City Council Majority Leader Marian B. Tasco will have a prime seat today for President Obama's signing of the national financial reform bill.

The White House invited Tasco, an early opponent of predatory lending and advocate for foreclosure protection, to the 11:30 a.m. ceremonial signing of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

See the City Council release below:

Philadelphia – The White House has invited Philadelphia City Council’s Majority Leader Marian B. Tasco to witness the historic signing of national financial reform legislation at 11:30 AM, Wednesday, July 21, 2010 in the Amphitheater of the Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, in Washington DC.

Councilwoman Tasco, who represents Philadelphia’s 9th District, has spent her professional life fighting to empower people. As a task force coordinator for the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, a constituent services director for Congressman Bill Gray, the first African American City Commissioner and now as a leader in City Council, Councilwoman Tasco heard firsthand the horror stories of how predatory lending destroyed people’s lives.

As far back as 1994, Councilwoman Tasco worked with community organizations to educate citizens on the subject. Upon reviewing a 1999 study by ACORN that showed a spike in foreclosures in her district and other parts of the city, she formed a coalition to address these lenders head-on.

“Predatory lending, and the companies that practice it, are very astute in their targeting of low and moderate income citizens who lack the financial sophistication and means to obtain loans from mainstream financial institutions,” said Councilwoman Tasco. “People have lost everything due to these shadowy banking practices.”

In 2001, Councilwoman Tasco worked with her colleagues and community organizations to pass the country’s toughest predatory lending bill by a unanimous vote. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, then a colleague on City Council, described Tasco as relentless in her fight against predatory lending. Councilwoman Tasco was awarded the 2002 Good Housekeeping Magazine Award for Women in Government for her work on this issue.

In 2004 Councilwoman Tasco discussed the issue with Illinois State Senator Barack Obama as he campaigned for the U.S. Senate. He not only shared her background as a community organizer and champion of the underserved, but her passion for protecting our most vulnerable citizens. Councilwoman Tasco was invited to participate in a Capitol Hill roundtable discussion of federal policy on predatory lending and foreclosures in 2006, which was sponsored by the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Northeast-Midwest Senate and Congressional Coalitions.

Councilwoman Tasco continues her efforts to protect citizens. Just last week she joined Mayor Nutter, Judge Annette M. Rizzo, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and campaign partners NeighborWorks America, the Urban Affairs Coalition, New Kensington CDC and the City’s Office of Housing and Community Development to kick-off the “Loan Modification Scam Campaign” to fight foreclosures in Philadelphia’s communities.

Councilwoman Tasco said, “Predatory lending by financial institutions toward the low to moderate income communities has been taking place for decades, but it never garnered much attention until it hit mainstream America. I share President Obama’s commitment to protect Americans from the unscrupulous dealings of financial institutions, whether they are on Broad Street or Wall Street. I am honored to be invited by the President to witness the historic signing.”

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