TPR: In March 2007, Obama called on Paulson, Bernanke to address economic crisis.

(h/t) The Public Record

In a March 22, 2007 letter, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack

Obama called upon Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to convene a “a homeownership preservation summit with leading mortgage lenders, investors, loan servicing organizations, consumer advocates, federal regulators and housing-related agencies to assess options for private sector responses” to the wave of foreclosures.

“Regulators are partly responsible for creating the environment that is leading to rising rates of home foreclosure in the subprime mortgage market,” Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, said in the letter.

“We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American families face the risk of losing their homes. And while neither the government nor the private sector acting alone is capable of quickly balancing the important interests in widespread access to credit and responsible lending, both must act and act quickly. Please don't let this opportunity pass us by.”

The Fed chairman and the treasury secretary declined to act on Obama’s suggestion.
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