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U.S.
Senator Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release Monday , February 25, 2008 |
CONTACT:Stephanie Valencia – 202-228-3630 |
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| Sen. Salazar Continues Work to Address Housing Crisis WASHINGTON, DC – Continuing his work in Congress to address the housing crisis in America, United States Senator Ken Salazar announced support today for two legislative proposals aimed at restoring faith in the mortgage industry and promoting affordable housing. Last week, Senator Salazar announced his support for the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, comprehensive legislation scheduled for consideration in the Senate this week that will take steps to help keep families facing foreclosure in their homes, help communities already harmed by foreclosure to recover, and help families avoid foreclosures in the future. “Addressing our Nation’s housing crisis is going to take a multi-pronged approach,” said Senator Salazar. “We are working to address the crisis from several angles. The legislation I am sponsoring today will help to restore faith in the lending industry by weeding out bad actors and increase access to affordable housing by strengthening the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.” Senator Salazar announced his support for The SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act, which works to eliminate bad actors from the mortgage business by requiring that brokers and lenders meet minimum national standards that ensure they are professional, competent, and trustworthy. This legislation, sponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL), would require that all residential mortgage loan originators be licensed, and provide fingerprints, a summary of work experience, and consent for a background check to authorities. Under the bill, states would be given 12 months to develop licensing standards to ensure that applicants meet certain minimum criteria, after which the Department of Housing and Urban Development is empowered to develop a national database and licensing process. Senator Salazar also announced support for legislation introduced by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) that would make significant changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which helps finance the development of affordable rental housing for low-income households by encouraging private sector investment in affordable housing. Federal housing tax credits
are currently awarded to developers of qualified projects. Developers
then sell these credits to investors to raise capital (or equity) for
their projects, which reduces the debt that the developer would otherwise
have to borrow. Because the debt is lower, a tax credit property can
in turn offer lower, more affordable rents. Specifically, the Cantwell
bill would take steps to (1) facilitate development of housing credit
property, (2) improve coordination with other federal housing policies,
(3) facilitate private investment capital to increase the efficiency
of affordable housing investment, (4) help preserve existing affordable
housing, (5) simplify administration of the housing credit program,
and (6) improve the mortgage revenue bond (MRB) program. ###
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