English subtitles for clip: File:2012-09-29 President Obama's Weekly Address.ogv

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The President:
Hi, everybody.

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Four years ago this month, a
crisis that started out on Wall

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Street almost brought
down our entire economy.

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The nation's biggest banks
were days away from failing.

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The stock market -- and millions
of American retirement accounts

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-- were in free-fall.

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Credit froze.

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Lending stopped.

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And businesses large and small
didn't even know if they'd be

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able to make payroll.

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It was a moment the likes
of which few Americans had

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seen before.

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Today, we know the biggest cause
of that crisis was reckless

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behavior in the housing market.

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Millions of Americans who did
the right and responsible thing

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-- who shopped for a home,
secured a mortgage they could

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afford, and made their
payments on time --

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were badly hurt by the
irresponsible actions of others.

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By lenders who sold loans to
families who couldn't afford

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them -- and buyers who knew
they couldn't afford them.

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By speculators who were looking
just to make a quick buck.

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And by banks that packaged and
sold those risky mortgages for

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phony profits.

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When the party stopped, and
the housing bubble burst,

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it pushed our entire economy
into a historic recession --

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and left middle-class
families holding the bag.

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Four years later, the
housing market is healing.

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Home sales and
construction are up.

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Prices are beginning to rise.

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And more than a million families
who began this year owing more

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on their mortgages than
their homes are worth,

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are now back above water.

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So we're moving in
the right direction.

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But we're not there yet.

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There are still millions of
Americans who are struggling

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with their mortgages, even at a
time of historically low rates.

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Now, I know there are some who
think that the only option for

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homeowners is to just stand by
and hope that the market has

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hit bottom.

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I don't agree with that.

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That's why my Administration
teamed up with state attorneys

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general to investigate the
terrible way many homeowners

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were treated, and secured a
settlement from the nation's

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biggest banks -- banks that were
bailed out with taxpayer dollars

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-- to help families
stay in their homes.

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And that's why we announced
new steps to help responsible

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homeowners refinance
their mortgages.

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Already, hundreds of thousands
of Americans who were stuck in

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high-interest rate loans have
been able to take advantage of

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lower rates and save thousands
of dollars every year.

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That's not only good
for those families;

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it's also good for our economy.

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When folks are spending
less on mortgage payments,

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they're spending more
at local businesses.

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And when those businesses
have more customers,

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they start hiring more workers.

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But we can do even more
if Congress is willing to

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do their part.

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Back in February, I sent
Congress a plan to give every

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responsible homeowner the chance
to save about $3,000 a year on

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their mortgages by
refinancing at lower rates.

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It's a plan that has the
support of independent,

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nonpartisan economists
and leaders across the

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housing industry.

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But Republicans in Congress
worked to keep it from even

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getting to a vote.

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And here we are --
seven months later --

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still waiting on
Congress to act.

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This makes no sense.

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Last week, mortgage rates
were at historic lows.

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But instead of helping more and
more hardworking families take

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advantage of those rates,
Congress was away on break.

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Instead of worrying about you,
they'd already gone home to

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worry about their campaigns.

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The truth is, it's going to take
a while for our housing market

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to fully recover.

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But it's going to take
a lot more time --

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and cause a lot more hurt --
if Congress keeps standing

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in the way.

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If you agree with me, I hope
you'll make your voices heard.

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Call your Representative.

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Send them an email.

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Show up at their town hall and
tell them that when Congress

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comes back to Washington, they
better come back ready to work.

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All of you are doing
everything you can to meet

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your responsibilities.

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I think it's time
Congress did the same.

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Thanks and have a great weekend.