Housing Panel Chair Plans B&C Hearings

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., says she suspects that subprime lending is responsible for rising foreclosure rates, and she is planning to hold hearings soon."Foreclosures are on the rise, and most evidence points to predatory and subprime lending as a major cause," the chairwoman of the House Financial Services subcommittee on housing told a Women in Housing and Finance luncheon. The chairwoman noted there are some areas with high foreclosure rates where economic problems and job losses cannot be identified. "We are really going to have to take a close look at what is going on with these foreclosures," she said. The housing subcommittee's first hearings will focus on housing problems in the Gulf Coast states that are still recovering from the 2005 hurricanes. Rep. Waters is planning to hold a hearing in New Orleans before the end of January.