Mortgage Bankruptcy Cram-down bill coming up for Senate Vote

Making primary residence mortgages subject to Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a proposal that's been hanging around since 2007, so says Credit Slips, an interesting blogger page on credits and bankruptcies. It's called "Cram-down" cause bankruptcy judges can force the lenders to take lower payments while the homeowner stays in the house. I believe this is on balance a good proposal -- mainly because it will scare lenders in the future from writing ridiculous mortgages for people who obviously couldn't afford them. It might also allow some (perhaps undeserving, but otherwise homeless) borrowers to stay in their houses and avoid foreclosure. So, I say go for it. They'll still be bankrupt and that's not pretty. But they won't be trashing the neighborhood on the way out.
Credit Slips says that the Congress House of Reps passed a bill in March, and now the Senate is poised to vote on it. Read the Credit Slips article, "Mortgage Modification Vote in the Senate" , which urges us to contact our senators about the vote. As a resident of the Socialist state of Maryland, I don't have to do that.. my Senators are on the leftist side of everything, even when I'm not. But, your voice might matter. If you vote in Nebraska (Ben Nelson, Dem), or Montana (John Tester, Dem), or if you give money to democratic senatorial committees (I don't...just mentioning it), or if you live in a state with a Republican senator, you should let them know what you're thinking.
To contact your Senator, go to the US Senate Home Page, and plug in your state's name in the upper right hand corner. Then let your senator know what you think about the mortgage cram-down provision. Most important, ask your senator to explain to you just what his/her position is on this issue. Even if he/she's against it, it would be good to ask him/her to tell you why. And, it's fun. Watch them squirm.