[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18374]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-106. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Ohio requesting the United 
     States Congress to renew funding for Save the Dream Ohio to 
     help homeowners in the state of Ohio avoid foreclosure; to 
     the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

                      House Resolution Number 107

       Whereas, The national housing crisis that began in 2007 led 
     to unprecedented home price declines and sustained and higher 
     unemployment in certain parts of the country, including Ohio; 
     and
       Whereas, Families in these areas, including Ohio, struggled 
     to make their monthly mortgage payments and to get out from 
     under deeply underwater mortgages; and
       Whereas, In 2008, Save the Dream Ohio was created as a 
     multi-agency foreclosure prevention outreach initiative 
     involving partners from state government, nonprofit housing 
     counseling agencies, and legal aid organizations to address 
     this crisis; and
       Whereas, In 2010, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency received 
     $570.4 million from the United States Department of the 
     Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund to administer Ohio's foreclosure 
     prevention program through Save the Dream Ohio; and
       Whereas, Save the Dream Ohio has worked with 32 United 
     States Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved 
     nonprofit counseling agencies and over 350 mortgage servicers 
     nationwide to provide assistance to over 24,000 homeowners at 
     risk of foreclosure; and
       Whereas, An additional $60 million was designated for the 
     Neighborhood Initiative Program to stabilize property values 
     and prevent future foreclosures by removing and greening 
     vacant and blighted properties; and
       Whereas, Save the Dream Ohio had to stop accepting 
     applications in August 2014, and payments on behalf of 
     homeowners are expected to end in late 2016; United States 
     Department of the Treasury guidelines specify that funds must 
     be dispersed by December 31, 2017; and
       Whereas, The Ohio Housing Finance Agency continues to 
     administer the Save the Dream Ohio hotline to connect 
     homeowners with HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and 
     other resources: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That we, the members of the House of 
     Representatives of the 131st General Assembly of the State of 
     Ohio request the Congress of the United States to renew 
     funding for Save the Dream Ohio through the United States 
     Department of the Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund, to continue to 
     provide assistance to homeowners in the state of Ohio at risk 
     of foreclosure; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives 
     transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the 
     Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of 
     Representatives and the President Pro Tempore and Secretary 
     of the United States Senate.

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