Washington D.C. (November 12, 2008) – Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, today announced the witness list for the upcoming Subcommittee hearing “Is Treasury Using Bailout Funds to Increase Foreclosure Prevention, as Congress Intended?” The hearing will be held on Friday, November 14, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2154.

Congress established the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program on October 3, 2008 to deal with the financial crisis. One of TARP’s core functions was to prevent future foreclosures through the acquisition of mortgage-related assets, such as whole loans, mortgage-backed securities and other financial products, and the implementation of a plan to stem foreclosures on those loans. In creating TARP, Congress was aware of the efforts of the private mortgage servicing industry to prevent foreclosures, and committed an extraordinary sum of taxpayer funds to expand upon those efforts. On November 12, 2008, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that TARP would not acquire mortgage-related assets. In light of this significant change in TARP’s mission, important oversight questions arise.

Witness List

PANEL 1

Mr. Neel Kashkari
Interim Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability
Department of Treasury

PANEL II

Mr. Michael Barr
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Development, Department of Treasury
University of Michigan Law School & Center for American Progress

Mr. Anthony B. Sanders
W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University

Ms. Alys Cohen
National Consumer Law Center

Mr. Larry Litton
Litton Loan Servicing LP

Stephen S. Kudenholdt
Thacher Proffitt & Wood

Mr. Thomas Deutsch
American Securitization Forum