By KEVIN DIAZ, Star Tribune

Last update: May 17, 2010 - 6:20 AM

WASHINGTON - Minnesota lawmakers trying to counter the causes of the epic Wall Street meltdown see one piece of the puzzle in a south Minneapolis duplex where 66-year-old Tecora Parks is fighting to keep her home out of foreclosure.

A retired hospital worker, Parks says she was duped into refinancing her home in 2005 near the height of the housing bubble, with an adjustable-rate mortgage that put her deeper in debt.

Now Parks is one of more than 1.5 million borrowers nationwide trying to get help under the Obama administration's housing rescue plan. Nearly 20,000 of them are in Minnesota.

"It's raining outside, but it will dry up someday," Parks said hopefully.

In Washington, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, both Minnesota Democrats, are pushing measures in a financial overhaul bill that serve as bookends to the vicious cycle that trapped unwitting borrowers such as Parks, who admits she understood little of what she signed.

Both measures attempt to get at the heart of the financial crisis -- the over-abundance of shaky mortgage-backed securities -- that brought Wall Street and Parks' bank to its knees nearly two years ago.

Klobuchar's proposal, which the Senate adopted as an amendment on Wednesday, would protect consumers from the predatory lending practices that jeopardize Parks' house. It is based on a 2007 Minnesota law that ensures lenders obtain essential financial information and provide responsible advice to borrowers.

Franken, who has cited Parks' case on the Senate floor, wants to block banks and other financial institutions from shopping around for the highest credit ratings they can find for their securities, particularly ones based on suspect loans such as Parks', which have been blamed for nearly toppling the world economy in the fall of 2008.

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