The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) applauds the expected enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protections Act (HR 4173), which has passed the House and Senate and is likely to be signed by President Barack Obama this week. While the bill's financial reform and consumer protection provisions have been well documented, the act also includes housing provisions important to low-income households and communities.Read more

The conclusion of the House-Senate Conference on the financial reform bill early Friday morning has produced a bill that seeks to revamp the American financial system, and more importantly, bring accountability to Wall Street. Dubbed the Dodd-Frank Act after its primary architects, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), the bill is expected to be approved by both the House and the Senate some time next week.Read more

Sens. Harry Reid (D-NV), Johnny Isaakson (R-GA) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) have introduced an amendment to the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 that would extend the deadline for closing home purchases in order to qualify for the first-time homebuyer tax credit. The current deadline for purchases made using the popular tax credit is June 30, 2010. There is growing concern that because of the time it takes for banks to complete transactions such as short sales, many of these home purchases would not be complete before the deadline through no fault of the homebuyer.Read more

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) has hailed Senate passage of the bill to bring accountability to Wall Street: “With passage of the Wall Street Reform bill we have taken a major step towards creating a sound economic foundation for the American people we represent. This is their victory.

“For the first time ever we will have a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to watch out for the average citizen in our country when they are abused by a financial market place that takes advantage of them on home mortgages and credit cards.Read more

Robert E. Story Jr., CMB, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), has issued the following statement in reaction to proposed legislation to modernize regulation of the financial services industry: "MBA supports efforts to modernize the regulatory structure for mortgage banking firms, but we are concerned that this bill could be headed down several of the same wrong paths as the legislation that moved through the House late last year.Read more

In a letter to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT), Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) asked that new Senate regulations on the financial services industry include Fattah's mortgage relief provisions that are contained in HR 4173, the Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act of 2009. Sen. Dodd is working to introduce the Senate bill this week. If Fattah's provisions are included, and the legislation is passed by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama, it would clear the way for $3 billion in emergency mortgage assistance to be provided to struggling homeowners.Read more

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) was joined by fellow committee members Jack Reed (D-RI), Charles E.Read more

U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law, HR 3548, the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The bill extends the present $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers through April 30, 2010. Current homeowners are eligible for a $6,500 tax credit through April 30, provided they have lived in the home they are selling, or have sold, as principal residence for five consecutive years in the past eight years. If potential homebuyers have a binding contract on or before that date, they will have until July 1 to close the transaction.Read more

At a hearing on the State of the Nation’s Housing Market, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) joined Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) in calling for an extension of the homebuyer tax credit. “As part of the economic recovery package, we created an $8,000 first time homebuyers’ tax credit, replacing an unsuccessful and overly complex loan program with one that is already having an impact,” Dodd explained. “The homebuyer tax credit has already been used by nearly two million first time homebuyers.Read more

Democratic Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd has announced that he will stay on as chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, where he will continue to lead the fight in the Senate for financial regulatory reform and consumer protection. As a senior member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), and as Chairman Edward Kennedy’s chief deputy on the Affordable Health Choices Act, Dodd will continue to lead the HELP Committee’s efforts in reforming our nation’s healthcare system to make health coverage moreRead more