Senate Approves Housing Bill; Builders Urge Prompt House Action
(Article written by NAHB)

Months of intensive NAHB advocacy efforts moved the housing bill an important step closer to fruition as the Senate overwhelmingly passed housing stimulus legislation on the evening of July 11. The bill now goes to the House. While House and Senate lawmakers largely agree on the core provisions of the bill, the House is likely to make some modifications. The Senate will then need to approve any changes made by the House before the legislation can be sent to the President to be signed into law.

In a press release praising the Senate vote and urging prompt House action, NAHB CEO Jerry Howard said: “The Senate action hasn’t come a moment too soon. Each passing day brings more layoffs, more foreclosures and more fear. This legislation will help get home buyers back into the marketplace, stabilize house prices, stem the rising tide of foreclosures and restore confidence in our housing finance system. There’s no time to waste. Congress must finish the job now and pass this bill so that Americans can get some relief.”

On July 10, before the Senate voted on a final cloture measure to allow the bill to proceed to a vote, NAHB sent a letter to all senators urging them to invoke cloture so that the legislation could move forward. “Because of the importance of this legislation to help relieve the current crisis in the U.S. housing market, NAHB has designated a vote in support of invoking cloture on the Senate housing bill as a key vote,” the letter said. On a vote of 84-12, more than the required 60, the Senate subsequently agreed to proceed with the legislation.

In addition, NAHB continued its grassroots push, urging our members to call their senators and urge them to oppose any procedural delays and to pass the housing bill now.

H.R. 3221, the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act, contains several provisions that would help put the economy back on track, save jobs and restore confidence. The bill would:

• Create a temporary, first-time home buyer tax credit for the purchase of any home. This would stimulate the housing market, eliminate excess inventory, relieve downward pressure on house prices and bring otherwise-qualified home buyers back into the market.
• Establish a more effective and balanced regulatory system for the housing government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. It would also permanently increase the GSE’s conforming loan limits up to $625,500, making home loans more affordable in high-cost areas.
• Give the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) greater flexibility to respond to the needs of borrowers, help more working families become home owners, provide a viable alternative to the subprime market and play a greater role in stabilizing the mortgage markets. The maximum FHA-insured loan would be permanently increased up to $625,500, helping prospective buyers to purchase homes in more markets across the country.
• Provide a temporary increase in state tax-exempt housing bond authority to help struggling home owners refinance their subprime loans and to increase access to affordable mortgage credit.
•  Enhance the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and tax-exempt housing bond programs to increase their effectiveness in addressing the nation’s continuing affordable housing needs.
• Expand the FHA program to provide additional authority to help at-risk borrowers refinance with viable mortgages and prevent further foreclosures. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this could help as many as 400,000 struggling home owners to stay in their homes.

The legislation was stalled for weeks by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), who doggedly insisted on attaching an amendment to add $8.2 billion in energy tax break extensions to the package. Senate leaders surmounted those delaying tactics and were able to bring the bill to a vote early this evening. To view the legislation, click here and type the bill number in the box in the upper center screen. For more information, contact Greg Brown at 1-800-368-5242, x8421 or Scott Meyer at x8144.