On Tuesday, Sept. 23, ACORN members staged demonstrations in 35 cities, calling on Congress to "Bail Out Main Street, Not Just Wall Street" in protesting the Bush administration’s failure to include lifelines for American homeowners facing foreclosure in its Wall Street bailout proposal.

ACORN members rallied on Capitol Hill, at Congressional offices and outside Federal Reserve banks.

In Washington, D.C., more than 50 ACORN members from Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington, D.C. attended the U.S. Senate hearing then staged a rally outside. The only low- to moderate-income people at the hearing, ACORN members testified about losing their homes to foreclosure.

Outside the Senate building, Baltimore ACORN member Robinette Balmer dressed as a cat wearing a life preserver to demonstrate how Wall Street's "fat cats" are getting bailed out. ACORN members then headed to the U.S. Treasury building for another rally.

Afterward, Maryland ACORN members went back to Baltimore to protest at their local office of the Federal Reserve Bank.

ACORN members protested Tuesday in Cincinnati; Boston; Springfield, Mass.; Hartford; Bridgeport, Conn.; Denver; Pittsburgh, Pa.; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Orange County, Calif.; Long Beach, Calif.; Miami; Orlando; Cleveland; Dallas; St. Louis, Mo.; Minneapolis; Albuquerque; Phoenix; Tucson; New York; Seattle; Detroit; Louisville, Ky.; Providence, R.I.; Las Vegas; Indianapolis; Columbus, Ohio; and Little Rock, Ark. at their local Congressional offices and Federal Reserve banks.

"When this administration and the Federal Reserve refused to regulate the banking and credit industry, greed ran rampant," said ACORN member Linda Lee outside the Federal Reserve building in Pittsburgh. "The predatory lenders were allowed to come into our neighborhood and sell taxpaying homeowners scores of bad loans that pushed them into foreclosure and bankruptcy. Now they want to take our tax dollars to save the lenders, but forget about us."

In Phoenix, 25 ACORN members along with 15 members of AFL-CIO protested at the office of Sen. John McCain. Phoenix ACORN member Marizabel Medina spoke at the rally about having lost her home that day in a private auction.

ACORN members oppose the administration’s current proposal, which calls for spending $700 billion of taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street, who fueled the current crisis, but fails to devote a single penny to rescue American homeowners who were victimized by the predatory lending of these same institutions.

ACORN is calling on leaders of Congress to include homeowner rescue provisions in any Wall Street bailout, specifically:

• Require Automatic Modifications for Distressed Homeowners. Any financial institution that participates in the federal bailout must provide automatic affordable loan modifications to homeowners facing foreclosure, structured along the lines of the loan modification program recently enacted by the FDIC.
• Amend the Bankruptcy Law. We must allow homeowners to restructure their mortgages in bankruptcy court and save their homes, just like wealthy Americans can with vacation homes and yachts.
• Re-regulate the Industry. Any financial institution that benefits from the bailout must in return provide public benefit by investing in low- and moderate-income communities through an updated Community Reinvestment Act. Further, Wall Street should agree to comply with new regulations over disclosure, capital requirements, conflicts of interest, market manipulation, and true protections for borrowers from predatory lenders.
• Robust Oversight from Congress. The Treasury Department should be required to report at least monthly on its work, and CEO compensation should be strictly limited until justified by performance.

Click here to send a message to your members of Congress urging them to "Bail Out Main Street, Not Just Wall Street."

ACORN and 30 other organizations have sent a letter to Congress urging a common sense approach to the Wall Street bailout. Click here to view the letter.