COMMITTEE ON RULES - Summary of Amendments Submitted to H.R. 1106 - Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009

Feb 25, 2009
3:22PM

Summary of Amendments Submitted to the Rules Committee for

H.R. 1106 - Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009
Listed in Alphabetical Order
Feb 25, 2009 3:22 PM

Barrett, Gresham (SC)	#2	Would strike title I (regarding judicial modification of primary residence mortgages).
Biggert (IL)	#37	(Revised) Would, for homeowners receiving mortgage relief through any program, means, or federally insured institution mentioned in this bill, upon the sale of their home: (1) eliminate any applicable capital gains exclusions that may apply; and (2) require homeowners to pay double the amount of capital gains tax that would normally apply upon sale of the home.
Biggert (IL)	#38	(Revised) Would, for homeowners receiving mortgage relief through programs or federally-insured institutions mentioned in the bill, require that before an entity authorizes or provides any mortgage relief to a homeowner, that the entity certify that the homeowner: (1) stated accurate income on the homeowner’s original loan application; (2) claims that home as his or her principal residence; (3) was not convicted of any financial fraud; and (4) is a U.S. citizen, national, or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
Bishop, Tim (NY)	#13	Would amend the National Housing Act to broaden eligibility for Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) or “reverse mortgage” to instances where a lease term ends no earlier than a minimum number of years, as specified by the Secretary, beyond the actuarial life expectancy of the mortgagor.
Burton (IN)	#4	Would strike sections 101, 103, 105, 106, and 107 (related to judicial modification of primary residence mortgages).
Capito (WV)	#30	(Revised) Would strike the Hope for Homeowners program and permit HUD to set up a new, 3-year program.
Capito (WV)	#31	Would exempt the Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Administration Loan Guaranty Program, and the Guaranteed Rural Housing Loans from adjustments to the terms of the loan in bankruptcy.
Capuano (MA)	#22	Would permanently increase the FDIC’s borrowing authority to $100 billion. It also allows, through December 2010, the FDIC to borrow sums above $100 billion but not in excess of $500 billion and with the approval of Treasury and the Federal Reserve. It also requires the FDIC to report to Congress if additional funds are used.
Conyers (MI)	#27	(Revised) The amendment would (1) require courts to use FHA appraisal guidelines where the fair market value of a home is in dispute; (2) deny relief to individuals who can afford to repay their mortgages without judicial mortgage modification; and (3) extend the negotiation period from 15 to 30 days, requiring the debtor to certify that he or she contacted the lender, provided the lender with income, expense and debt statements, and that there was a process for the borrower and lender to seek to reach agreement on a qualified loan modification. It also would require a GAO study regarding the effectiveness of mortgage modifications outside of bankruptcy and judicial modifications, whether there should be a sunset, the impact of the amendment on bankruptcy courts, whether relief should be limited to certain types of homeowners. The GAO must analyze how bankruptcy judges restructure mortgages, including the number of judges disciplined as a result of actions taken to restore mortgages. The Amendment would clarify that loan modifications, workout plans or other loss mitigation plans are eligible for the servicer safe harbor. Requires HUD to receive public input before implementing certain FHA approval provisions. With respect to the HOPE for Homeowners Program: recasts the prohibition against having committed fraud over the last 10 years from a freestanding prohibition to a borrower certification. Would amend the National Housing Act to broaden eligibility for Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) or “reverse mortgage.” Would provide that the GAO must submit to Congress a review of the effects of the judicial modification program. Would require the Comptroller of Currency, in coordination with the Director of Thrift Supervision, to submit reports to Congress on the volume of mortgage modifications and issue modification data collection and reporting requirements. Would express the Sense of Congress that the Treasury Secretary should use amounts made available under the Act to purchase mortgage revenue bonds for single-family housing. Would express the Sense of Congress that financial institutions should not foreclose on any principal homeowner until the loan modification programs included in H.R. 1106 and the President’s foreclosure plan are implemented and deemed operational by the Treasury and HUD Secretaries. Would establish a Justice Department Nationwide Mortgage Fraud Task Force to coordinate anti-mortgage fraud efforts. Would provide that the Treasury Secretary shall provide that the limit on the maximum original principal obligation of a mortgage that may be modified using EESA funds shall not be less than the dollar limit on the maximum original principal obligation of a mortgage that may be purchased by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation that is in effect at the time the mortgage is modified.
Cuellar (TX)	#33	Would terminate the judicial loan modification provisions two years after the bill’s enactment.
Cuellar (TX)	#34	Would provide that the Government Accountability Office, in consultation with the Federal Housing Administration, must submit to Congress, within 18 months of enactment, a comprehensive review of the effects of the judicial modification program in the nation’s bankruptcy courts a survey of whether in the future this should be limited to only certain types of homeowners and a recommendation on whether the program should continue.
Cummings (MD)/ Miller, Brad (NC)/ Sarbanes (MD)	#15	Would require the Comptroller of Currency (OCC), in coordination with the Director of Thrift Supervision (OTS), to submit reports to Congress on the volume of mortgage modifications. Also, the OCC and OTS would be required to issue modification data collection and reporting requirements to institutions covered by the OCC or OTS mortgage metrics program.
Cummings (MD)	#16	Would amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act to require institutions receiving assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to prominently disclose on their websites their expenditures on corporate trips and events, executive compensation and bonuses, jet aircraft ownership and operation, and other corporate perks.
Dreier (CA)/ Bilbray (CA)	#17	Would provide a tax credit for borrowers who put at least 5% down for the purchase of a home in 2009 and 2010. Borrowers would receive a $2,000 credit for 5% down, a $5,000 credit for 10% down and a $10,000 tax credit for 15% down. The credit would be available for the purchase of any type of property (i.e. primary residence, investment, vacation etc) and would not need to be repaid, unless the property is sold within 3 years of exercising the credit. It would expire after 2010.
Edwards, Donna (MD)	#12	Would state the Sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should use amounts made available under the Act to purchase mortgage revenue bonds for single-family housing issued through State housing finance agencies and through units of local government and agencies.
Flake, Jeff (AZ)	#14	Would provide that the judicial loan modification provisions expire one year after enactment.
Forbes (VA)	#11	(Revised) Would require credit counseling for Chapter 13 bankruptcies and would prohibit relief to those who committed fraud on their loan application.
Frank (MA)	#32	Would clarify that loan modifications, workout plans or other loss mitigation plans, including those that are undertaken pursuant to standard loan modification, sale or disposition guidelines issued by the Secretary of the Treasury or his designee under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, are eligible for the servicer safe harbor. For purposes of the servicer safe harbor, defines “Secretary” to mean the Secretary of the Treasury. Clarifies that the FHA Approval requirements apply to mortgagee employees that are actually engaged in the mortgage origination process as opposed to clerical and administrative staff that have no involvement in these matters. Requires HUD to receive public input before implementing certain FHA Approval provisions. With respect to the HOPE for Homeowners Program: recasts the prohibition against having committed fraud over the last 10 years from a freestanding prohibition to a borrower certification, with the penalty for false certification that the borrower owes HUD the amount of the loan that was written down; eliminates extraneous phrase to avoid implication that upfront payments to second lienholders to induce their liens is to be paid for through any proceeds from profit sharing; authorizes HUD Secretary to permit second liens related to closing or refinance cost assistance provided by states or localities using CDBG or HOME funds or by a housing finance agency; and permits exception to sole residence requirement to allow borrower who inherited a home or relocated and who either is in process of selling that home or is unable to do so because of adverse market conditions.
Franks (AZ)	#18	Would limit the scope of the judicial modification provisions to subprime and non-traditional loans and would impose a three year expiration date.
Grijalva, Raul (AZ)	#1	(Withdrawn) Would grant homeowners subject to foreclosure the right to rent the home on a month-to-month basis, for up to ten years, at a fair market rate set by a judge and adjusted annually. The property owner would be allowed to terminate the tenancy only for material breach as long as the tenant pays rent on a timely basis and uses the home as their principal residence. To be eligible, the property must be a single-family property, used as a principal residence, purchased at a price less than the median purchase price of residences in the same metropolitan statistical area or state, with a mortgage originated before July 1, 2007.
Hensarling (TX)	#24	Would exclude from participation in the Hope for Homeowners program any borrower whose original loan was a zero down payment loan.
Hensarling (TX)	#25	Would exclude from participation in the Hope for Homeowners program any borrower whose original loan documentation did not include verification of the amount and source of income.
Hensarling (TX)	#26	Would exclude from participation in the Hope for Homeowners program any borrower who has a family income that exceeds 125 percent of the area median income for where they live.
Jackson-Lee (TX)	#3	(Revised) Would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit foreclosures related to subprime mortgages from being included in the determination of a debtor's credit score.
Johnson, Eddie Bernice (TX)	#7	Would preserve the current financial counseling requirement when a debtor in foreclosure files for bankruptcy.
King, Steve (IA)	#6	Would preclude judicial modification if the debtor obtained the extension, renewal, or refinancing of credit that gives rise to a modified claim by the debtor's material misrepresentation, false pretenses, or actual fraud.
King, Steve (IA)	#40	Would rescind all of the bill’s mortgage bankruptcy provisions if section 124 (regarding investment contracts) is found by the courts to effectuate a taking of property.
Kratovil, Jr. (MD)	#36	(Withdrawn) Would modify the eligibility requirements of the FHA-Approved Mortgage Insurance Program provision to preclude persons convicted of a felony relating to the real estate or mortgage industries from benefiting from the program.
Matsui (CA)/ Castor (FL)	#20	(Withdrawn) Would express the Sense of Congress that financial institutions should not foreclose on any principal homeowner until the loan modification programs included in H.R. 1106 and the President’s foreclosure plan are implemented and deemed operational by the Secretary of Treasury and the Secretary of HUD.
Meek, Kendrick (FL)	#41	(Revised) Would establish a Nationwide Mortgage Fraud Task Force in the Department of Justice to coordinate mortgage fraud training, prosecutions, and prevention efforts.
Neugebauer, Randy (TX)	#19	Would amend the servicer safe harbor provision to provide that unsuccessful plaintiffs must pay all attorneys' fees and any legal costs incurred by the defendant.
Neugebauer, Randy (TX)	#39	(Revised) Would prohibit the Treasury from using TARP funds to purchase common stock share and would prohibit the Treasury from converting existing preferred shares to common shares.
Peters, Gary (MI)	#5	Would provide that, in the case of a debtor whose home is in foreclosure, the debtor could meet the pre-filing credit counseling requirement by receiving counseling either before filing or up to 30 days after filing.
Price, Tom (GA)	#8	Would prevent judges from modifying principal on a primary residence mortgage during a bankruptcy proceeding.
Price, Tom (GA)	#9	Would provide that if a homeowner who has had a mortgage modified in a bankruptcy proceeding sells the home at a profit, the lender can recapture the amount of principal lost in the modification.
Sestak (PA)	#28	Eliminates the profit sharing provision, requires payment of $1,000 to servicers, and payment to second mortgage holders of $0.05/dollar on the value of second mortgage. Also states that needed offsets shall come from reductions in the amounts available under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.
Sestak (PA)	#29	Would address mortgages that are presently underwater by modifying the existing mortgage into two pieces: an FHA loan for 97.5% of the current value, and a note that represents the balance from the original loan amount and the new FHA loan. For each year that the homeowners remains current, the loan would be forgiven by one fifth; provides $1,000 incentive to servicers; and $0.05/dollar on the value of second mortgage to second lien holders.
Smith, Lamar (TX)	#21	Would permit reduction of mortgage payments to between 31% and 38% of the debtor's monthly income through changes (in this order) in mortgage interest rates, loan periods, and reduction of the amount of the claim. Also, it would permit lenders to recoup reduced principal if a home is sold after loan modification.
Speier (CA)	#10	(Revised) Would provide that the Treasury Secretary shall provide that the limit on the maximum original principal obligation of a mortgage that may be modified using EESA funds shall not be less than the dollar limit on the maximum original principal obligation of a mortgage that may be purchased by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation that is in effect at the time the mortgage is modified.
Titus (NV)	#35	Would require a servicer that receives an incentive payment under the Hope for Homeowners program to notify all mortgagors under mortgages they service who are “at-risk homeowners” (as such term is defined by the Secretary), in a form and manner as shall be prescribed by the Secretary, that they may be eligible for the HOPE for Homeowners Program and how to obtain information regarding the program.
Wilson, Joe (SC)	#23	Would make the debtor verify that they did not falsify any documents to obtain their original loan before they can go to bankruptcy court.