Committee's senior GOP member, to try to make headway in dealing with what he said was a national crisis.

"I really believe that this is the best way to help the most people," Durbin said of his bill to allow judges to alter the interest rate, principal and length of a homeowner's mortgage on a primary residence.

"You can tell it's controversial, but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea," he added.

Some critics of Durbin's proposal said it would affect all home mortgages, not just foreclosure-related ones, and would increase the workload of judges who are ill-prepared for the duties.

"In fact, one with a relatively high income coupled with large nonmortgage secured debt payments would be able to utilize [the Durbin bill[']s] principal residence mortgage modification provisions," said Thomas Bennett, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge from Alabama.

Jacqueline Cox, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge from Chicago, said there may immediately be a spike in work for judges, but not in the long run, because those involved in the process would see what they need to do to avoid going into bankruptcy proceedings.

A 73-year-old Chicago woman testified at a Judiciary hearing that Durbin chaired Wednesday that she was overwhelmed with paperwork when she signed the contract on her home and unknowingly agreed to an adjustable rate when she wanted a fixed-rate mortgage.

Nettie McGee, a retiree from a picture frame factory, said her monthly payments have been $735 on a home that cost $80,000 in 1999.

"I live in a home I waited my entire life to own. Now, the interest rate on my mortgage is going up three percentage points -- and my payments are $200 more each month," she said. "I am here to ask you to please help me save my home."