[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 6, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S44]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. Levin, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 
        Begich, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
        Bingaman, Mr. Casey, Mr. Lautenberg, Ms. Stabenow, Mrs. 
        McCaskill, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Schumer, and Ms. 
        Mikulski):
  S. 3. A bill to to protect homeowners and consumers by reducing 
foreclosures, ensuring the availability of credit for homeowners, 
businesses, and consumers, and reforming the financial regulatory 
system, and for other purposes; read the first time.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                  S. 3

       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 ``Homeowner Protection and 
     Wall Street Accountability Act of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that Congress should enact, and 
     the President should sign, legislation--
       (1) to stabilize the housing market and assist homeowners 
     by imposing a temporary moratorium on foreclosures, removing 
     impediments to the modification of distressed mortgages, 
     creating tax and other incentives to help prevent 
     foreclosures and encourage refinancing into affordable and 
     sustainable mortgage solutions, and pursuing other 
     foreclosure-prevention policies through the Troubled Asset 
     Relief Program or other programs;
       (2) to ensure the safety and soundness of the United States 
     financial system for investors by reforming the financial-
     regulatory system, strengthening systemic-risk regulation, 
     enhancing market transparency, and increasing consumer 
     protections in financial regulation to prevent predatory 
     lending practices;
       (3) to ensure credit-card accountability, responsibility 
     and disclosure; and
       (4) to stabilize credit markets for small-business lenders 
     to enhance their ability to make loans to small firms, and 
     stimulate the small-business loan markets by temporarily 
     streamlining and investing in the loan programs of the Small 
     Business Administration.
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