McHugh One Of Few GOP

Congressman John McHugh was one of only 45 Republicans who supported HR 3221, The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act.

The specific vote count broken down by party was 227 Democrats and 45 Republicans voting yes while 3 Democrats and 149 Republicans tallied a no vote.

Here are some of the highlights of HR 3221

• Provides mortgage refinancing assistance to keep at least 400,000 families from losing their homes, to protect neighboring home values, and to help stabilize the housing market at no cost to American taxpayers. 
• Protects taxpayers by requiring lenders and homeowners to take responsibility.  This is not a bailout; in order to participate, lenders and mortgage investors must take significant losses by reducing the loan principal.  In exchange for an FHA guarantee on the mortgage, borrowers must share any profit from the resale of a refinanced home with the government.
• Puts a strong independent regulator in place with real teeth, with real responsibilities and powers so that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can safely and soundly work to provide our nation’s families with affordable housing, as Democrats have been calling for since 2004.
• Raises the GSE (Government Sponsored Entities) loan limits for single family homes to create affordable mortgage loans for moderately priced homes by allowing GSE loans up to 115% of the local area median home price, and to make GSE loans effective in high cost areas by raising the permanent loan limit from $417,000 to $625,500,.
• Creates a new permanent affordable housing trust fund – financed by the GSEs and not by taxpayers – to fund the construction, maintenance and preservation of affordable rental housing for low and very low-income individuals and families nationwide in both rural and urban areas.
• Increases VA Home Loan limit, as was done in the stimulus package, for high-cost housing areas so that veterans have more homeownership opportunities.
• Helps returning soldiers avoid foreclosure and stay in their home by lengthening the time a lender must wait before starting foreclosure, from three months to nine months after a soldier returns from service and providing returning soldiers with one-year relief from increases in mortgage interest rates. 
• Provides taxpayers that claim the standard deduction with up to an additional $500 ($1,000 for a joint return) standard deduction for property taxes in 2008. 

Further information on the benefits of this legislation can be found here at the House Financial Services Committee website or the online detailed summary here.


In a released statement the Congressman said "Although there are a number of provisions in this bill which I do not support, I believe it was important for Congress to act on this critical issue to stabilize the national housing markets and economy."