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Five Things You Should Know About The Senate Housing Bill

The Senate passed legislation to deal with the national housing crisis yesterday. Here are the five things you need to know about it: [AP]

The Vote: The vote was 84-12. All 12 no votes were Republicans. Oh, you noticed 84 + 12 doesn’t equal 100? That’s because Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain did not vote.

What’s In The Bill: A tax break for homebuilders and other businesses which would cost $25 billion over the next three years. A $7,000 tax credit for people who buy foreclosed properties. A temporary tax deduction of $1,000 for families who pay property taxes. $150 million for foreclosure counseling. Money for state and local housing agencies to refinance mortgages in trouble. [Washington Post]

What’s Not In The Bill: Aid to borrowers who, due to plummeting home prices, now find their houses are worth less than they owe their banks. The ability of bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of a mortgage.

Criticism Of The Bill: “The Senate bill has come under fire by consumer advocates for being too friendly to the homebuilders and mortgage bankers and doing very little to actually help people facing foreclosure.” [Politico]

What Happens Next: It goes to the House of Representatives, which doesn’t like the Senate bill one bit. Their plan would help first-time homebuyers, not buyers of foreclosed properties.

And, for good measure, a quote from Sen. Chris Dodd, the chief sponsor of the bill: “This bill is called the Foreclosure Prevention Act. Quite candidly, what we’ve done here doesn’t quite live up to the title. We’ve got more work to do… We’re not done yet.”

The White House doesn’t like the bill, but Bush hasn’t said he will definitely veto it yet.

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