House Overwhelmingly Passes Cummings Amendment to Extend Foreclosure Protections to Servicemembers and Veterans
Cummings also Succeeds on Amendment to Increase Diversity, Curb Hazing
Washington, DC (May 18, 2012)—Today, the House passed by a vote of 394 to 27 an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) introduced by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Bob Filner, Ranking Member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, and Rep. Adam Smith, Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, that significantly expands foreclosure protections for servicemembers, their families, and disabled veterans.
“Our troops fighting overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan should not also have to fight here at home just to keep a roof over the heads of their loved ones,” Cummings said. “This bill expands current law to protect more of our brave men and women in uniform from losing their homes while they protect our freedoms abroad.”
The amendment, which had been introduced previously as H.R. 5747, Military Family Home Protection Act, expands foreclosure protections to servicemembers serving in support of contingency operations, surviving spouses of servicemembers whose deaths are service-related, and veterans who are 100% disabled at the time of discharge due to service-connected injuries.
The amendment also prohibits banks from discriminating against servicemembers who are eligible for protections under SCRA, increases penalties for mortgage-related violations, and requires lenders to designate a compliance officer to ensure that they protect the legal rights of servicemembers.
The amendment was the culmination of a year-long investigation by Cummings into illegal foreclosures against servicemembers, including multiple document requests to mortgage banks and servicemembers, a congressional forum co-hosted with Senator Jay Rockefeller, and a staff report, Fighting on the Home Front, detailing how multiple banks had violated the SCRA by illegally foreclosing on servicemembers and charging fees in excess of those permitted by the SCRA.
The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Disabled American Veterans all issued letters in support of the amendment.
The House also adopted an amendment introduced by Cummings to increase diversity and curb hazing in the Coast Guard. The amendment expands provisions included in the NDAA authored by Cummings, Rep. Judy Chu, and other Members to address diversity and hazing in the armed services.
“It is critical that Congress do everything in our power to promote a highly qualified and diverse officer corps that truly represents our nation, and these provisions are an essential step toward achieving this goal,” Cummings said.
The legislation directs each component of the Armed Services to:
• develop a plan on diversity, determine metrics to measure progress, and provide an annual report to Congress;
• develop a standardized definition of diversity and provide demographic data on women and minorities; and
• develop a plan to prevent hazing and work with the Department of Defense to develop a national database to track hazing incidents.
A recent forum co-hosted by Cummings, Senator Ben Cardin, and the Chairs of the Tri-Caucus revealed that the Armed Services had not yet fully implemented 14 of 19 recommendations made by the Military Leadership Diversity Commission.
SOURCE: http://democrats.oversight.house.gov
~
I am a service member I was medically retired in 2005. I served in the Navy and Army from 1989 to 2005 my duties are classified but I was honorably discharged from both services. I am 80% plus 20% for unemployability. My wife is my caretaker so she can not work at this time. I have a $191000 mortgage at 6.375% I was paying 3 mortgages until the markets crashed . Now I only own my primary property which is a condo and valued around $110,000 I was told by my bank not to make my pmts this would allow me to get a reduction in interest. Instead they are now foreclosing on my home. I bought this condo in Dec 2003 and added upgrades to it for my future health needs. A 10 jet Jacuzzi with two water heaters I am 6ft so the it had to be 6ft by 42 inched in diameter. Special hand rails, a heater, two shower heads and a pull out hand sprayer. Made sure walls were wide enough for my power chair and ramps in the front and back. Recently I just added man made hardwood flooring tru out and new paint. I have the stackable laundry machines and upgraded refrigerator. All of these Items were purchased for a better quality of life IF ANY ONE OUT THERE CAN HELP ME I WOULD DEEPLY APPPRECIATE IT> Shawn 602-334-9005
Email 1stgulfvet@gmail.com or cozyhome2own@yahoo.com
What are the names of the 27 lowlife CONgress critters who voted against this?
What about making one for the HOME OWNERS?
Because the banks were bailed out over 3 Trillion Dollars for the TARP program, and now they are wrongfully foreclosing, and double dipping on Securitized Homes.
THE WEB OF DECEPTION AND CONSPIRACY THAT THEY CREATED against the AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO JUST WANTED A PIECE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM THAT YOU STOLE…
THE PEOPLE WILL WAKE UP, AND REALIZE THAT THE BANKS STOLE THEIR HOMES WHICH IS PROTECTED UNDER THE CONSTITUTION.
THE JUDGES TOOK AND OATH TO PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION “STAND BY IT”
COME ON, THE HOMEOWNER’S SUBPRIME LENDER SOLD THE MORTGAGE LOANS TO WALL STREET AND THE MORTGAGE LOAN WAS CONVERTED INTO A STOCK ASSET; IN ADDITION WALL STREET IS NOT EVEN A BANK. “THE LENDER GOT PAID”
THIS IS A BREECH OF CONTRACT WITH THE LENDER AND THE HOMEOWNER.
ONLY THE ORIGINAL LENDER CAN FORECLOSE ON YOU, AND NO ONE ELSE, BUT SINCE THAT LENDER WENT OUT OF BUSINESS NO ONE CAN FORECLOSE BECA– USE “THE DEED OF TRUST DIES”…
ALL MORTGAGE SECURITIZATION IS ILLEGAL, and still you let these banks bring FRAUD upon the courts by back dating, creating fraudulent assignments, MERS, subustition of trustee, power of sale, and so much more…
ALL BANKS SHOULD BE SANCTIONED FROM THE COURTS…
The Debt was forgiven…
The banksters are COMMITTING CRIMES on AMERICAN SOIL and the REAL CRIMINALS that need to be arrested, and law enforcement need to get their evidence together and arrest them instead breaking the laws to throw the homeowners out of their homes.
The police took an “OATH TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE”, AND NOW THEY THROWING HOMEOWNERS OUT OF THEIR HOMES.
STAND UP FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES AND STOP SIDING WITH THE CORPORATIONS…
BECA– USE THE HOMEOWNER ARE SITTING ON A HO– USE FREE AND CLEAR BECA– USE THE BANKSTERS GREED GAME BACK FIRED because ALL MORTGAGE SECURITIZATION IS ILLEGAL and it CREATES FRAUD…
The low-life banksters will find a loop hole, and continue to f*** over the veterans and service members. Our gov’t will not intercede; it’s like a record stuck in a groove…nothing ever changes with the banksters, or the bank- owned politicians and judges!