What is Congress Doing To Protect Homeowners From The Mortgage Mess?

A hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Tuesday September 25, 2007 by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Comercial and Administrative Law to consider testimony on the topic, Hearing on Straightening Out the Mortgage Mess: How Can We Protect Home Ownership and Provide Relief to Consumers in Financial Distress? 

On September 20, 2007, Representatives Miller, Sanchez, Frank, Maloney and Watt introduced H.R. 3609, “Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007.”  This bill would provide a process for bankruptcy courts to modify the claim of mortgage holders by reducing the claim to the current value of the property and may provide relief from onerous adjustable rate mortgages.  Under current law, a court is not permitted to modify the rights of a holder of a secured interest in residential real estate used as the principal residence of the debtor.