Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said he is pleased a bill to help American families avoid foreclosure and jumpstart the housing market has cleared the Senate and is now on its way to the president to be signed into law.

The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 will help stabilize the market and provide relief to hundreds of thousands of Americans who, due to no fault of their own, are struggling to keep their homes.

"This long-overdue legislation will provide some relief to those Americans that have been hit by the country's mortgage crisis," Bingaman said.

The bill does the following:

·         Provides assistance for communities devastated by foreclosures, foreclosure counseling for families in need, programs to help returning soldiers avoid foreclosure, FHA modernization, and mortgage disclosure enhancements;

·         Provide tax benefits for homeowners, homebuyers, and homebuilders aimed at helping the housing market recover;

·         Creates a new, effective regulator for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) so that these vital institutions can safely and soundly carry out their important mission of providing our nation's families with affordable housing.

·         Creates a new program at the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that would help at least 400,000 families save their homes from foreclosure;

·         Creates the Treasury Emergency authority, which is designed to shore up the confidence of the financial markets in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks;

·         Establishes the HOPE for Homeowners Act, a new initiative at the FHA to prevent foreclosures for hundreds of thousands of families at no cost to American taxpayers;

·         Establishes the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act, which would create a federal registry and establish minimum national standards for all residential mortgage brokers and lenders;

·         Establishes revenue provisions to pay for the legislation, consistent with responsible fiscal policy.