Hasegawa: Our Community Needs Help Right Now

Washington, DC – Recently, Lisa Hasegawa, Executive Director of the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (CAPACD), released a statement regarding the Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The statement called upon congressional leaders to act quickly in their address of the financial crisis.

“There is no doubt that Congress must pass a bipartisan recovery package,” the statement said. “But without provisions that include relief for homeowners, many struggling Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will be bearing the burden of Wall Street’s mistakes at their kitchen tables.”

On behalf of CAPACD, Hasegawa urged that the recovery package include an ability to modify the terms of loans before they are purchased by federal agencies, the restoration of bankruptcy courts’ authority to modify loans as a last resort, and a mandatory moratorium on foreclosures for the period of time before the rescue plan takes effect.

“Congress has sidestepped their duty while the economy sideswipes America’s working families. Millions of American homeowners across the country, including thousands of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, continue to be in jeopardy of losing their share of the American dream,” the statement said.

The statement also urged Congress to hold hearings to better understand the plight of homeowners nationwide and to invest in financial counseling programs for at-risk communities in Asian and Pacific Islander languages.

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