Statewide Demonstration to Halt Foreclosures Set for Sept. 17 in Lansing

[XXPANTHAXX]

For Immediate Release

Media Advisory

Event: Moratorium Now! at State Capital, Sept. 17, 1100am
March on Lansing to Demand Hearing on SB 1306!
Contact: Moratorium Now! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures &
Evictions; CUM Church, 23 East Adams, 4th Floor
Phone: 313.887.4344
URL: Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions in Michigan
E-mail: moratorium@moratorium-mi.org

Moratorium Now! Coalition Will March on State Capital Sept. 17 to Demand
Hearings on SB 1306--Bill Would Impose a Two Year Halt to Home
Foreclosures and Evictions

Organizers for the Moratorium Now! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and
Evictions will be taking people to Lansing on Wednesday, Sept. 17 to
hold a public hearing demanding the immediate passage of Senate Bill
1306, which would impose a halt to foreclosures for two years in the
state of Michigan.

This bill, which was introduced by State Senator Hansen Clarke during
the Spring, has languished in the Banking and Financial Services
Committee because of the refusal of the Chair, Randy Richardville, to
hold hearings and move the legislation forward.

The recent federal government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
clearly illustrates the depths of the crisis with $5 trillion in
mortgage value under threat of total collapse. The impact of this
failure, coupled with the crisis at Lehman Bros. and other banking
institutions, demands immediate action to provide relief to working
families by the state government in Lansing.

In late August, members of the Moratorium Now! Coalition from
Richardville's district in Monroe, as well as several activists from
around the state, hand-delivered a letter to Richardville's home
demanding action on the crisis in the state stemming from the seizure of
homes by banks and the failure of government to take effective measures.

Coalition members are saying that they will hold a hearing at the State
Capital on Sept. 17. This will be done even if Banking and Financial
Services Committee Chair Richardville continues to ignore the suffering
of thousands of people throughout Michigan who are being evicted by
predatory lending institutions everyday.

Moratorium Now! has recently gained the support of the Detroit City
Council for rapid passage of SB 1306. In a letter delivered to the
Council and the incoming interim Mayor Kenneth V. Cockrel, Jr., we have
requested that the city apply to Gov. Granholm to declare a state of
economic emergency in Detroit, which could impose a moratorium on all
foreclosures throughout the state.

Transportation arrangements are being made for the trip to Lansing on
Sept. 17. Dozens of community organizations, religious groups, labor
activists and public officials have endorsed this action.

Members of the Moratorium Now! Coalition members are available for
comment at the contact numbers and addresses listed above.