Responding to the subprime lending market meltdown, Charles Schumer (D-NY) is proposing legislation that would give $300 million to community groups that can help troubled borrowers restructure their mortgage debt. And not only would Shcumer's bill change some mortgage lending regulations, it asks for mortgage lenders to kick in $600 million of their funds. Of course mortgage lenders, as spoken for by Mortgage Bankers Association Chairman John M. Robbins, are having none of this. The legislative remedies that Senator Schumer presents today will have the unfortunate effect of limiting choice and restricting mortgage credit to the neediest borrowers, thereby hurting those people it is ostensibly designed to help. Indeed. The neediest people should have access to credit. But, when lenders use deceptive practices to entice borrowers into loans that they eventually won't be able to afford (see e.g., "teaser rate"), the "neediest people" are really only getting temporary access to credit. And now, a whole lot of people are feeling the pinch as the terms of their exotic loans become untenable. Lenders should recognize their responsibility in this mess and pitch in and help.