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[h=5]Question of the Day[/h]
[h=3]Will President Obama succeed in clearing Guantanamo Bay of all detainees by the time he leaves office?[/h]
President Obama took advantage of a lull in the uproar over the IRS, Justice Department and Benghazi scandals Tuesday to team up again with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for a high-profile tour of storm-recovery efforts on the Jersey shore.
With Congress out of town for a week-long Memorial Day recess, the president spent the afternoon inspecting the progress New Jersey beach communities have made since Superstorm Sandy slammed the area in October.
SPECIAL COVERAGE:
After trying his hand at arcade football in Point Pleasant and visiting the boardwalk in Asbury Park, Mr. Obama declared that the Jersey Shore is “back in business” just seven months after the storm inflicted $38 billion worth of damage to the state’s seaside towns.
The job of rebuilding is not over, Mr. Obama cautioned, noting that his return to the state he visited last fall in the storm’s immediate aftermath is intended to demonstrate the federal government’s long-term commitment to restoring the area.
Already, he said, inhabitants of the Jersey shore and the hard-hit areas of New York are demonstrating their resilience.
“You are stronger than the storm,” Mr. Obama said. “After all you’ve dealt with, after all you’ve been through, the Jersey Shore is back and it is open for business.”
The message is intended not only for residents in New Jersey, but also for the people in Oklahoma who are just starting to dig out of the debris and rubble from the May 20 tornado that tore through the town of Moore in central Oklahoma, killing 24 people, including seven children.
In referencing Oklahoma, Mr. Obama flubbed the name of the hardest hit town, giving a shout-out to the people of “Monroe” instead of “Moore.”
“When you look out at the beach here, even in the rain it looks good,” he said. “You can count on the fact that you won’t be alone. Your fellow citizens will be there for you. Just like we’ll be there for folks in Breezy Point and Staten Island, and obviously we’re going to be there for folks in Monroe, Okla.”
“When we make a commitment that we got your back, we mean it,” he continued. Turning to his host, Mr. Obama also heaped praise on Mr. Christie for great work in leading the recovery effort.
Despite the rosy rhetoric, homeowners trying to rebuild are still facing significant strains as they relocate and try to borrow money while keeping mortgage banks, threatening foreclosure, at bay.
One Jersey Shore homeowner, Kathleen Murphy of Brick, New Jersey, has launched a petition on www.change.org to try to stop Wells Fargo from foreclosing on homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy. The petition, which has gathered more than 7,000 signatures, calls on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to ensure that Wells Fargo allows homeowners the chance to rebuild.
Hurricane Sandy nearly destroyed Mrs. Murphy’s home, and she and her husband borrowed money from their 401(k) retirement account to rebuild it. She sent her three daughters to live with her sister while she lives on the home’s lawn to help oversee the construction.
After Sandy hit, government agencies including the Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency agreed, along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to impose a moratorium on foreclosure and eviction notices to residents whose homes were damaged in the storm. Last month, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that the foreclosure moratorium would continue.
Because the Murphy’s mortgage is backed by the FHA, she expected she would be able to continue to suspend mortgage payments while she focused on reconstructing her home. But Wells Fargo has since notified the family that the bank considers them in default, and her case is under review. She said she knows several of her neighbors are facing similar situations with the bank.
Story Continues
[h=6]
[h=5]Question of the Day[/h]
[h=3]Will President Obama succeed in clearing Guantanamo Bay of all detainees by the time he leaves office?[/h]
President Obama took advantage of a lull in the uproar over the IRS, Justice Department and Benghazi scandals Tuesday to team up again with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for a high-profile tour of storm-recovery efforts on the Jersey shore.
With Congress out of town for a week-long Memorial Day recess, the president spent the afternoon inspecting the progress New Jersey beach communities have made since Superstorm Sandy slammed the area in October.
SPECIAL COVERAGE:
After trying his hand at arcade football in Point Pleasant and visiting the boardwalk in Asbury Park, Mr. Obama declared that the Jersey Shore is “back in business” just seven months after the storm inflicted $38 billion worth of damage to the state’s seaside towns.
The job of rebuilding is not over, Mr. Obama cautioned, noting that his return to the state he visited last fall in the storm’s immediate aftermath is intended to demonstrate the federal government’s long-term commitment to restoring the area.
Already, he said, inhabitants of the Jersey shore and the hard-hit areas of New York are demonstrating their resilience.
“You are stronger than the storm,” Mr. Obama said. “After all you’ve dealt with, after all you’ve been through, the Jersey Shore is back and it is open for business.”
The message is intended not only for residents in New Jersey, but also for the people in Oklahoma who are just starting to dig out of the debris and rubble from the May 20 tornado that tore through the town of Moore in central Oklahoma, killing 24 people, including seven children.
In referencing Oklahoma, Mr. Obama flubbed the name of the hardest hit town, giving a shout-out to the people of “Monroe” instead of “Moore.”
“When you look out at the beach here, even in the rain it looks good,” he said. “You can count on the fact that you won’t be alone. Your fellow citizens will be there for you. Just like we’ll be there for folks in Breezy Point and Staten Island, and obviously we’re going to be there for folks in Monroe, Okla.”
“When we make a commitment that we got your back, we mean it,” he continued. Turning to his host, Mr. Obama also heaped praise on Mr. Christie for great work in leading the recovery effort.
Despite the rosy rhetoric, homeowners trying to rebuild are still facing significant strains as they relocate and try to borrow money while keeping mortgage banks, threatening foreclosure, at bay.
One Jersey Shore homeowner, Kathleen Murphy of Brick, New Jersey, has launched a petition on www.change.org to try to stop Wells Fargo from foreclosing on homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy. The petition, which has gathered more than 7,000 signatures, calls on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to ensure that Wells Fargo allows homeowners the chance to rebuild.
Hurricane Sandy nearly destroyed Mrs. Murphy’s home, and she and her husband borrowed money from their 401(k) retirement account to rebuild it. She sent her three daughters to live with her sister while she lives on the home’s lawn to help oversee the construction.
After Sandy hit, government agencies including the Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency agreed, along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to impose a moratorium on foreclosure and eviction notices to residents whose homes were damaged in the storm. Last month, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that the foreclosure moratorium would continue.
Because the Murphy’s mortgage is backed by the FHA, she expected she would be able to continue to suspend mortgage payments while she focused on reconstructing her home. But Wells Fargo has since notified the family that the bank considers them in default, and her case is under review. She said she knows several of her neighbors are facing similar situations with the bank.
Story Continues