Ellison: Law Could Help Those Dealing With Foreclosures

Speaking with KSTP-TV, Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-Minnesota) said he thinks a law should be passed that would allow courts to force banks to reduce the principal on home loans.

"In fairness to some of the banks," he told KSTP, "many of them have re-modified loans and work with people. I don't want to paint too broad of a brush because there have been some good actors in the financial community. But there have been some horrible actors too. And far too many. And the bad ones are not making up for the good ones."

Ellison's interview with the TV station was part of a larger story about foreclosure rates by zip code in Minnesota. The 55411 zip code in Minneapolis—which is where Ellison lives—had the most foreclosures in the state since 2006, KSTP found.

"You know, I get concerned about people who say 'just let it all bottom out'. No one who says that has any idea of the human toll that will be taken," Ellison said.

Ellison Calls for Diplomacy, Debate On Iran

According to a Huffington Post article, Ellison wants to see more debate and deliberation before the country slides into war with Iran.

"The debate is not happening, and there needs to be a debate," Ellison said.

The prospect of war with Iran has heightened in recent months, as reports of the country's supposed ties to terrorism have circulated.

Last week, Israeli diplomats were targeted by car bombs in New Delhi and Tbilisi, Georgia—attacks they blamed on Iran.

Ellison said he doesn't support the Iranian regime, but he said America has to be careful to avoid a repeat of Iraq—which the representative said represented a failure of discourse.

"I think the media is being lured into the same things they got lured into with Iraq," Ellison said. "What if we found out that they're not actually weaponizing? As the buildup for Iraq was going on, if you were to say publicly, 'I don't think Saddam has weapons of mass destruction,' you'd be laughed out of town. If the price of stopping a war is me being called some names, I can handle it."