Obama Signs Housing and Fraud Bill, Praises Congress for “Most Productive” Period
EmailABC News’ Sunlen Miller reports: President Obama signed two bills – the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act – this afternoon in the East Room. “These landmark pieces of legislation will protect hard-working Americans, crack down on those who seek to take advantage of them, and ensure that the problems that led us to this crisis never happen again.” The President said that the two laws, coupled with the Credit Card reform bill that he “hopes to sign later this week,” have led to one of the most productive times in Congress. “I think it’s important for people to understand the significance of this week,” the President said, “This has been one of the most productive congressional work periods in some time.” The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act removes the technical and administrative hurdles that make it difficult for borrowers. “It expands the reach of our existing housing plan for homeowners with FHA or USDA rural housing loans, providing them with new opportunities to modify or refinance their mortgages to more affordable levels,” President Obama said, “Because many responsible renters are being unfairly evicted from homes that go through foreclosure because the owners haven’t been paying their mortgages, it requires banks to honor existing leases, or provide at least 90 days notice for renters on month-to-month leases.” The President said that the bill builds on the housing plan his administration already developed earlier this year and had a little slip of the tongue, completely negating – for a second – the benefits of that housing plan. “Americans who participate can save up to $2,000 a year, in effect, a $2,000 pay cut per family — tax cut, excuse me. They don’t need pay cuts. That wouldn’t be a good bill,” the President said laughing. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, the second bill the President signed today, gives prosecutors and regulators new tools to crack down on mortgage fraud and predatory lending. “This bill nearly doubles the FBI’s mortgage and financial fraud program, allowing it to better target fraud in hard-hit areas,” the President said, “it provides the resources necessary for other law enforcement and federal agencies, from the Department of Justice to the SEC to the Secret Service, to pursue these criminals, bring them to justice, and protect hardworking Americans affected most by these crimes.” In addition the bill also expands allows DOJ to prosecute anyone who fraudulently obtains Recovery Act or TARP funds, and creates a bipartisan Financial Markets Commission to investigate the financial practices. The President expressed confidence in these two bills, and the broader measures that the administration is taking, to rebound the economy. “Step by step, I believe we’re moving in the right direction,” Obama said, “The stock market will rise and fall; the job market has taken a beating and won’t be back immediately; the housing market still has a long way to go. I’m confident we will get there.”
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Nothing president Obama does “protects hard working Americans”. He protects deadbeats and expects hard working Americans to pay for it.
Posted by: Plumber | May 20, 2009, 7:46 pm 7:46 pm
Following in the footsteps of FDR. Mr. Obama needlessly prolongs an economic downturn:
“May 20 (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve officials projected a deeper U.S. contraction when they met last month than they foresaw in January, with a 9 percent unemployment rate lasting through the end of 2010.
“Central bankers also made their largest cut yet to next year’s growth forecast, indicating the economy won’t rebound as quickly as previously anticipated from the worst recession in five decades, according to minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s April 28-29 meeting, released today in Washington.
“The jobless rate may remain as high as 8.5 percent in late 2011, the Fed said as part of its four-times-a-year economic projections from 17 officials, including Fed governors and district-bank presidents. The weaker forecasts are in line with changes to projections by private economists over the past few months.
Compare these projections with those of the Obama administration.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | May 20, 2009, 7:47 pm 7:47 pm
“Americans who participate can save up to $2,000 a year, in effect, a $2,000 pay cut per family — tax cut, excuse me.
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This has nothing to do with a “tax cut”. Really. Why does nobody call him on this repeated misuse of language and imagery? Is getting a pay raise essentially a “tax cut”? You have more money in your pocket!
In fact, depending on income level, having less of a mortgage deduction can result in a tax increase.
Posted by: MayBee | May 20, 2009, 7:55 pm 7:55 pm
Really worth considering that now the elected officials are trying to make banks as well as landowners at least as responsible as renters. What a change from the days when you couldn’t even vote without a deed in your name.
Posted by: MarkLeavenworth | May 20, 2009, 8:14 pm 8:14 pm
Unreal. You have to give Obama props for masterful misdirection. He discusses implementing “tax cuts” for Americans while Congress has been “most productive” legislating regressive taxes, including:
Tobacco
Alcohol
Energy
Food
Healthcare
Cars
Day-to-day life is going to get a lot more expensive for regular Americans. And those who conduct their lives responsibly will get punished the most.
The Kool Aid drinkers who think that they won’t be paying for Obama’s Utopia are in for a very rude awakening.
Posted by: Tony D | May 20, 2009, 8:18 pm 8:18 pm
I can’t afford Obama anymore. Also, my children and grandchildren can’t afford Obama either. Let me through in a shout out to Nancy Pelosi. Bye bye Nancy!
Posted by: jeff | May 20, 2009, 8:36 pm 8:36 pm
So, did Obama have these bills posted for 5 days, finally fulfilling that lame campaign promise? As I recall, at least one of these bills was just passed earlier this week. So I assume that he still hasn’t gotten around to this little “transparency” detail yet. It was a silly promise from my perspective, but he made a big deal of it. So let’s see him follow through.
And MayBee, I agree completely with your complaint about the sloppy and inaccurate use of language by this supposedly verbally gifted president. Every time I turn around, he’s crowing that something is just like a tax cut. No, it isn’t. It has nothing to do with taxes. When the grocery store puts ice cream on sale and I stock up, that is not a tax cut. Everything that saves money is not a tax cut, and most of the things that Obama claims will save me money will cost me more somewhere down the line, including this credit card “fix.”
Posted by: moderate | May 20, 2009, 9:03 pm 9:03 pm
Obama is too busy catering to republican whims, wishes, and desires to notice that he walked away from his political base long ago. I think people are starting to notice this not so little fact.
Posted by: jan | May 20, 2009, 9:11 pm 9:11 pm
MayBee
Excellent point about Obama’s misuse of language. He repeated the 95% tax cut pledge so often during the campaign he is going to have a hard time burying the fact come 2012 that it not only didn’t materialize but he enacted or will enact loads of other taxes.
Cap and Trade may or may not pass the Senate but no matter the EPA will declare CO2 a hazard and President Government can inject himself in any and all aspects of energy regulation. Truly scary thought, see analysis at KeithHennessey(dot)com.
Remember when you get your future energy bills that pledge of not one dime in new taxes or the promise that electricity costs will skyrocket. By all means though President Government keep trying to bamboozle the sleeping masses with talk of tax cuts, they will wake up when they see those energy bills.
Posted by: Mary M | May 20, 2009, 9:32 pm 9:32 pm
Jan, I was flabbergasted by your statement that “Obama is too busy catering to republican whims, wishes, and desires to notice that he walked away from his political base long ago.” REPUBLICAN wishes and desires? Not on your life. Is what you’re smoking legally available? Because it must be some powerful stuff.
Posted by: moderatet | May 20, 2009, 9:40 pm 9:40 pm
“REPUBLICAN wishes and desires?”
Let’s see. There’s FISA, wiretapping, the Patriot Act, indefinite detention, military tribunals, Bagram, don’t-ask-don’t-tell, not releasing Abu Ghraib photos…what am I missing? It’s getting hard to keep track.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | May 20, 2009, 9:50 pm 9:50 pm
Perpetuating NAFTA, rescinding the detainee thing with cover and aid from a democratic Congress, continuing to give money away ala Bush era to banks, etc., aka big corporations in an attempt to secure future donations, continuing and probably expanding Halliburton’s contracts, escalating the war in Afghanistan without getting out of Iraq, refusal to rescind the Patriot Act, refusal to investigate and prosecute for making the United States join the ranks of nations that use torture, to name only a few.
And then there’s the fact that his refusal to move the country to the left during his term means not only will the republicans not have to try to make up lost political ground, but whenever they finally regain either Congress or the White House, they will be able to more or less pick up where they left off at and force us even further to the right. So yes, overall the republicans are very happy even though they’ll never say it if they think anyone else can hear them.
Posted by: jan | May 20, 2009, 11:09 pm 11:09 pm
…Most of the stuff he does is basically cosmetic.
Posted by: jan | May 20, 2009, 11:19 pm 11:19 pm
Delightful factoid:
Each of the five propositions rejected by Californians yesterday received a higher percentage of “No” votes than Obama’s percentage in November.
A joy to see the Sacramento Tea Pary organizer dancing with glee in the aftermath.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | May 20, 2009, 11:46 pm 11:46 pm
Finally a little fairness in the law concerning Housing. Thank goodness we have a President and Congress that can see common sense justice is needed in many areas.
The first law,’The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act’ will prevent many foreclosures. Anyone with half a brain would know this will help stabilize real estate prices, which is a good thing for all of us. Yet, there are those that will complain. I have to ask if these complainers want our economy to turn around, or do they want the suffering to continue?
As for the second law, how can anyone not want the government to prosecute those guilty of mortgage fraud and predatory lending? Slimy individuals like that deserve prosecution. And it will help honest mortgage companies and lenders get the future business these shady companies would have. Are the people complaining about this even reading the article?
There seem to be this very vocal minor
ity among the commenters and in the media that sets their common sense as well as their sense of fair play aside to criticize any law that is passed just because it is a Dem majority Congress.
We should all be loyal to our country first, our party second. Both these laws make sense and will have positive results for individuals, the housing market and eventually our economy.
Three cheers for Washington looking out for people rather than businesses that cheat people.
Posted by: Lydia | May 21, 2009, 8:34 am 8:34 am
The credit card reform is only going to make things worse and I will give you an example.
We pay off our credit cards every month, we use them for convenience, but the credit card company still gets money because they get a small percent of each purchase.
If we now have to pay fees and interest anyway I will simply write checks. The credit card won’t make anything.
People that pay off their cards every month do so because they are of a certain mindset. Like us they will change their credit card habits and the industry will actually make less money, not more.
The unintended consequences will also kick in. For example I will stop online purchases and will probably simply buy less.
The credit card reform was a class warfare move that will fail like the rest of them and only sink the US further into debt.
Posted by: MNM | May 21, 2009, 9:18 am 9:18 am
I think POTUS has ‘good intentions’.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | May 21, 2009, 9:42 am 9:42 am
Are you frickin’ kidding me? You call the destruction of the American Financial Institute and take over of businesses productive? This Congress is “OUT OF CONTROL” and you (the MSM) allowed it to happen. I blame the ever watchdog press for rolling over and sharing fleas with the Obama Regime!!
Posted by: American Infidel | May 21, 2009, 10:51 am 10:51 am
While these are acts of good intention – one thing remains perfectly clear. As long as you keep hammering on business – and yes, including the financial sector – the longer these businesses will remain in “lock-down” waiting for the other shoe to drop. Given the class war that Obama is fueling, I am not surprised.
We have lots of laws already that cover these things to some extent. It would be a whole lot easier to enforce them.
The bottom line is that you cannot try to encourage business while turning them into “thieves and criminals” as well. FDR tried to do this and it failed. Most businesses – yes, even banks, are full of good honorable people. It only takes a few bad apples to spoil all of it. Unfortunately Obama likes to paint all these people as evil and bad. The result is that they are all shutting down until further notice. This applies to the business sector as a whole – you’d think every company in America is trying to steal by cheating on their taxes. That is blatantly untrue, and only serves to keep business shut down.
If only the President would stop “reforming” everything – and concentrating on the few things that need reform. And please stop trying to paint all business as bad! Or is he just trying to make this recession last even longer?
Posted by: Jon F | May 21, 2009, 3:47 pm 3:47 pm