[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6304 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6304

   To establish in the Department of the Treasury the Office of the 
   Homeowner Advocate to assist homeowners, housing counselors, and 
    housing lawyers in resolving problems with the Home Affordable 
                         Modification Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2010

Mr. Baca (for himself, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Miller of North Carolina, Mr. 
Meeks of New York, and Mr. Sires) introduced the following bill; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish in the Department of the Treasury the Office of the 
   Homeowner Advocate to assist homeowners, housing counselors, and 
    housing lawyers in resolving problems with the Home Affordable 
                         Modification Program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Office of the Homeowner Advocate Act 
of 2010''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE HOMEOWNER ADVOCATE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department of the 
Treasury an office to be known as the ``Office of the Homeowner 
Advocate'' (in this Act referred to as the ``Office'').
    (b) Director.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of the Office of the 
        Homeowner Advocate (in this Act referred to as the 
        ``Director'') shall be appointed by the Secretary of the 
        Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of the 
        Department of Housing and Urban Development, and without regard 
        to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to 
        appointments in the competitive service or the Senior Executive 
        Service.
            (2) Supervisor; compensation.--The Director shall report 
        directly to the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for 
        Financial Stability, and shall be entitled to compensation at 
        the same rate as the highest rate of basic pay established for 
        the Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, 
        United States Code.
            (3) Qualifications.--An individual appointed under 
        paragraph (1) shall have--
                    (A) experience as an advocate for homeowners; and
                    (B) experience dealing with mortgage servicers.
            (4) Restriction on employment.--An individual may be 
        appointed as Director only if such individual was not an 
        officer or employee of a mortgage servicer or the Department of 
        the Treasury during the 4-year period ending on the date of 
        such appointment.
            (5) Hiring authority.--The Director shall have the 
        authority to hire staff, obtain support by contract, and manage 
        the budget of the Office of the Homeowner Advocate.

SEC. 3. FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE.

    (a) In General.--It shall be the function of the Office--
            (1) to assist homeowners, housing counselors, and housing 
        lawyers in resolving problems with the Home Affordable 
        Modification Program of the Making Home Affordable initiative 
        of the Secretary of the Treasury, authorized under the 
        Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (in this title 
        referred to as the ``Home Affordable Modification Program'');
            (2) to identify areas, both individual and systematic, in 
        which homeowners, housing counselors, and housing lawyers have 
        problems in dealings with the Home Affordable Modification 
        Program;
            (3) to the extent possible, to propose changes in the 
        administrative practices of the Home Affordable Modification 
        Program to mitigate problems identified under paragraph (2);
            (4) to identify potential legislative changes which may be 
        appropriate to mitigate such problems; and
            (5) to implement other programs and initiatives that the 
        Director considers important in assisting homeowners, housing 
        counselors, and housing lawyers to resolve problems with the 
        Home Affordable Modification Program, which may include--
                    (A) running a triage hotline for homeowners at risk 
                of foreclosure;
                    (B) providing homeowners with access to housing 
                counseling programs of the Department of Housing and 
                Urban Development at no cost to the homeowner;
                    (C) developing Internet tools related to the Home 
                Affordable Modification Program; and
                    (D) developing training and educational materials.
    (b) Authority.--
            (1) In general.--Staff designated by the Director shall 
        have the authority to implement mortgage servicer remedies, on 
        a case-by-case basis, subject to the approval of the Assistant 
        Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability.
            (2) Limitations on foreclosures.--A mortgage servicer 
        participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program may 
        not initiate or continue a foreclosure proceeding until the 
        earlier of the date on which the Office of the Homeowner 
        Advocate case involving a homeowner who applied for a loan 
        modification under such Program is closed, or 60 days since the 
        opening of the Office of the Homeowner Advocate case involving 
        such homeowner has passed, except that nothing in this section 
        may be construed to relieve any mortgage servicers from any 
        otherwise applicable rules, directives, or similar guidance 
        under the Program relating to the continuation or completion of 
        foreclosure proceedings.
            (3) Resolution of homeowner concerns.--The Director shall, 
        to the extent possible, resolve all homeowner concerns not 
        later than 30 days after the opening of a case with such 
        homeowner.
    (c) Commencement of Operations.--The Director shall commence its 
operations, as required by this Act, not later than 3 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act.
    (d) Sunset.--Effective on the date of the conclusion of the Home 
Affordable Modification Program, the Office of the Homeowner Advocate 
and the position of the Director of the Office of the Homeowner 
Advocate are hereby abolished.

SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP WITH EXISTING ENTITIES.

    (a) Transfer.--The Director shall coordinate and centralize all 
complaint escalations relating to the Home Affordable Modification 
Program.
    (b) Hotline.--The HOPE hotline (or any successor triage hotline) 
shall reroute all complaints relating to the Home Affordable 
Modification Program to the Office.
    (c) Coordination.--The Director shall coordinate with the 
compliance office of the Office of Financial Stability of the 
Department of the Treasury and the Homeownership Preservation Office of 
the Department of the Treasury.

SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Testimony.--The Director shall appear and testify before the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the 
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives not 
less than 4 times a year or at any time at the request of the Chairs of 
either committee.
    (b) Reports.--The Director shall provide annually to Congress a 
detailed report on the Home Affordable Modification Program. Such 
report shall contain a full and substantive analysis of the Program, in 
addition to statistical information, including, at a minimum--
            (1) data and analysis of the types and volume of complaints 
        received from homeowners, housing counselors, and housing 
        lawyers, disaggregated by category of mortgage servicer, except 
        that mortgage servicers may not be identified by name in the 
        report;
            (2) a summary of not fewer than 20 of the most serious 
        problems encountered by participants of the Home Affordable 
        Modification Program, including a description of the nature of 
        such problems;
            (3) to the extent known, identification of the 10 most 
        litigated issues for participants of the Home Affordable 
        Modification Program, including recommendations for mitigating 
        such disputes;
            (4) data and analysis on the resolutions of the complaints 
        received from homeowners, housing counselors, and housing 
        lawyers;
            (5) identification of any programs or initiatives that the 
        Director has taken to improve the Home Affordable Modification 
        Program;
            (6) recommendations for such administrative and legislative 
        action as may be appropriate to resolve problems encountered by 
        participants of the Home Affordable Modification Program; and
            (7) such other information as the Director considers 
        advisable.

SEC. 6. FUNDING.

    Amounts made available for the costs of administration of the Home 
Affordable Modification Program that are not otherwise obligated to 
such Program shall be available to carry out the functions of the 
Office. Funding shall be maintained at levels adequate to reasonably 
carry out such functions.
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