Improving Americans’ Quality of Life:  Homes, Health, Jobs, and Education

• Preserving Home Ownership. 
  
  The nationwide foreclosure crisis has claimed the homes of millions of American families, devastating whole communities and degrading our national economy.  Oversight Committee Democrats are committed to solutions that are fair to borrowers, lenders, and investors.  American families should not have to battle their own banks to keep their homes.  We are investigating widespread abuses by mortgage servicing companies—from illegal foreclosures to inflated fees to fraudulent lending.
  
  TURNING WORDS INTO ACTIONS:
  
  

  • Investigation of Mortgage Service Providers: Ranking Member Cummings launched a wide-ranging investigation into widespread allegations of foreclosure fraud and abuse, seeking documents, audits, and investigations to provide the Committee with a more comprehensive understanding of these allegations and the national foreclosure picture. Included:

    • Request for documents from 11 mortgage servicers on robo-signing, inflated fees, fraud in lending, etc.

    • Request for IG Audit of Homeowner Claims

    • Request for IG investigation of Attorneys Conducting Foreclosure Activity

    • Letter to Issa requesting a March hearing on foreclosures
      

  • Committee Held Hearing on Foreclosures: This hearing was held at Ranking Member Cummings’ request, and examined widespread allegations of by mortgage servicing companies. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and other stakeholders testified.
    
    

  • Cummings Called on OCC to Postpone Consent Agreement: Ranking Member Cummings called on Acting Comptroller John Walsh to consider postponing action to finalize a consent agreement with mortgage servicers, and demanded greater transparency from the OCC regarding the agreement, including a briefing for Congress on the foreclosure abuses the agency found in its investigation.
    
    

  • Cummings Requested Investigation in HUD’ Home Investment Partnership Program. Issa immediately agreed to conduct an investigation.
    
    

  • Cummings Sent Letter to Issa Requesting the Committee Subpoena Mortgage Servicers: Of the 10 servicers that Ranking Member Cummings sent a letter to in February requesting documents, four companies have begun to respond, but the remaining six — MetLife, Inc.; SunTrust Banks, Inc.; PHH Mortgage; U.S. Bank, N.A.; Wells Fargo & Company; and Bank of America Home Loans — have failed to provide any requested documents despite efforts to obtain their voluntary compliance.
    
    

  • Cummings Sought “Engagement Letters” Between Banks and Private Consultants: Ranking Member Cummings wrote to federal banking regulators to request copies of “engagement letters” between 14 mortgage servicing companies and the private consultants they hired to review their widespread foreclosure abuses.

    
    

• Ensuring Quality, Affordable Health Care. 
  
  Protecting the guarantee of Medicare for our nation’s seniors is one of our highest priorities this Congress.  We are also working to safeguard Medicaid and ensure the efficient implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which eliminated unfair exclusions for preexisting conditions and extended healthcare to millions of American families.  We will also address increasing drug costs and the shortage of qualified nurses.
  
  

• Getting America Back to Work.
  
  Oversight Committee Democrats are working to stimulate job creation and protect the rights of both private sector and government employees, including those deployed overseas.  We are investigating the causes and solutions to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and we are promoting measures to strengthen small businesses.
  
  TURNING WORDS INTO ACTIONS:
  

• Letters to 100 industry Representatives on Job Creation: Ranking Member Cummings sent letter to 100 industry representatives and other organizations, requesting copies of letters they sent in response to requests by Chairman Issa to identify regulations that negatively impact job growth.
  
  

• Educating and Innovating to Win the Future. 
  
  Ensuring a high-quality education for all students is essential to creating jobs, laying the foundation for long-term prosperity, and enabling the nation to compete in today’s global economy.  We are working to protect Pell Grants and to investigate common-sense ways to reduce college debt and student loan defaults.

For a PDF version of the Democratic Agenda, please click here.