On Tuesday, I joined colleagues to testify about finding solutions for two issues that have detrimental effects on our communities: foreclosures and gun violence. First, I joined Governor Martin O'Malley in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to talk about the foreclosure crisis facing Baltimore and the Nation. Then I joined elected officials, public safety professionals, and community leaders in Annapolis in support of legislation to impose stronger penalties for gun offenders.

I am grateful that House Committee Chair Darrell Issa and Congressman Elijah Cummings chose Baltimore for their hearing to gather testimony about abuses by the mortgage services industry. Since 2007, 18,000 properties in Baltimore City have had foreclosure filings made against them. All but a handful of neighborhoods in the city have been impacted by foreclosures, many of them severely.

The foreclosure crisis has imperiled many of these areas, but it is not just homeowners who have felt the impact. Over 40% of all properties that have been foreclosed against in the past four years are rentals. This has led to the extremely unfortunate situation where residents who have paid their rent are at risk of losing their housing.

I urged the committee to examine some possible solutions that will help homeowners currently in danger of losing their homes and allow us to avoid a repeat of this crisis in the future. We must first increase transparency in the foreclosure process, enabling distressed homeowners to better defend their homes and plan for their futures, and allowing us to better defend homeowners from unfair housing practices.

In the afternoon, I was joined by Baltimore City State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein, Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks, City Council President Bernard "Jack" Young, Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels, Co-Director of Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research Dr. Daniel Webster, and many others in front of the Maryland House Judiciary Committee in support of two pieces of legislation that would create tougher penalties for gun offenders.

The current laws are too weak and support a culture that tolerates illegal, loaded gun possession on the streets of our city and state.

One City administration proposal, SB239 / HB252, would create a minimum sentence of 18 months for all defendants arrested with an illegal, loaded firearm. The other City administration proposal, SB240 / HB241, would strengthen sentencing options for felons in possession of guns by creating a tougher sentencing range of 5 years minimum to 15 years maximum, giving judges more sentencing options when faced with a repeat gun offender.

As reported in the Daily Record, the State's Attorneys from Baltimore and Prince Georges' Counties stressed the importance of this commonsense public safety legislation. State's Attorney Shellenberger said, "It's not just a Baltimore City problem-it's a statewide issue." State's Attorney Alsobrooks, after noting that 16 people were killed in the first month of this year in her county, added, "This issue is of critical importance to Prince George's County. It also sends the proper message: This type of violence will not be tolerated in Prince George's County."

For the second time this year, Ms. Nicole Harris-Crest, the daughter of the late City Councilman Ken Harris, provided testimony. Councilman Harris was killed in on September 20, 2008, during a robbery attempt. Ms. Harris-Crest also recorded a video about gun violence in Baltimore for the SaferCity initiative. It is a moving account of how currently weak state laws directly impact families and communities in our great city.