Fairness in Housing Recovery Act of 2009

Data security and other legislation affecting banks and broker-dealers, including S.141, H.R.122. Housing and mortgage legislation, including H.R.1106, H.R.200, H.R.225, H.R.787, H.R.1295, H.R.1728, S.61, S.73. Federal tax legislation affecting net operating loss carryovers.

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $180,000

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

H.R. 37 - Systematic Foreclosure Prevention and Mortgage Modification Act - Directs the Chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to establish a systematic foreclosure prevention and mortgage modification program by: (1) paying mortgage servicers $1,000 to cover expenses for each loan modified according to specified standards; and (2) sharing up to 50% of any losses incurred if a modified loan should subsequently re-default. H.R. 230 - Housing Opportunity and Mortgage Equity Act of 2009 - Directs the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (the enterprises) to implement a program to purchase and securitize qualified refinancing mortgages and qualified new mortgages on single-family housing in accordance with policies and procedures established by the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). H.R. 527 - Home Retention and Economic Stabilization Act of 2009 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to establish the right of an eligible deferred-foreclosure consumer, defendable in court, to defer initiation of a foreclosure or related action, including a foreclosure sale, brought by any creditor, servicer, or holder of an eligible deferred-foreclosure mortgage, during a specified deferment period. H.R. 587 - Increases the loan limits during calendar 2009 for: (1) the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single family housing mortgage insurance programs and the reverse mortgage program; and (2) the conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during 2009. Declares that, if the dollar amount limitation on the principal obligation of a mortgage for which the mortgagee issues credit approval during 2009 for any size residence for any area is less than the dollar amount limitation in effect for 2008 under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, the maximum dollar amount limitation on the principal obligation of such a mortgage shall be considered to be the dollar amount limitation in effect for 2008. H.R. 600 - FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform Act of 2009 - Amends the National Housing Act to make exceptions to the prohibition against mortgage insurance for mortgages involving a downpayment using funds furnished by: (1) the seller or any party that benefits financially from the transaction (seller-financed downpayment); or (2) any third party that is reimbursed by the seller or any such party. H.R. 787 -Amends the National Housing Act to modify requirements under the HOPE for Homeowners Program (Program) regarding borrower certification and liability. Revises the requirement of certification to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that the mortgagor has not intentionally defaulted on the existing mortgage or any other debt. Eliminates the requirement to certify that there has been no intentional default on any other debt. H.R. 788 - Shields a servicer of pooled residential mortgages acting in compliance with certain fiduciary duties under the Truth in Lending Act from liability for entering into a loan modification or workout plan in connection with any such mortgages initiated before January 1, 2012. Specifies that such servicers shall not be liable to: (1) any person based on that person's ownership of a residential mortgage loan or any interest in a pool of residential mortgage loans or in securities that distribute payments out of payments in loans on the pool; (2) any person obligated pursuant to a derivatives instrument to make payments determined in reference to any such loans or interest; or (3) any person that insures any such loans or interest under federal, state, or local law. H.R. 1285 - To establish the Commission on the Foreclosure and Mortgage Lending Crisis. H.R. 1295 - To mitigate mortgage foreclosures, facilitate and include fairness in housing recovery, and combat mortgage fraud, and for other purposes. H.R. 2483 - To permanently increase the conforming loan limits for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and the Federal National Mortgage Association and the FHA maximum mortgage amount limitations. H.R.3044 - Imposes an 18-month moratorium on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. S. 3 - Homeowner Protection and Wall Street Accountability Act of 2009 - Expresses the sense of Congress that Congress should enact, and the President should sign, legislation to: (1) stabilize the housing market and assist homeowners by imposing a temporary moratorium on foreclosures, removing impediments to the modification of distressed mortgages, creating tax and other incentives to help prevent foreclosures and encourage refinancing into affordable and sustainable mortgage solutions, and pursuing other foreclosure-prevention policies through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or other programs S. 61 - Helping Families Save their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2009 - Amends federal bankruptcy law governing a Chapter 13 debtor (adjustment of debts of an individual with regular income). Excludes from computation of debts the secured or unsecured portions of: (1) debts secured by the debtor's principal residence if the current value of that residence is less than the secured debt limit; or (2) debts secured or formerly secured by debtor's principal residence that was either sold in foreclosure or surrendered to the creditor if the current value of such real property is less than the secured debt limit. S. 117 - Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Act of 2009 - Prohibits a foreclosure consultant from: (1) receiving compensation from a homeowner for services performed regarding residential real property until such consultant has fully performed each service contracted for; (2) holding power of attorney from any homeowner, except to inspect documents; (3) receiving consideration from a third party in connection with services rendered to a homeowner regarding the foreclosure, unless such consideration is fully, clearly, and conspicuously disclosed before such services are rendered; (4) accepting any security to secure compensation for services rendered regarding foreclosure of the residential real property; or (5) acquiring any interest in the residence of a homeowner with whom the consultant has contracted. C.A.R. lobbied against the new GSE Housing Valuation Code of Conduct that was agreed to by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the NY Attorney General.

LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY GOALS FOR VETERANS: [See Next Page] Contacts made on the following legislative initiatives: HR 23 -- Belated Thank You to the Merchant Marines of WWII Act would grant a $1,000 monthly benefit to individuals who served in the Merchant Marines between 12/07/41 and 12/31/46; HR 249 --The Tax Relief and Fulfilling Our Obligation to Patriotic Soldiers Act by not taxing enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses, legislation would enhance bonuses that attract new recruits into military specialties that are in high demand; HR 819 -- legislation which provides Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits to surviving spouses of former prisoners of war (POW), which also seeks to extend the receipt of DIC benefits to surviving spouses of former POWs who died on or before September 30, 1999 and will ease the financial strain left on survivors of POWs who do not currently qualify for DIC benefits; HR 1168 -- The Veterans Retraining Act would provide veterans with the training they need to seek meaningful employment; HR 1169 -- legislation that would amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the amount of assistance provided by VA to disabled veterans for specially adapted housing, automobiles and equipment; HR 1209 -- The Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Act; HR 1295 -- The Service Members' Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension Act would ensure that members of the Armed Forces are not denied the first-time homebuyer tax credit granted to them under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a result of theircurrent station outside of the United States; HR 1681 -- The Veterans Transitional Assistance Act would rationalize the transition process from DOD to VA; HR 1701 -- The PTSD/TBI Guaranteed Review for Heroes Act; HR 1821 -- The Equity for Injured Veterans Improvement Act to give rise to many befeficial improvements tot h Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) assistance program by providing childcare assistance to single-parent veterans with children and extendining the period of eligibility from 12 years to a more adequate 15 years; HR 2017 -- legislation that would grant the Military Officer Association of America (MOAA) a federal charter; HR 2082 -- The Military and Overseas Voting Enhancement Act to improve voting access and absentee ballot accountability for members of the armed services; HR 2126 -- The Correspondence With Our Heroes Act would allow active duty Armed Forces members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as service members who are hospitalized due to injury or disease incurred in Iraq and Afghanistan, to receive one piece of mail per month free of charge to the sender; HR2243 -- The Surviving Spouses Benefit Improvement Act would raise the amount of VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) to an amount equal to 55% of VA disability compensation for a 100% disabled veteran; HR 2352 -- The Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act would expand the Small Veteran Business Center program within the Small Business Administration to serve as an outlet and resource for veteran business owners; HR 2379 -- The Veterans Group Life Insurance Act would allow those covered by Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI) to purchase additional coverage once every five years; HR 2393 -- The Military Voting Protection (MVP) Act would ensure that the ballots cast by service members stationed overseas are delivered to the appropriate state election officials by the jurisdiction's statutory deadline, while safeguarding voter privacy and ballot secrecy; HR 2410 -- would increase the likelihood that qualiofied individuals would become employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State; HR 2456 -- The Veterans Education Tuition Support Act; HR 2562 -- Service Members Home Ownership Act would extend the first-time homebuyer credit to members of the Armed Forces who are deployed during 2009; HR 2874 -- Helping Active Duty Deployed Act would discharge the student loans of students called to active duty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- S. CON. RES. 20 would honor the World War 1 (WWI) veterans by permitting the last WWI veteran to lie in the rotunda of th Capitol upon his death; S. 263 -- the Servicemembers Access to Justice Act would close several loopholes and strengthen the protections in current law to ensure that servicemembers' and veterans' employment and reemployment rights are effectively enforced under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA); S. 315 -- The Veterans Outreach Improvement Act would increase congressional oversight of the VA's outreach activities and authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to work with state, local and community-based organizations to perform outreach; S. 407 -- The Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act alows our disaled veterans and their dependents to keep pace with the rising costs of goods and services; S. 514 -- The Veterans Rehabilitation and Training Improvements Act would require the amount of subsistence allowance paid to a veteran for a month n which the veteran participates in a VA rehabilitation program to be equal to the national average of the basic allowance for housing paid to a member of the Armed Forces in pay grade E-5; S. 663 -- The Belated Thank You to the Merchant Marines of WWII Act would amend Title 46 USC to provide benefits to certain individuals who served in the Merchant Marines during WWII; S. 691/S. 746 -- to allow the VA to establish national cemeteries in Eastern Nebraska and southern Colorado; S. 728 -- The Veterans Insurance and Benefits Enhancement Act addresses a broad range of veterans benefits and improves services for both young and old veterans; S. 820 -- would improve the lives of the the nation's most seriously disabled service-connected veterans; S 842 -- provides needed foreclosure protection for military families; S. 847 -- would allow those receiving Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits to be exempt from the 48-month total educational benefits restriction; S. 1015 -- would enhance disability compensationf or disabled veterans in need of aid and attendance for residuals of tramatic brain injury and for disabled veterans with difficulties using prostheses; S. 1106 -- Selected Reserve Continuum of Care Act would provide medical and dental treatment for members of the Guard and Reserve to guarantee medical readiness.

Data security and other legislation affecting banks and broker-dealers, including S.141, H.R.122. Housing and mortgage legislation, including H.R.1106, H.R.200, H.R.225, H.R.787, H.R.1295, H.R.1728, S.61, S.73. Federal legislation affecting net operating loss carryovers.

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $200,000

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE, Treasury, Dept of

H.R. 1 - Economic Stimulus Package - included housing provisions for first-time homebuyer credits and conforming loan limits for FHA and GSE loans as well as other funding for housing programs. H.R. 37 - Systematic Foreclosure Prevention and Mortgage Modification Act - Directs the Chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to establish a systematic foreclosure prevention and mortgage modification program by: (1) paying mortgage servicers $1,000 to cover expenses for each loan modified according to specified standards; and (2) sharing up to 50% of any losses incurred if a modified loan should subsequently re-default. H.R. 230 - Housing Opportunity and Mortgage Equity Act of 2009 - Directs the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (the enterprises) to implement a program to purchase and securitize qualified refinancing mortgages and qualified new mortgages on single-family housing in accordance with policies and procedures established by the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). H.R. 527 - Home Retention and Economic Stabilization Act of 2009 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to establish the right of an eligible deferred-foreclosure consumer, defendable in court, to defer initiation of a foreclosure or related action, including a foreclosure sale, brought by any creditor, servicer, or holder of an eligible deferred-foreclosure mortgage, during a specified deferment period. H.R. 587 - Increases the loan limits during calendar 2009 for: (1) the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single family housing mortgage insurance programs and the reverse mortgage program; and (2) the conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during 2009. Declares that, if the dollar amount limitation on the principal obligation of a mortgage for which the mortgagee issues credit approval during 2009 for any size residence for any area is less than the dollar amount limitation in effect for 2008 under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, the maximum dollar amount limitation on the principal obligation of such a mortgage shall be considered to be the dollar amount limitation in effect for 2008. H.R. 600 - FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform Act of 2009 - Amends the National Housing Act to make exceptions to the prohibition against mortgage insurance for mortgages involving a downpayment using funds furnished by: (1) the seller or any party that benefits financially from the transaction (seller-financed downpayment); or (2) any third party that is reimbursed by the seller or any such party. H.R. 787 -Amends the National Housing Act to modify requirements under the HOPE for Homeowners Program (Program) regarding borrower certification and liability. Revises the requirement of certification to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that the mortgagor has not intentionally defaulted on the existing mortgage or any other debt. Eliminates the requirement to certify that there has been no intentional default on any other debt. H.R. 788 - Shields a servicer of pooled residential mortgages acting in compliance with certain fiduciary duties under the Truth in Lending Act from liability for entering into a loan modification or workout plan in connection with any such mortgages initiated before January 1, 2012. Specifies that such servicers shall not be liable to: (1) any person based on that person's ownership of a residential mortgage loan or any interest in a pool of residential mortgage loans or in securities that distribute payments out of payments in loans on the pool; (2) any person obligated pursuant to a derivatives instrument to make payments determined in reference to any such loans or interest; or (3) any person that insures any such loans or interest under federal, state, or local law. H.R. 1285 - To establish the Commission on the Foreclosure and Mortgage Lending Crisis. H.R. 1295 - To mitigate mortgage foreclosures, facilitate and include fairness in housing recovery, and combat mortgage fraud, and for other purposes. S. 1 - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - Calls for the enactment of legislation to create jobs, restore economic growth, and strengthen America's middle class through measures that: (1) modernize the nation's infrastructure; (2) enhance America's energy independence; (3) expand educational opportunities; (4) preserve and improve affordable health care; (5) provide tax relief; and (6) protect those in greatest need. Includes housing provisions for first-time homebuyer credits and conforming loan limits for FHA and GSE loans as well as other funding for housing programs. S. 3 - Homeowner Protection and Wall Street Accountability Act of 2009 - Expresses the sense of Congress that Congress should enact, and the President should sign, legislation to: (1) stabilize the housing market and assist homeowners by imposing a temporary moratorium on foreclosures, removing impediments to the modification of distressed mortgages, creating tax and other incentives to help prevent foreclosures and encourage refinancing into affordable and sustainable mortgage solutions, and pursuing other foreclosure-prevention policies through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or other programs S. 61 - Helping Families Save their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2009 - Amends federal bankruptcy law governing a Chapter 13 debtor (adjustment of debts of an individual with regular income). Excludes from computation of debts the secured or unsecured portions of: (1) debts secured by the debtor's principal residence if the current value of that residence is less than the secured debt limit; or (2) debts secured or formerly secured by debtor's principal residence that was either sold in foreclosure or surrendered to the creditor if the current value of such real property is less than the secured debt limit. S. 117 - Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Act of 2009 - Prohibits a foreclosure consultant from: (1) receiving compensation from a homeowner for services performed regarding residential real property until such consultant has fully performed each service contracted for; (2) holding power of attorney from any homeowner, except to inspect documents; (3) receiving consideration from a third party in connection with services rendered to a homeowner regarding the foreclosure, unless such consideration is fully, clearly, and conspicuously disclosed before such services are rendered; (4) accepting any security to secure compensation for services rendered regarding foreclosure of the residential real property; or (5) acquiring any interest in the residence of a homeowner with whom the consultant has contracted. C.A.R. wrote a comment letter in support of H.R. 1 concerning the expansion of the GSE and FHA loan limits as well as requesting an expansion of the homebuyer tax credit. C.A.R. commented and lobbied on the Administration's program "Making Home Affordable". C.A.R. focused on ways to expand the program to target more homeowners, including the jumbo loan market and more familues underwater in their homes. C.A.R. commented on the recent increases in loan fees from the GSEs (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). C.A.R. lobbied against the new GSE Housing Valuation Code of Conduct that was agreed to by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the NY Attorney General.