|
Lawmakers Approve Housing Initiatives Prior to Adjournment
The House this week approved H.R. 2529, the Neighborhood Preservation Act. The legislation would address many of the harmful consequences of the nation’s foreclosure crisis by temporarily permitting a bank or mortgage servicer to enter into a five-year lease for properties acquired through foreclosure with an individual or the prior owner of a foreclosed property. The bill would also permit a bank to give the prior owner the option to lease the home with a choice to buy back.
Prior to the House vote, NAHB wrote a letter to Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) expressing support for the legislation and stating that permitting this new flexibility in handling foreclosures would enable all parties to benefit. “The home owner would be given an opportunity to remain in their home until they could buy again; the lender could potentially recover a greater share of their loss by delaying sale into an improved housing market; and local communities would benefit by being spared additional unsold housing inventories that would only further delay the nation’s economic recovery,” the letter said.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Increased Funding for FHA, Ginnie Mae
Meanwhile, the Senate on July 30 passed H.R. 3357, legislation that would extend funding for the Highway Trust Fund through the current fiscal year, by a vote of 79-to-17. The measure passed in the House a day earlier by a comfortable 368-to-68 margin and President Obama is expected to sign it into law shortly.
Of note to the housing industry, the bill would increase the mortgage commitment authority of the Federal Housing Administration and the Government National Mortgage Association, better known as Ginnie Mae, to ensure continued mortgage lending. Due to increased demand, FHA and Ginnie Mae are nearing their loan limits; if reached, they would be unable to provide first-time mortgage and refinancing loans, which would constrict the mortgage market even further.
The legislation would raise the fiscal 2009 cap on single-family loans the FHA can guarantee under the Mutual Mortgage Insurance program from $315 billion to $400 billion. FHA loans have gone from comprising less than 2 percent of the mortgage market in 2006 to 25-to-30 percent of today’s market.
The bill further increases from $300 billion to $400 billion the limit on new Ginnie Mae commitments to issue guarantees under the Mortgage-Backed Securities Loan Guarantee Program. Ginnie Mae, which securitizes FHA and Department of Veterans Affairs loans, has seen its volume increase threefold.
House Extends Flood Insurance Program
Also of note to the housing community, the House on July 29 approved a six-month extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The Senate will need to take up the extension measure prior to Sept. 30, 2009, when the program is due to expire.
Extending the flood insurance program would give lawmakers in both chambers more time to work out contentious issues, such as whether to forgive the 40-year-old program’s $19 billion debt and whether to add wind coverage to the program.
NAHB will continue to monitor and take actions on the broader reform debate as it develops.
To view the legislation mentioned above, click here and type the bill number in the box in the upper center screen. For more information, contact Scott Meyer at 1-800-368-5242, x8144.
|
 |
No Floor Votes on Health Care Before September
As members of the House and Senate continued to labor over health legislation this week, it appeared that they would fail to meet the Obama Administration’s deadline of approving a measure before departing for their August recess.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, indicated that he was attempting to reach an accord with fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats on his panel in time to complete markup on a final bill by Friday, July 31, when the House recesses. Facing an Aug. 7 recess, the Senate Finance Committee continued in its attempts to reach a bipartisan deal.
However, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) emerged from a meeting of six bipartisan negotiators on health care on the night of July 30 to announce that there would be no markup of a bill during the coming week. Baucus appeared jointly with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) before the media to dispel news reports that negotiations had broken down amid pressure from the Democratic and Republican leadership teams. He said that talks would pick up again in the week before the Senate’s adjournment.
As an active participant in the Small Business Coalition for Affordable Healthcare, NAHB, along with 100 other organizations, has been working to increase the access and affordability of health insurance for small business owners, employees and the self-employment.
As part of the coalition’s efforts, NAHB has sent multiple letters to Capitol Hill voicing strong opposition to the House Tri-Committee bill and Senate HELP bill.
NAHB members can click here to send a letter registering their opposition to the House health care bill.
For more information, e-mail Erin Tario at NAHB or contact her at 1-800-368-5242, x8413.
[return to top]
|
|
NAHB Continues to Seek Co-Sponsors for NOL Bills
NAHB continues to advocate for expansion of the Net Operating Loss (NOL) carryback provision passed earlier this year as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ARRA provision provides for a five-year carryback of 2008 NOLs for businesses with average gross receipts of no more than $15 million in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
In the House, Reps. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) introduced H.R. 2452, the Net Operating Loss Carryback Act, which eliminates the $15 million cap and allows 2009 losses to also be eligible for the expanded carryback. Companion bill S. 823 was introduced in the Senate by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). Both bills also prohibit any entity that accepted Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) program funds from utilizing the provision. Presently H.R. 2452 and S. 823 have 86 and 36 co-sponsors, respectively.
NAHB is working with a coalition of industries to build strong co-sponsorship for the two bills, so that when an opportunity arises to move the bills forward, there is evidence of widespread, bipartisan support. To confirm that your member of Congress is a co-sponsor of these bills, go to www.loc.gov/thomas and enter either bill number in the search field. If they are not presently co-sponsors, please contact them immediately and urge them to join the co-sponsorship list.
For more information, contact Greg Brown at x8421.
[return to top]
|
|
|
