Californian Representatives Criticize Home Resale Fees

By Samira Sadeqie-Talk Radio News Service

Two California representatives came out against a fee intended to aid the housing market Wednesday.

During a conference call held Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) said that the “smart and innovative  guys” in Wall Street should “focus on new ways” to expand the nation’s economy beyond the fee, which would give housing developers one percent of a home’s sale price every time a house is resold.

“This is going to hurt not only the future owners of the house, but the entire the neighborhood because it reduces comps and appraisals,” Sherman said. “It serves no social purpose.”

“No assessment or fees on hardworking taxpayers should be implemented without their knowledge,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) “I’m adamantly opposed to any secret fees, covenants, anything that homeowners are not very much aware of.”

Republican Moves To Block Creation Of 'Minority Office Of Inclusion'

By Brandon Kosters-Talk Radio News Service

During a conference committee meeting on Wall Street reform Tuesday, Representatives Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Ed Royce (R-Calif.) engaged in a heated debate over the Republican's proposal to remove a section of the bill authored by Waters aimed at establishing the "Minority Office of Inclusion" to assess the diversity policies and practices of banks and credit unions.

Royce said that Waters' language would further politicize credit allocation and divert regulator's attention away from "systemic risks [and] safety and soundness questions" toward "racial and gender lending" when inspecting banks and credit unions.

Waters said that the Office of Minority Inclusion would only offer assessments and would not hold an enforcement role.

Royce's amendment was rejected by a vote of 10 to 6.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) later proposed an amendment outlining that no action would necessarily be taken based upon the office's assessments. Corker's amendment was unanimously approved.

House Pushing Legislation Encouraging Americans To Donate To Haiti Relief Fund

By Sofia Sanchez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Thursday announced measures they are taking to help with the relief effort in Haiti.

CBC Chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters (R-Calif.) said that the House has passed a bill offering immediate tax benefits to Americans who make charitable contributions to aid Haiti victims. The legislation, which passed unanimously, will allow individuals to claim any donations to the relief effort as an itemized deduction on their 2009 tax return.

“I have been moved and inspired by the outpouring of support from America for the Haitian people,” said Waters.

Waters also said she has introduced legislation to require the U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to “cancel all of Haiti’s debts.” Members of the Caucus believe that this will free up the country’s meager resources, allowing it to begin meeting its immediate and long-term needs.

Hope Six programs still owe 78 million dollars worth of funds

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on “Federal Spending Requirements in Housing and Community Development Programs: Challenges in 2008 and Beyond.” Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) presided over the hearing and talked about the Hope Six housing and development program and the reforms that need to be made to it.

Waters explained that all grantees who started Hope Six programs in 2002 or later are required to expend all funds granted to them in five years. Unfortunately, many of these programs have had to deal with natural disasters and the mortgage sub-prime crisis which caused project delays and increased cost. Waters said that the Hope Six Amendment Act of 2008 will grant a one year extension to those programs who have dealt with these problems and cannot therefor meet their five year deadline.

Deputy Assistant for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Secretary Dominique Bloom, explained HUD’s roles to monitor and assist all Hope Six projects and grantees. Bloom said that HUD works with grantees to create a development schedule in order to make a five year funding expenditure deadline realistic. However, she also explained that a total of 78 million dollars worth of funds from the twenty eight Hope Six programs started in 2002 still remain unexpended. Twenty one of these programs are on track to meet their September 30, 2008 deadline, but three of them are unlikely to be able to expend their funds, a maximum value of four million dollars.

Bloom explained that HUD does not yet have an official position on the Hope Six Amendment Act of 2008, though they are reviewing it very closely and expect to form an opinion in the next couple of weeks. Bloom said that in most cases granting programs a one year extension on their funds will be much easier than simply granting these programs “technical assistance” or canceling the project overall.

Legislation would help save neighborhoods

The negative effect on neighborhoods caused by vacant homes, foreclosed due to subprime mortgages, was discussed at a joint hearing of the House Domestic Policy Subcommittee and the House Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee. Support was expressed for HR 5818, a bipartisan bill that gives $15 billion to communities that have been devastated by increased housing vacancy; a bill President Bush has said he will veto.

In his opening statement, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) stated some of the effects vacant homes can have on a community including decreased property values, increases in crimes, a rise in the cost of law enforcement, and a loss of revenue from taxes. Kucinich expressed his desire to help the innocent victims of the subprime mortgage crisis, the neighbors of abandoned homes. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the sponsor of HR 5818, said that the bill plans to allocate money to areas with a large concentration of vacant homes.

Frank Alexander from the Emory University School of Law expressed his support for HR 5818 because, unlike a stimulus bill, HR 5818 supports neighborhoods instead of working against predatory loans. Todd Richardson from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development encouraged the use of data from the United States Postal Service to determine areas which areas of a large amount of abandoned homes.. Kucinich urged that both committees further analyze the correlation between home vacancies and minority groups to determine if discriminatory lending practices have taken place after analyzing maps of metropolitan areas.