Fresno Bee: Cardoza gets more angry at White House over lack of action on foreclosure crisis

Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, isn't making many friends at the White House these days.

The conservative Democrat has become increasingly angry over the lack of action on the home foreclosure crisis.

Cardoza's district has some of the highest home foreclosure rates in the nation, and he says the administration's plans aren't helping his constitutents who are about to lose their homes.

The home foreclosure response by the administration is similar to its response to the Gulf oil spill: Too little, too late, too many excuses. Seems like there's a pattern here.

Cardoza is so angry that he has pushed legislation that would restrict the travel of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.

As Cardoza put it in a telephone interview, his intention is for Donovan and his aides to "keep their sorry asses in Washington until they fix the problem."

As first reported in Roll Call, Cardoza's amendment would wipe out HUD's $21 million travel budget. He also would prohibit HUD funding for administration and operations to be used for travel.

(The legislation is now part an amendment to the appropriations bill that must be considered to fund the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.)

It's a symbolic measure, but is intended to make a point to the administration that Democratic members are upset over the lack of progress on a foreclosure fix.

Administration officials need to "quit pretending that their programs are going to work," Cardoza said in the interview.

Cardoza also suggested that the Obama administration is too cozy with the banks holding most of the mortgages.

The officials working on the foreclosure problem came from Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Cardoza said. They have a conflict of interest and are protecting their old employers instead of looking out for the interests of homeowners.

"The lack of action on foreclosures and the president not coming to district, which he had promised, have me pretty fired up," Cardoza said.

This is a blog that Jim Boren, editorial page editor of The Fresno Bee, wrote Thursday.