Washington, DC —The U.S. House of Representatives today, July 23, 2008, passed H.R. 3221, one of the most important housing reforms in decades, by a vote of 272 to 152. The bill, the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act, represents the most comprehensive response yet to the American mortgage crisis, and will help families facing foreclosure keep their homes, help other families avoid foreclosures in the future, and help the recovery of communities harmed by empty homes caught in the foreclosure process.
“Of the problems that were created by the reckless deregulation that led to the subprime crisis and the neglect of affordable housing that has marked Republican rule in Congress, this package of measures is the best response we could make. It cannot solve all of these deep rooted problems immediately but the bill does represent a mutually reinforcing set of approaches that will begin to diminish the problem,” said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA). “This will begin to lay the groundwork for a turnaround in the housing market and hopefully in the broader economy as well.”
“This bill contains the most significant expansion and improvement of tax programs designed to provide affordable housing for low and moderate-income individuals, since the inception of the low-income housing tax credit in 1986,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rangel (D-NY). “First, the bill would expand and improve the low-income housing tax credit, which is the largest source of federal support for the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing. Second, the bill increases volume limits on housing bonds to finance low-income rental housing and first-time homebuyers, while also providing states with greater flexibility on how to use those bonds efficiently. These improvements will go a long way to address the shortage of affordable housing options in our cities and towns.”
“This housing rescue package will help address our nation’s foreclosure crisis and improve our economy and financial markets. I am pleased that $4 billion of vital funding to help states and localities purchase and fix up abandoned and foreclosed homes is included. In addition, modernizing the Federal Housing Administration will provide many homebuyers in California access to safer loan products through FHA,” said Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-MA).
More at the above link and links to the full bill.
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