Housing, foreclosures notably absent in House GOP recess kits

House Republican leaders did not mention mortgage foreclosures or the word “housing” in materials given to their members before the March recess.

The 21-page document distributed on March 13 addressed economic concerns ranging from overspending to tax hikes to earmarks but did not address the foreclosure crisis.

{mosads}Leadership offices on both sides of the aisle routinely distribute “recess kits” to be used by members as reference materials and talking points during prolonged district work periods.

Brian Schubert, a spokesman for GOP Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (Fla.), did not directly address why the housing crisis was not mentioned in the packet, though he said economic security is tackled in the materials.

Putnam’s office last month distributed the recess kits, which state that the economy is “slowing.”

Schubert said Republican lawmakers have diligently worked to warn taxpayers about a budget and Democratic policies that they argue will raise taxes: “Congress has an obligation to provide common-sense solutions that get our economy moving in the right direction and assist needy homeowners who are truly victims.”

A spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) described the omission of the housing crisis as “appalling.”

“It is appalling, but not surprising, that congressional Republicans would ignore the housing and foreclosure crisis and the fact that millions of families are at risk of losing their homes,” said Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for Pelosi. “Let’s hope that after spending a couple of weeks with their constituents, Republicans are now prepared to work with Democrats to deal with this immediate problem.”

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke addressed the hot-button issue during his testimony last week to the Joint Economic Committee and identified the housing market as the “center of the problem” threatening the economy. Bernanke advised lawmakers that they should be “looking at housing.”

The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that over 2 million people could lose their homes due to foreclosure over the next two years.

According the recess packet distributed by Pelosi to House Democratic Caucus members, 10 percent of American homes are worth less than the cost of their mortgage.

Addressing the housing situation is a politically tricky proposition for Republicans as they try to strike a balance between helping voters who need assistance and not embracing a big-government solution.

Fiscal conservatives last month began mobilizing against the idea of a federal government-funded solution to the housing crisis.

Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) and 17 other Republicans sent a letter to President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on March 7 urging him to reject anything that resembled a “bailout.”

“The disorder in the housing market is unquestionably serious,” Price said in a statement. “However, a taxpayer bailout would only encourage more dangerous borrowing and lead to future housing instability.”

Putnam told The Hill in March that he would not reject such the idea of a government solution to the crisis “out of hand,” but that he favored a solution that “does not resemble a government bailout.”

“We’re all interested in trying to mitigate the harm in the economy in a market-oriented way that does not reward bad behavior,” he said.

Putnam’s home state of Florida has been one of the hardest-hit by the foreclosure crisis.

Senate Republicans walked a similar line last week after striking a deal with Democrats on housing legislation while successfully killing a provision heavily opposed by the banking lobby that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to revise the terms of mortgages on primary residences.

Some GOP lobbyists and operatives have said that the March recess significantly changed Republican perceptions of the economy.

In late December, President Bush said the economy was growing. Earlier that month, Putnam compared Democratic efforts to address the sub-prime mortgage crisis to “a sledgehammer on a gnat,” claiming it was an exaggerated response to a problem afflicting a relatively small percentage of people.

David Wasserman, House editor of The Cook Political Report, said, “At this point, there is little doubt that the housing crisis will be a key fall issue, and perhaps the dominant economic issue on the national agenda.

… There has not been enough polling released on this issue to say whom it will benefit, but Republicans must be wary of appearing to lack compassion towards those who have felt the brunt of the downturn.”

Jessica Holzer contributed to this article.