St. Paul, MN – In a packed hearing room, more than a dozen legislators heard testimony March 14 on proposed legislation to put a moratorium on home foreclosures and the eviction of tenants from foreclosed properties. Representative Karen Clark and Senator Scott Dibble, authors of the ‘Foreclosure Moratorium, Neighborhood Stabilization & Tenant Protection Bill’ (SF1521 and HF1886) chaired the hearing. The moratorium bill is an initiative of the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout (MCPBO).

Those testifying at the hearing included Cherrene Horazuk, Chief Steward of AFSCME Local 3800, Peter Brown of the Minnesota Tenants Union, Angel Buechner of the Welfare Rights Committee, Anthony Newby of Occupy Homes, Mel Reeves of Occupy the Hood and homeowners who have or are currently facing foreclosure, including Rosemary Williams, Bobby Hull, Ruby Brown, Peter Eisert and John Vinge.

Deb Konechne, a spokesperson for the MCPBO, testified, “This bill, which has been introduced in the House and the Senate, would place a 2-year moratorium on home foreclosures and a 2-year moratorium on the foreclosure related eviction of renters from foreclosed property.”

She added, “This bill is a plan to keep Minnesotans in our homes. It also protects renters who too many times end up paying rent and a damage deposit without knowing the property is in foreclosure, only to be evicted through no fault of their own, only a few months later.”

Rosemary Williams recounted her dramatic fight to keep her home. She said that when sheriffs evicted her and her family from her home in 2009, the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout helped move her back in. William’s called for politicians to pass the moratorium law.

To date, Republican committee chairs have refused to hear the Moratorium Bill. “Today’s people’s hearing served notice on them. We will carry forward the fight for a moratorium on foreclosures. We will continue to challenge politicians that serve the banks and big business,” stated Mick Kelly of the MCPBO.

Stacey Kemp, a Minneapolis homeowner gave her take on the hearing, stating “Stopping foreclosures means keeping our neighborhoods healthy and strong. The unemployment and underemployment rate has been bordering on 20% for a very long time. Working families that have been the core of our neighborhoods and communities are losing their homes because of an economic crisis caused by the 1%. I support this public hearing to demand that the legislators protect our interests – not those of the privileged few.”

Video from the press conference preceding the people's hearing on the foreclosure & eviction moratoriumDeb KonechneRosemary Williams

#SaintPaulMN #MinnesotaCoalitionForAPeoplesBailout #RosemaryWilliams #HousingStruggles #DebKonechne #Foreclosure #Eviction #Moratorium #KarenClark #ScottDibble

St. Paul, MN – The battle is under way to put a moratorium on home forecloses in Minnesota. The first legislative hearing on an bill to put a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions began with a joint hearing by State Senate Economic Development and Housing Budget Division and Health and Housing and Family Security Committee, Jan. 27 at the Minnesota state capitol.

Before the hearing, there was a news conference featuring legislators who are sponsoring the legislation – state Senator Scott Dibble and state Representative Jeff Hayden – along with Deb Konechne of the Minnesota Coalition for a People's Bailout and Leslie Parks, a Minneapolis woman who is resisting foreclosure took place before the hearing.

At the press conference, Konechne stated, “The legislation being sponsored by Senator Dibble and Representative Hayden and being heard this week is an initiative to protect working and low-income people from the worst effects of the foreclosure crisis as well as protect tenants in rental properties that go into foreclosure.”

Konechne continued, “Low-income and working people did not create this crisis and we should not be losing our homes due to the economic crisis of the rich and powerful. The federal government is providing hundreds of billions of dollars to banks and corporations. Minnesota must take action.”

The Minnesota Coalition for a People's Bailout, a group of community, labor and other organizations, has been working with a broad range of community organizations to win support for the legislation.

The act would put in place protections for tenants in rental properties that are foreclosed.

“Tenants should not be evicted from their homes just because the landlord loses the property. Because the Legislature prescribes the foreclosure and eviction processes in this state, it can revise those processes to protect tenants in their homes,” said Peter Brown of Minnesota Tenants Union, who testified at the Jan. 27 senate hearing.

Phyllis Walker, president of AFSCME Local 3800 at the University of Minnesota, also testified. “When working people are laid off and cannot pay their mortgage, they try to renegotiate their loan. But it doesn't work because banks and lending institutions do not negotiate in good faith. They simply go through the motions and then foreclose on the property. Why is that? Is it because the home owner who has been paying a note every month for the past ten years can’t be trusted to live up to the terms of a new agreement? Is it because the bank or financial institution will take such a huge loss they will have to close their doors. The answer to both is no.”

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, in a January 2009 report, estimated that 1.5 million additional people in the U.S. would become homeless over the next two years. This is over and above the number who would experience homelessness without the effects of the economic crisis.

“With the unemployment rate staying high for some period of time, with the overall effects of the economic crisis, working and low income people and our communities need continued protection from losing our homes and stability,” said the Bailout Coalition's Alan Dale.

The Minnesota Coalition for People's Bailout is planning a demonstration for Feb. 4, the opening day of the legislature. The bill for a moratorium on foreclosures will be formally introduced that day.

#StPaulMN #CapitalismAndEconomy #MinnesotaCoalitionForAPeoplesBailout #HousingStruggles #DebKonechne #Foreclosure #Eviction #LeslieParks

The grounds of the state capitol are the only realistic staging area in downtown Saint Paul for the tens of thousands that are expected to join the march to the Xcel Center Sept. 1. Protest organizers are continuing to meet with Saint Paul city officials to press their demand for the permit to march to the site of the RNC.

“Obtaining the permits for the capitol complex is an important first step,” states Deb Konechne, of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. “We intend to take our anti-war message to the RNC and we insist that Saint Paul city government give us the permits now. People are coming, we need to prepare and we will not wait until the last minute to get this settled.”

The Sept. 1 protest has the backing of the main local and national anti-war organizations, as well as many other progressive groups.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #News #Iraq #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #protestPermits #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNCAndStopTheWar #DebKonechne