Current Policy Initiatives

Congressman Fattah's top legislative priority is H.R 2130 The Comprehensive Transform America Transaction Fee Act - The plan calls for a study on the elimination of all federal taxes on individuals and corporations and replaces the taxes with a fee on transactions. Eliminating federal taxes would stimulate the economy and spur job growth by allowing businesses to expand their operations and hire more employees.

The proposed transaction fee would be equivalent to current revenues generated by all federal taxes, while conceivably supplying additional income. The excess funds would serve to: eliminate the current national debt, provide universal health care, support an equitable public school finance system, and fund economic development in urban and rural areas.

Another of Congressman Fattah’s legislative priorities is H.R. 2373 The Student Bill of Rights. The legislation requires States to certify with the Secretary of Education that their Public School System operates on an equal statewide basis in terms of offering all students access to some of the proven educational inputs necessary to achieve high academic outcomes. Therefore, for the first time ever, states will have an annual report card by which to be judged on for their ability to provide educational resources for all students. Congressman Fattah's seven fundamentals for learning include:

1) Instruction from a highly qualified teacher;
2) Rigorous academic standards, curricula and methods of instruction;
3) Small class sizes;
4) Up-to-date textbooks;
5) Up-to-date libraries;
6) Up-to-date computers;
7) Quality guidance counseling.

On an annual basis, The Student Bill of Rights will also publicly identify those states not providing these educational resources and penalize them with a loss of federal dollars if they do not comply.

Congressman Fattah has also introduced H.R. 378 The Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Act (HEMA) which would establish a program to assist homeowners experiencing unavoidable, temporary difficulty making payments on mortgages insured under the National Housing Act.

Under HEMA, homeowners who are at least two months delinquent in their mortgage payments and have been notified by their lender of intent to foreclose would be eligible to receive assistance. Repayment of such assistance with interest will be required after the homeowner regains his financial stability, a period not to exceed three years.

As a state lawmaker, Chaka Fattah was instrumental in enacting this policy. In Pennsylvania, the program has helped 30,000 homeowners. After seeing its success statewide, Congressman Fattah now wants to allow homeowners nationwide a chance to keep their dreams realized.