Federal Legislation
The House moved quickly to pass the "Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008" (HR 5140), a $146 billion package aimed at jump-starting the nation's lagging economy. The bill was introduced and passed through the chamber in less than 24 hours after intense behind the scenes negotiations between the chamber's leadership and the White House. The Senate took up the legislation later in the week but made it clear that they would consider a larger, more expansive bill than the one that passed the House. Members of the Senate have said they may consider adding funds for state and local governments when their version of the bill reaches the chamber floor, which is expected to happen shortly.
Although the bills do not contain any direct grants to cities and towns, both bills provide a limited measure of assistance to stimulate the housing market. The bills would temporarily increase the size of individual mortgages that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage finance institutions, could purchase, as well as the size of mortgages that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) could insure. Under the House bill, the limit for Fannie and Freddie would be increased to $729,750 from $417,000, and the limit for FHA would be increased to $633,500 from $362,000. The goals of these provisions are to help increase mortgage capital in the housing market and to encourage lenders to increase mortgage refinancing options available to homeowners struggling to refinance high-interest adjustable-rate subprime loans and avoid foreclosure. Each bill also gives investment incentives to businesses, although the details differ.
Details of what else may be added to the Senate bill are still up in the air. The House-passed bill would cost $145.9 billion in 2008. The competing Senate package would cost at least $10 billion more-and could increase if additional proposals are added when the bill reaches the Senate floor.
The Foreclosure Crisis
National and Federal Resources Aid Response to the Home Foreclosure Crisis Recent reports indicate that overall foreclosure activity increased by 75 percent in 2007 with last December marking the fifth straight month that more than 200,000 foreclosure filings were reported nationally.
The following is a list of foreclosure mitigation resources to help local elected officials help their constituents:
* HOPE NOW
HOPE NOW is a voluntary alliance of housing counselors, mortgage lenders and servicers, investors, and other mortgage market participants who are coordinating efforts to reach out and assist homeowners in distress. The U.S. Departments of the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development formed an alliance that includes such lenders as Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Countrywide, and Bank of America, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. HOPE NOW operates a nation-wide helpline, 1-888-995-HOPE, that places homeowners in contact with qualified housing counselors. More information on HOPE NOW can be found on their website at http://www.hopenow.com/.
* The Homeownership Preservation Foundation
The Homeownership Preservation Foundation is a nonprofit participant in the HOPE NOW alliance that partners with local governments, nonprofit organizations, borrowers and lenders to help families overcome obstacles that can result in the loss of their homes. Through the foundation's website, http://www.995hope.org/, homeowners can access online housing counseling sessions.
* NeighborWorks America
NeighborWorks America and its network of 240 local organizations have been at the forefront of efforts to preserve homeownership and sustain communities in the face of rising foreclosures. Last December, NeighborWorks launched a $180 million program with funds appropriated by Congress to increase the availability of foreclosure counseling services across the country. In addition, NeighborWorks has partnered with the Ad Council to create a national public service awareness campaign that is available for any community. Foreclosure resources offered by NeighborWorks can be found at: www.nw.org/network/foreclosure/default.asp.
* Department of Housing and Urban Development
The HUD website offers a number of foreclosure resources. HUD provides tips for avoiding foreclosure at www.hud.gov/foreclosure/index.cfm. In addition, a list of HUD-approved housing counselors by state can be found at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm. Finally, HUD, through the Federal Housing Administration, has implemented a new program called FHASecure that gives credit-worthy homeowners, who were making timely mortgage payments before their loans reset but are now in default, a second chance with a FHA insured loan refinancing product. Details about FHA Secure can be found at http://www.fha.gov/.
* The Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve is the nation's banking and monetary regulator, and as such, is responsible for supervising the mortgage finance system. The Federal Reserve offers a list of foreclosure resources across several different federal agencies at www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/foreclosure/default.htm. In addition, they offer a Consumer Handbook on Adjustable-Rate Mortgages at www.federalreserve.gov/consumerinfo/default.htm. Finally, consumers can file a complaint against any federally-chartered bank if they think their lender was unfair, misleading, or discriminatory, or if the consumer suspects their mortgage loan violated federal regulations, by visiting http://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/, or calling the Federal Reserve, toll-free, at 1-888-851-1920.
* ACORN
The national non-profit ACORN Housing has been providing free housing counseling to low and moderate income homebuyers since 1987. ACORN operates HUD-certified, Fannie Mae-approved housing counseling offices across the United States. ACORN Housing provides one-on-one mortgage loan counseling, first-time homebuyer classes, and helps clients obtain affordable mortgages through unique lending partnerships. More information on ACORN, including a checklist of good loan practices and warning signs of a predatory loan can be found at www.acornhousing.org/TEXT/predlend.php.
* National Vacant Properties Campaign
The National Vacant Properties Campaign exists to provide everyone - individuals, advocates, agencies, developers, non-profits, and others - with information resources, tools, and assistance to support their vacant property revitalization efforts. Although the campaign is not a resource for homeowners struggling to prevent foreclosure, it is a good resource for local leaders that need to address the vacant housing that arises from foreclosure. Information can be found at http://www.vacantproperties.org/.
Sen. Dodd Outlines Housing Agenda for Reminder of Year
Last week, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, outlined an ambitious housing agenda for the remainder of the 110th Congress. Sen. Dodd announced that he would seek a significant increase in the CDBG program, up to $10 billion, to allow local governments to purchase foreclosed housing to rehabilitate and resell, to use as rental housing or to demolish and bank the land for future development needs. He also announced his intentions to unveil a proposal to create a Homeownership Preservation Corporation that would purchase mortgages from lenders and investors that are at risk of foreclosure and provide those borrowers with new, affordable mortgages. According to Dodd, this proposal would need initial appropriations of $10 to $20 billion. Other legislative proposals Sen. Dodd's committee will consider include bills to reform the Federal Housing Administration and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac permanently; reform the mortgage finance system and crack down on predatory lending; and reauthorize federal homeless assistance programs.
Senate Committee Holds Hearing on California-EPA Decision
Appearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson vigorously defended his rejection of California's effort to regulate vehicle emissions and maintained that politics did not play a role in the decision. Johnson's comments did little to assuage the overwhelmingly Democratic group of lawmakers who appeared at the hearing and repeatedly charged that the decision appeared to have little basis in existing law.
On the same day as the hearing, Sen. Boxer (D-CA) introduced S. 2555, a bill directing the Administrator of the EPA to grant California's request for the waiver, which will allow California to implement its greenhouse gas emissions standards for motor vehicles. The waiver will also permit other states to adopt California's emissions standards.
Last December the EPA rejected a waiver request from California to require new cars to achieve 36 mpg by 2016, four years sooner than what is required under the recently enacted federal energy law. California's law calls for even deeper cuts beyond 2016.
A total of 18 states, representing 45 percent of the nation's auto market, have either adopted or pledged to implement California's proposed tailpipe emissions rules. Fifteen of those states have joined California in a suit against the EPA.
The House moved quickly to pass the "Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008" (HR 5140), a $146 billion package aimed at jump-starting the nation's lagging economy. The bill was introduced and passed through the chamber in less than 24 hours after intense behind the scenes negotiations between the chamber's leadership and the White House. The Senate took up the legislation later in the week but made it clear that they would consider a larger, more expansive bill than the one that passed the House. Members of the Senate have said they may consider adding funds for state and local governments when their version of the bill reaches the chamber floor, which is expected to happen shortly.
Although the bills do not contain any direct grants to cities and towns, both bills provide a limited measure of assistance to stimulate the housing market. The bills would temporarily increase the size of individual mortgages that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage finance institutions, could purchase, as well as the size of mortgages that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) could insure. Under the House bill, the limit for Fannie and Freddie would be increased to $729,750 from $417,000, and the limit for FHA would be increased to $633,500 from $362,000. The goals of these provisions are to help increase mortgage capital in the housing market and to encourage lenders to increase mortgage refinancing options available to homeowners struggling to refinance high-interest adjustable-rate subprime loans and avoid foreclosure. Each bill also gives investment incentives to businesses, although the details differ.
Details of what else may be added to the Senate bill are still up in the air. The House-passed bill would cost $145.9 billion in 2008. The competing Senate package would cost at least $10 billion more-and could increase if additional proposals are added when the bill reaches the Senate floor.
The Foreclosure Crisis
National and Federal Resources Aid Response to the Home Foreclosure Crisis Recent reports indicate that overall foreclosure activity increased by 75 percent in 2007 with last December marking the fifth straight month that more than 200,000 foreclosure filings were reported nationally.
The following is a list of foreclosure mitigation resources to help local elected officials help their constituents:
* HOPE NOW
HOPE NOW is a voluntary alliance of housing counselors, mortgage lenders and servicers, investors, and other mortgage market participants who are coordinating efforts to reach out and assist homeowners in distress. The U.S. Departments of the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development formed an alliance that includes such lenders as Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Countrywide, and Bank of America, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. HOPE NOW operates a nation-wide helpline, 1-888-995-HOPE, that places homeowners in contact with qualified housing counselors. More information on HOPE NOW can be found on their website at http://www.hopenow.com/.
* The Homeownership Preservation Foundation
The Homeownership Preservation Foundation is a nonprofit participant in the HOPE NOW alliance that partners with local governments, nonprofit organizations, borrowers and lenders to help families overcome obstacles that can result in the loss of their homes. Through the foundation's website, http://www.995hope.org/
* NeighborWorks America
NeighborWorks America and its network of 240 local organizations have been at the forefront of efforts to preserve homeownership and sustain communities in the face of rising foreclosures. Last December, NeighborWorks launched a $180 million program with funds appropriated by Congress to increase the availability of foreclosure counseling services across the country. In addition, NeighborWorks has partnered with the Ad Council to create a national public service awareness campaign that is available for any community. Foreclosure resources offered by NeighborWorks can be found at: www.nw.org/network/foreclosure/default.asp.
* Department of Housing and Urban Development
The HUD website offers a number of foreclosure resources. HUD provides tips for avoiding foreclosure at www.hud.gov/foreclosure/index.cfm
* The Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve is the nation's banking and monetary regulator, and as such, is responsible for supervising the mortgage finance system. The Federal Reserve offers a list of foreclosure resources across several different federal agencies at www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/foreclosure/default.htm
* ACORN
The national non-profit ACORN Housing has been providing free housing counseling to low and moderate income homebuyers since 1987. ACORN operates HUD-certified, Fannie Mae-approved housing counseling offices across the United States. ACORN Housing provides one-on-one mortgage loan counseling, first-time homebuyer classes, and helps clients obtain affordable mortgages through unique lending partnerships. More information on ACORN, including a checklist of good loan practices and warning signs of a predatory loan can be found at www.acornhousing.org/TEXT/predlend.php
* National Vacant Properties Campaign
The National Vacant Properties Campaign exists to provide everyone - individuals, advocates, agencies, developers, non-profits, and others - with information resources, tools, and assistance to support their vacant property revitalization efforts. Although the campaign is not a resource for homeowners struggling to prevent foreclosure, it is a good resource for local leaders that need to address the vacant housing that arises from foreclosure. Information can be found at http://www.vacantproperties.org/
Sen. Dodd Outlines Housing Agenda for Reminder of Year
Last week, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, outlined an ambitious housing agenda for the remainder of the 110th Congress. Sen. Dodd announced that he would seek a significant increase in the CDBG program, up to $10 billion, to allow local governments to purchase foreclosed housing to rehabilitate and resell, to use as rental housing or to demolish and bank the land for future development needs. He also announced his intentions to unveil a proposal to create a Homeownership Preservation Corporation that would purchase mortgages from lenders and investors that are at risk of foreclosure and provide those borrowers with new, affordable mortgages. According to Dodd, this proposal would need initial appropriations of $10 to $20 billion. Other legislative proposals Sen. Dodd's committee will consider include bills to reform the Federal Housing Administration and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac permanently; reform the mortgage finance system and crack down on predatory lending; and reauthorize federal homeless assistance programs.
Senate Committee Holds Hearing on California-EPA Decision
Appearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson vigorously defended his rejection of California's effort to regulate vehicle emissions and maintained that politics did not play a role in the decision. Johnson's comments did little to assuage the overwhelmingly Democratic group of lawmakers who appeared at the hearing and repeatedly charged that the decision appeared to have little basis in existing law.
On the same day as the hearing, Sen. Boxer (D-CA) introduced S. 2555, a bill directing the Administrator of the EPA to grant California's request for the waiver, which will allow California to implement its greenhouse gas emissions standards for motor vehicles. The waiver will also permit other states to adopt California's emissions standards.
Last December the EPA rejected a waiver request from California to require new cars to achieve 36 mpg by 2016, four years sooner than what is required under the recently enacted federal energy law. California's law calls for even deeper cuts beyond 2016.
A total of 18 states, representing 45 percent of the nation's auto market, have either adopted or pledged to implement California's proposed tailpipe emissions rules. Fifteen of those states have joined California in a suit against the EPA.
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