In the News
by Alan Fram
The House voted Friday to kill mortgage assistance for homeowners who have lost their jobs or become ill, as the two parties battled over how to balance frugality and compassion at a time of enormous budget deficits.
The mostly party-line 242-177 vote by the Republican-run House to abolish the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program may be as far as the legislation gets. The White House has threatened to veto the measure, and its prospects are shaky in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
By Pete Kasperowicz
House Republicans for the second day in a row on Friday voted to eliminate a federal mortgage program.
In a 242-177 vote, the House approved legislation rescinding $1 billion that was authorized last year for a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program that helps unemployed people make their mortgage payments for up to 12 months. Eight Democrats voted with Republicans in support of the bill, and only two Republicans voted against it.
by Kevin Drawbaugh
Congress is pulling on its hip waders again to try to rescue a government policy wreck left over from 2005's Hurricane Katrina.
The National Flood Insurance Program, badly damaged by the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history as well as long neglect, has defied attempts at reform for five years.
That's not stopping Judy Biggert. On Friday, the soft-spoken Republican chairman of the House of Representatives insurance subcommittee will tackle the troubled NFIP, just as record U.S. winter snows threaten to cause heavy spring floods.
by Zach Carter
As bank executives push back against the terms of a foreclosure settlement with fees that may be as high as $20 billion, progressive legislators, federal regulators and public interest watchdogs argue that securing appropriate relief to wronged homeowners is a critical step for restoring business confidence and reinvigorating the housing market.
by JON PRIOR
State and local governments and nonprofits project that the first two rounds of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program will fund the rehab or demolition of 100,000 homes abandoned after foreclosure.
Speaking before a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday, Mercedes Ma?rquez, assistant secretary for community planning at the Department of Housing and Urban Development launched a defense of all three rounds of NSP spending, outlining the direct effects the program will have on blighted neighborhoods across the country.
By Peter Schroeder
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner found few Democratic allies on the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday, as the administration's report on housing finance found more critics on the left than the right.
Geithner came to Capitol Hill to mount the first public defense of the administration's housing report, which was released Feb. 11.
By Jim Puzzanghera and E. Scott Reckard
Federal and state officials are analyzing proposals that could help people who lost their homes or missed mortgage payments as a key part in resolving a multibillion-dollar case over botched foreclosure paperwork.
Government negotiators are wrestling with banks and their mortgage servicing arms over the amount of the settlement — from $5 billion to $20 billion — and then must decide how best to use the money.
by Kerri Panchuk
Regulators may have their hearts set on a $20 billion settlement with mortgage servicers, but that's not enough to make up for the $1 trillion lost in family wealth since 2008, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said Friday.
Waters issued that statement after reports surfaced that regulators have plans to settle with embattled lenders and servicers for $20 billion. Any money from the proposed settlement would be used to help borrowers who are underwater on their mortgage and to support loan modifications.
By Jennifer Liberto
In the latest blow to Obama signature programs, Republicans are now aiming to kill several White House plans aimed at keeping underwater borrowers in their homes.