Victims of the latest bust in the housing market may have gained a powerful new ally in the fight to reform predatory mortgage lending practices and provide some form of relief for those who looking to prevent losing their homes.

As we opined last week, Congresswoman Laura Richardson of Long Beach, CA was in a bit of a he-say, she-say last week when the Capitol Weekly reported that her home was headed for the auction block.

Richardson immediately challenged the story, arguing that she had renegotiated the terms of her mortgage. Then the AP picked up the story, reporting in summary, that she owed Sacramento County property taxes and that the home had already been sold auction complete with a real estate agent's lockbox hanging on the front door.

Richardson, a fine lady and freshman member of congress now maintains that she did in fact renegotiate the terms of her mortgage agreement and that the home was improperly foreclosed.

Silverlining: She now believes she can relate to the thousands of people in her district who are facing this nightmare scenario with cash-strapped mortgage lenders and eagerly looks forward to testify in Congress about her experience.

You never get to choose the issues of your time, but you do get to choose how you respond to those issues. I'm betting the house Richardson will effectively bring adequate attention to those dealing with unscrupulous banks looking to push folks out of their home because they cant pay a mortgage that just doubled.