Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL-13th) today introduced a housing plan to mitigate mortgage foreclosures, facilitate and include fairness in housing recovery, and combat mortgage fraud.  Cosponsored by House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus (R-AL-6th) and well over a dozen other members, the bill would help struggling, responsible homeowners to keep their homes while preventing bad actors from profiting off taxpayer assistance.  It provides an alternative to the latest housing bill working its way through the House.
 
            “There are a lot of good ideas we should be considering to help address the housing downturn,” said Biggert, a senior member of the Financial Services Committee.  "But extending the failed Hope for Homeowners program is not one of them.  It was supposed to help 400,000 homeowners and has only reached 43.  It’s clearly not working.  And flippers, speculators, illegals, and criminals shouldn’t be allowed take advantage of a program aimed at worthy borrowers who are struggling to keep their family homes.”
 
            Biggert’s bill, the Fairness in Housing Recovery Act, would help troubled borrowers to refinance into loans that better meet their family budgets, but it would bar taxpayer support from those who misrepresented their income to get a mortgage, aren’t living in the residence, were convicted of financial fraud, or aren’t in the country legally with permanent status.  Included in the bill are provisions to grant flexible authority to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to insure refinanced mortgages for homeowners that meet the necessary standards, as the Obama Administration requested.  It also provides a safe harbor from lawsuits for mortgage servicers who engage in specified loan modifications – reversing one of the leading reasons cited by servicers who have turned away homeowners seeking to refinance.  In addition, it expands HUD-approved mortgage counseling services and provides additional resources for the FBI and Department of Justice to combat mortgage fraud. 
 
            “Restoring stability to the housing market is crucial to getting this economy back on track,” said Biggert.  “Our alternative helps do exactly that without rewarding bad actors at the expense of the 93 to 95 percent of homeowners who are paying their mortgages on time.  That’s not fair to my constituents who acted responsibly, have worked and saved hard, and took loans they knew they could afford.”
 
            Other provisions in the bill include a temporary tax credit for borrowers based on the size of their down payment.  It also ensures that taxpayers get paid back first by requiring that those who profit from selling a property that benefited from taxpayer support pay back some of that money through a doubled capital gains tax. 

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