Federal

NRMLA's legal counsel, Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider, produced the following memo on the financial services reform bill recently signed into law by President Obama.

NRMLA is pleased to announce that we've been successful in getting over the next hurdle in the appropriations challenge faced by our industry.

Prior to this morning’s official mark-up session, the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, included an $150 million appropriation for the HECM program in the proposed FY 2011 HUD budget.

NRMLA's Congressional Relations Committee has prepared the following presentation to help educate members on the legislative process.

GolinHarris, who will be assisting NRMLA in our public affairs campaign, has developed the following PowerPoint presentation to help educate our members on the importance of political advocacy.

NRMLA has prepared the following Legislative Briefing Paper for members to give their representatives in Congress when meeting with them in Washington, DC or in their home districts.

NRMLA’s Public Affairs Campaign selection committee has chosen to retain both Golin Harris Public Affairs and Rasky Baerlein Strategic Relations to collaborate on its national public affairs effort focusing on media, education and advocacy.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO.), along with Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-WI.), has submitted an amendment to the Senate’s proposed financial services reform bill dealing with the treatment of reverse mortgages.

Testifying before Senate Appropriators last week, FHA Commissioner David Stevens reiterated his support for HECM and urged lawmakers to pass the Administration’s budget proposal.

FHA Commissioner David Stevens urged federal lawmakers last week to adopt critical changes to the HECM program contained in HUD's Fiscal Year 2011 budget, otherwise FHA will be forced to make dramatic cuts to principal limit factors on top of what was implemented last fall.

For the reverse mortgage business, the highlights of HUD’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 includes a subsidy of $250 million for the MMI/HECM fund, an increase in the ongoing annual Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) from .5% to 1.25% and a low-to-mid single digit cut in the principal loan limit with the higher end affecting older borrowers.

In his testimony last week before the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, NRMLA President Peter Bell proposed a restructuring of the mortgage insurance premium collected by the Federal Housing Administration on all Home Equity Conversion Mortgages and removing the 10 percent reduction in principal limit factors.

Over the past week, we have been experiencing a whirlwind of activity around the HECM program, as well as all other FHA single-family programs.

For those Congressmen who have had it with the healthcare town meeting circuses at home, we’re ready for you to come back to DC. We’re awaiting some big decisions when the Drama on the Hill autumn act begins.

There sometimes comes a tipping point when politics gets in the way of government, when talk trumps action—and when that happens someone, someplace has to shout, “Halt!”

GAO published a report today which concluded that reverse mortgage policy changes enacted under HERA have benefited lenders and borrowers. But risks remain.

NRMLA President Peter Bell testified at a field hearing in St. Louis yesterday hosted by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) on behalf of the Special Committee on Aging to discuss regulations in the reverse mortgage program.

Following is a copy of Section 255 of the National Housing Act, which governs the HECM program.

As most NRMLA members know, the economic stimulus bill signed into law by President Obama today raises the single national loan limit for HECMs to 150% of the Freddie Mac loan limit. Currently, that would create a HECM limit of $625,500.

NRMLA is pleased to report that the compromise package approved by the House-Senate conference committee yesterday does indeed set the HECM loan limit at 150% of the Freddie Mac limit, which would put it at $625,500 -- for the balance of 2009.

We are pleased to report that the economic recovery bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last night includes the provision we reported to you last week that would set the single national loan limit for the HECM program at 150% of the Freddie Mac loan limit.

We are pleased to announce that the draft of the economic recovery bill released by the House of Representatives late yesterday contains a provision that would set the single national loan limit for HECM at a higher level than $417,000--for the balance of 2009.

Back in early December, NRMLA President Peter Bell submitted a HECM issues paper to key officials from the Presidential Transition Team working on HUD matters and then was invited to provide a briefing two weeks later.