District of Columbia: DC Council, Ward 3

Candidates

Kathy Patterson, Democrat
Eric Rojo, Republican

Issues: Predatory Lending | Nursing Home Quality |

The issue boxes contained on this page are not clickable online. Please print the page and make notes for your reference.

Question

Do you support or oppose amending the law so that all lenders are held to the same strong standard of consumer protections?

AARP Response

Predatory lenders target minorities and older people. Predatory loans include deceptive marketing practices such as making loans without regard to the borrower’s ability to repay the loan, failing to disclose terms such as balloon payments,; and refinancing loans and charging excessive fees each time.

The Council passed a predatory lending law that exempts certain lenders covered by a similar federal law. Unfortunately, federal law does not provide the same strong consumer protections as the DC law.

AARP supports laws with strong consumer protections which restrict and prohibit predatory lending practices by all lenders.

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Supports all lenders be covered by DC law
Supports amending DC law, removing exemptions

Candidate Response: Kathy Patterson

District lenders are currently covered by consumer protection provisions, through the Home Loan Protection Act, and there is a question whether banks chartered by the Federal Government can be subject to District Law. It was noted in the Council debate that the District, through the Corporation Counsel, has not used existing consumer protection law to discourage predatory practices. I will use Judiciary Committee oversight to press the District’s lawyers to use the laws currently on the book to protect residents against predatory actions.

Candidate Response: Eric Rojo

The candidate was invited to participate in this voter guide, but did not respond by the publishing deadline.

Question

Do you support or oppose legislation requiring DC nursing homes to meet the minimum staffing levels recommended by the Federal Government to prevent harm to residents?

Do you support earmarked funding to increase and train additional nursing home inspectors?

AARP Response

In 2002, the House Government Reform Committee released a study on the quality of DC nursing home care. The report found that three-quarters of nursing homes in the District failed to provide the quality of care the law requires and families expect. Staffing levels and enforcement were major Committee concerns. The Federal Government recommends 4.13 hours of direct nursing care per resident per day as the minimum staffing level to prevent such serious harm as bedsores, weight loss and infection. The DC government recently proposed 3.5 hours per resident per day. Not all this time has to be devoted to direct nursing care.

AARP supports increasing the hours of direct nursing care per resident and additional funding for more inspectors and training.

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Supports increasing staffing levels
Supports adequate funding for inspectors
Supports adequate training for inspectors

Candidate Response: Kathy Patterson

I support such legislation. Studies, most recently by the General Accounting Office, underscore the link between more hours of nursing care and better health outcomes for nursing home residents. It’s important to act on what we know: the extent of deficiencies cited in the 17,000 nursing homes in the U.S. speaks to stronger requirements. I support adopting the consumer protections advocated by the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform.

I support funding for more and better-trained inspectors. Staffing requirements and other standards for care are empty promises without enforcement. Another tool to improve nursing home care is a well-trained and responsive police department. I chair the Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and will use committee oversight to encourage the Metropolitan Police Department to improve investigations of elder abuse.

Candidate Response: Eric Rojo

The candidate was invited to participate in this voter guide, but did not respond by the publishing deadline.