[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 83 (Thursday, June 4, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1307-E1308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HELPING FAMILIES SAVE THEIR HOMES ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 19, 2009

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Helping 
Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 (S. 896), companion legislation 
to similar legislation we approved in the House in March to combat the 
foreclosure crisis. I commend Senator Dodd and the Members of the 
Senate Committee on Financial Services for their leadership in crafting 
and fine-tuning this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support 
it.
  According to a leading foreclosure research organization, mortgage 
foreclosure activity increased by 24 percent during the first quarter 
of 2009, compared to the first quarter 2008. One in every 159 housing 
units in the United States received a foreclosure notice during the 
first quarter of this year. In addition, foreclosures in March 
increased by 17 percent from February, and by 46 percent compared to 
March 2008. We must act now, and we must act decisively and 
comprehensively, to stem this crisis. The Helping Families Save Their 
Homes Act attacks the foreclosure crisis aggressively and approaches 
the problem from several angles at the same time, but is measured in 
its application.
  The bill amends the HOPE for Homeowners Program, to provide greater 
incentives for mortgage servicers to modify mortgages under the 
Program, to reduce administrative burdens to loan underwriters, and to 
permit payments to loan servicers and underwriters for each successful 
refinancing. It would also re-instate the authority of the Department 
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct an auction to 
refinance loans on a wholesale or bulk basis. These modifications use 
funding already authorized under the Emergency Economic Stabilization 
Act enacted in October 2008.
  The bill also contains provisions to ensure better that predatory 
lenders are not allowed to participate in the FHA home mortgage 
insurance program. At the same time, it protects helpful mortgage 
lenders and servicers, who might otherwise be subject to litigation for 
changing the terms of a mortgage after closing. The bill provides a 
safe harbor from liability to mortgage servicers issuers, trustees, 
loan sellers, depositors, and others who participate in loan 
modifications, to the extent they were required to assist and the 
modification complied with the Hope for Homeowners program or was 
otherwise consistent with the Administration's foreclosure mitigation 
programs.
  Importantly, the bill will also extend through 2013 the temporary 
increase to $250,000 in deposit insurance coverage for both the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured deposits and National 
Credit Union Administration (NCUA)-insured deposits, which is currently 
scheduled to expire in December 2009. It also permanently increases the 
FDIC's borrowing authority to $100 billion (with an increase until the 
end of 2010 to $300 billion), and increases the NCUA's borrowing 
authority to $6 billion (with a temporary increase to $30 billion).
  And the bill includes the first major reauthorization of funding 
under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. I was pleased to 
support $100 million for McKinney-Vento under the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act enacted into law earlier this year. This important 
collaborative program between the public and private sectors has 
disbursed more than $2 billion in funding to provide shelter, food and 
support services for homeless and hungry individuals nationwide in just 
over 20 years of existence, and this bill will authorize that amount 
for Fiscal Year 2010 alone. I will work with my colleagues to make sure 
we fully fund this authorized level of funding, to assisting America's 
neediest and most vulnerable citizens.
  This bill takes many important and decisive steps to help mitigate 
the foreclosure crisis and ease the suffering of our Nation's homeless 
and hungry, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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