Foreclosure Crisis Alarms Lawmakers

Now Congress is getting into the fray regarding tens of thousands of improperly processed foreclosure cases. "It is time that banks are held accountable for their practices," House speaker Nancy Pelosi (pictured left) and 30 more Democratic representatives from California reported to the Justice Department, the Federal Reserve and the comptroller of the currency. Meanwhile, Texas' attorney general, Republican Greg Abbott, delivered letters to 30 mortgage lenders requesting that they halt foreclosures, evictions and sales of foreclosed homes until they can determine whether their procedures were being enacted legally. Some of the nation's largest banks have admitted that they did not properly review the paperwork related to foreclosures before signing off on them and evicting homeowners. Sens. Al Franken of Minnesota and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, both Democrats, also have demanded investigations into lenders' foreclosure practices.