U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb of Virginia and other lawmakers sent letters this week to government agencies urging them to come to the aid of families and businesses hurt by tainted Chinese-made drywall.
In a letter dated Tuesday, the lawmakers encouraged the Small Business Administration to determine whether the agency has a role in helping home-owners and businesses affected by the drywall, which has been blamed for corroding pipes and air-conditioning coils and causing electronic appliances to fail.
"Families in our states are, in many cases, watching their dream homes turn into nightmares," the senators wrote. "As the Federal government determines the full size and scope of this disaster, we believe it is important to marshal all appropriate Federal resources that may assist these families."
The Small Business Administration offers loans to individuals and businesses to help repair or replace property damaged in a federally declared disaster.
Webb, along with Sens. Bill Nelson of Florida and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, all Democrats, also sent a letter to the departments of Treasury and Housing and Urban Development asking the agencies to expand mortgage relief programs to include home-owners with Chinese-made drywall.
"We are requesting that you reach out to mortgage lenders in these areas and urge them to help impacted home-owners," the lawmakers wrote.
At least 150,000 sheets of Chinese-made drywall were imported by a local construction supplier.
That's enough to build more than 300 homes. Several lawsuits involving the drywall have been initiated locally, including one by five home-owners filed in U.S. District Court in Norfolk.
Nelson also sent a letter to the White House, asking the president to create a center to inform home-owners with the tainted drywall about what federal resources are available to them and to update them on federal investigations.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency in recent weeks have conducted tests in Virginia homes constructed with the drywall, but the agencies have not released results of those tests.
In recent weeks, local lawmakers also convinced the Internal Revenue Service to allow home-owners to claim losses from the drywall on their federal income taxes.
Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.com
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Nasty stuff
All that I can say is that if I would be sued it I provided substandard work for a fair price and used substandard material as well. I guess the Government will not go after China for the damages, that would harm diplomatic relations....gee, wonder why I didn't see fit to insert a capital letter there!
the truth on chinese drywall
I have Chinese drywall in my south Florida home.
Here is the truth about the drywall from my experience.
Yes, it is the fault Chinese manufactures for selling the contaminated toxic drywall.
Yes, it is the fault of all people who wanted to continue building homes faster than the material was available. Greed.
Yes, it is someone’s fault for letting the material to come to the United States.
Yes, it does make you sick, no matter what the health dept says.
I got bad headaches, swollen glades, sore throat and sever skin problems.
Yes, if you have the tainted drywall your house if worth NOTHING.
Yes, you lose everything and all of your money that you put in it.
No, there is currently no help from the government.
I have Never asked the government for help (food stamps, health care, unemployment money) If you want it go work for it that’s my motto.
I am asking the federal government for HELP on the toxic drywall.
If you think there is NO problem with the drywall try to stay at my house one or two nights. You won’t make it.
I welcome any government person to stay a week in a toxic home, then will then understand and MAYBE help.
the best way to fix your hous
Alert
So now those responsible scammers for this problem is going to declare bankruptcy or are about to escape out of the country with all the money they made off with thousands of families, selling products of poor quality.
As it is possible that these crooks are freely using the millions they made with the great scam, changing the name of his companies, declare bankruptcy, escaping the country with money and on the other side there are families who must pay mortgage and rent at the same time because they can not live in those houses and affected by that smelly Chinese drywall.
Where are the authorities not to stop this abuse and monitor the movements of those responsible crookers, no one can go bankrupt so easily. Who will pay at the end?
GLOBAL TRADE
This is a trade agreement issue, and our government has let us down. Until we establish fair trade amongst nations we do business with, we will see this over and over. Porter had every reason to believe that the product was as specified. It is shameful that our laws have allowed the destruction this man's business, rather than protecting him.
drywall
Those comments are ridiculous. There was no way to know the drywall was so bad. Contractors like Sam Porter will end up bankrupt and many employees have been laid off.China should step up to the plate and reimburse these guys for the crap they sold.Lets dont be so quick to fault the hard working contractors.
Govt. not doing job
This is another case of the Govt. not doing there job! If we were not so consumed with greed and the quick dollar this would not have happened. The Developers were building faster than material was available. Te govt. is not responsible for this, The individual developers are the ones that put this faulty material in the building and they should have to pay to resolve this!. Of course with China not holding the Morgage on the US we cannot do any thing to them or they will cut off our MONEY supply!. Next Congress will want to help the Illegal's get dry clothes because they got wet coming across the BORDER!.
unbelievably dependent...
why isn't this a homeowner's insurance issue? Why has everyone all of a sudden become so dependent upon government to take care of them? Am I the only one NOT on welfare or getting someone to take responsibility for my life, family and property?
more intrusion?
Just what we need! What role does the court system play anymore? Guess it's all the government.