Establish immediate relief for "underwater" mortgage holders.

We hereby petition the Administration to reconvene the panel of top economists and representatives of the nation's mortgage lending institutions to create and empower a viable plan to relieve and restructure home mortgages that, as a result of the financial crises of 2008, are now burdening millions of homeowners. (See Washington Post, Nov. 22 issue, article by Zachary A. Goldfarb.) The need for such action is as dire and urgent as was the so-called bail-out of financial institutions and auto manufacturers. Without this relief, entire families and their many communities will be irreparably harmed by the lasting fall-out of damaged credit ratings and reduced property values. It is with utmost urgency that we petition this Administration to re-examine this issue without further delay.