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May 21, 2008 - Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D, N.Y.) expressed confidence that a housing reform bill would pass in Congress by July at a luncheon hosted by Women in Housing and Finance (WHF) on May 21.
Congresswoman Maloney, chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, explained that helping the housing market is “critical to getting our economy to turn around.” She applauded the “rescue oriented and forward looking” focus of the Senate’s bipartisan housing reform legislation, introduced by Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008. The bill passed in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on May 20.
The Senate bill is similar to a legislative package introduced in the House, the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act (H.R. 3221). The House bill is also a comprehensive package to help prevent the rising number of foreclosures and to reform the regulation of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). She highlighted the value of both bills proposed GSE reform. The proposed legislation would bring the GSEs under one single regulator that has safety and soundness authority and receivership powers. “GSE reform is critical for enhancing liquidity in the market,” she said.
While Maloney admitted federal housing reform legislation may not help every troubled homeowner, she mentioned that efforts on the state and local levels are also keeping Americans in their homes. In New York, the governor and the state banking commissioner held outreach meetings for homeowners to meet face-to-face with servicers to work out mortgage issues. Maloney said the meetings in New York were especially valuable; the state’s foreclosure rate is low considering that New York has the highest percentage of subprime loans, she explained. Many other states have also held similar regional and local meetings.
The Congresswoman also told the luncheon audience she was “stunned” and “speechless” by the Federal Reserve Board’s introduction of proposed rules to prohibit unfair practices regarding credit cards and overdraft services. The proposed rules are similar to Maloney’s bill, the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights (H.R. 5244). “It’s very rare for the Fed to say a consumer issue is important to safety and soundness,” said Maloney. “It gives tremendous credibility to my bill and improves its chances of passing.” H.R. 5244 currently has 127 co-sponsors.
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