Government Repo Prevention Needed for Drought-Hit Los Banos

Posted on June 25th, 2009 in Foreclosure Prevention

The California city of Los Banos has been suffering from drought for three years and from a staggering one-in-five foreclosure rate, but it has not received the kind of government repo funding received by other cities which got extra attention from the media.

U.S. Representative Jim Costa of California claimed that drought-hit Los Banos did not receive media attention as much as those received by cities battered by other disasters because drought is not as television-friendly as hurricanes and tornadoes.

Another California lawmaker, Representative Dennis Cardoza, said that there is a California not touched by beaches and movie stars ? a place of blocks and blocks of abandoned foreclosed houses.

Cardoza and Costa testified in June before members of the House Financial Services Committee who are reviewing a draft legislation aimed at declaring regions hit by disasters as economic disaster zones. These zones would be given special funding for the rehabilitation of private and government repo houses, creation of jobs and management of community development projects.

Los Banos is a San Joaquin Valley city with a population of 36,000. Due to the three-year long drought, the jobless rate has long surpassed the 21 percent rate level and the pace of private and government repo activities have reached the staggering rate of one foreclosure for every five homes in the city.

Because of inadequate water delivery, acres and acres of farm fields have been left uncultivated.

Los Banos Mayor Tommy Jones was also called by the committee to appear before lawmakers. The lawmakers were bothered by the report of the city that one in five households has been foreclosed and that the unemployment rate has gone beyond 21 percent. The city previously submitted to the federal government a request for funding to increase the number of its police officers.

Mayor Jones said that the national lawmakers wanted to make sure that the city did not err in its report of the number of households losing their homes to private and government repo actions.

Massachusetts Democratic Representative Barney Frank, chairperson of the finance committee, said that the hearing represents the start of the committee?s response to the problems in the San Joaquin Valley, considered the country?s biggest agricultural region.

However, Texas Republican Representative Jeb Hensarling questioned whether revising the Community Development Block Grant program is the correct solution to the region?s problem.

In response, Representative Cardoza reiterated that Los Banos cannot survive without getting the same level of funding received by other cities from the government repo prevention program and other community development programs run by the federal government.

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