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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-11) backed important legislation aimed at addressing the American mortgage and housing crisis this week. The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act will help families stay in their houses, incentivize lenders to modify existing mortgages, and strengthen the struggling economy. The bill, H.R. 1106, was passed yesterday in the House by a vote of 234-191.
“The mortgage crisis affects all of us,” said Rep. McNerney. “Families have lost their homes, homeowners have seen property values nosedive and neighborhoods have become destabilized. The bill I backed today will help stop the economy’s downward spiral and keep families in their homes.”
The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act helps hard-working American families in danger of losing their home to modify their loans, makes fixes to the Federal Housing Administration’s Hope for Homeowners program, and helps veterans to avoid foreclosure by allowing the Department of Veterans Affairs to guarantee and/or insure mortgage loans modified either out of court or in a bankruptcy case.
The legislation also establishes a court of last resort that allows bankruptcy judges to modify the loans of families with existing mortgages. This approach will help reduce foreclosures by incentivizing lenders to modify loans for families in danger of losing their homes. The bankruptcy process will be strictly supervised by a trustee appointed to oversee the family’s finances for up to five years and any family participating in the process must prove that they will be able to repay their debts.
“Northern California is one of the hardest hit areas in the country by the mortgage crisis. It’s important that we do everything we can to help families that are faced with foreclosure, and this bill is a step in the right direction,” said Rep. McNerney.
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