Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) today commended Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Shelby (R-AL), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, on their bipartisan agreement to address the nation’s housing crisis. As Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Housing and Urban Development, Sen. Bond played a key role in drafting the Security Against Foreclosures and Education (SAFE) Act, which contains most all of the principals of today’s agreement.
“I am proud my SAFE Act could provide the foundation for this bipartisan compromise, and even happier that families and neighborhoods now have a real chance of getting the help they so desperately need to get through this housing crisis,” said Bond.
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Reid speaking on the Senate floor highlighted and complimented Sen. Bond’s SAFE Act and indicated that it could form the basis of a bipartisan agreement. Majority Leader Reid and Republican Leader McConnell then tasked Senators Dodd and Shelby to assemble the bipartisan compromise.
The SAFE Act’s help for suffering families through $10 billion for refinancing subprime loans, counseling help for families to know their options to avoid foreclosure, help for neighborhoods with tax credits to encourage purchase of homes in or near foreclosure, additional disclosure requirements to protect future borrowers considering adjustable rate mortgages, extra time for returning war veterans to avoid foreclosure, and inclusion of the FHA reform package previously approved by the full Senate form the foundation of the new Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008. Additional funds for Community Development Block Grants and a new tax deduction of up to $1,000 to provide tax relief for all American homeowners are also part of the bipartisan agreement.
