Issue Position: Housing

Issue Position

Building on the work done in the 110th Congress, my colleagues and I are committed to helping homeowners threatened with foreclosures, providing more affordable home loans and rewriting mortgage lending policy in the 111th Congress.

I supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which included a number of worthwhile provisions that have been helping to aid our Valley in combating both our homelessness epidemic and the foreclosure crisis. Allocations in the package include:

$5 Billion for public housing agencies to serve the needs of low income residents

$3.4 Billion to prevent future home foreclosures and revitalize neighborhoods

$2.5 Billion to retrofit, modernize, and improve Section 8 housing properties

$1 Billion for retrofitting disabled housing and senior citizen dwellings

$1.5 Billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to combat homelessness

$750 Million for various non-profit organizations for community revitalization

$100 million to conduct hazardous lead paint abatement programs in homes

These investments in our housing priorities will help to combat the problem of neglected neighborhoods, keep families in their homes, and provide shelter for our nation's homeless. It is a priority of mine to see that these recovery funds are spent in a prudent manner, so that waste is minimized, and the Central Valley of California sees it's fair share of these funds in the end.

On May 19th, the House passed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, S. 896, which was signed into law by the President on May 20th. I voted for this legislation because I believe it provides important tools and incentives for lenders, servicers, and homeowners to modify loans and to avoid foreclosures. It also strengthens the financial situation of community banks and credit unions by increasing the borrowing authority both for the FDIC and the Federal credit union regulator permanently. Lastly, this bill extends the increase in deposit insurance per account from $100,000 to $250,000. This will be particularly helpful for small banks and credit unions that derive the vast majority of their funding from deposits and will allow them to provide more credit to consumers and small businesses.

The House also passed the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, H.R. 1728, which is designed to protect borrowers from unfair lending practices. The House passed this legislation on May 7th. This bill institutes needed reform to prevent bad loans from being made to borrowers. It stops predatory and irresponsible mortgage loan practices that played a role in the economic meltdown and prevents borrowers from misstating their income to qualify for a loan.

Lastly, I am also a cosponsor of HR 600, The FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform Act of 2009, a bill that allows the sellers of new homes to finance the down-payment of home purchases, which will aid in the recovery of our ailing housing market by making homes affordable for more families.

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