The Homebuyers Assistance Act, H.R. 3192, which passed the House in October by a vote of 303-121, has yet to make its way to the Senate and the president has threatened to veto it if it gets to his desk.
The bill provides a four-month grace period for businesses that are working in good faith to comply with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that went into effect Oct. 3.
Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., sponsored the bill, which passed the Financial Services Committee on July 29 on a bipartisan vote of 45-13, with several prominent Democrats also championing it.
The industry, including the National Association of Realtors, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and more than a score of other trade associations, have been pushing the government to pass the Homebuyers Assistance Act.
In order to move the bill along, Hill and 21 other members of Congress sent a letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers urging them to add the provisions of H.R. 3192, the Homebuyers Assistance Act, to any year-end spending legislation.
Here’s a brief clip from the letter:
The provisions in H.R. 3192 no way delay the implementation of TRID or shield any wrongdoers from legal recourse or penalties—it simply provides a temporary safe harbor for those making a good-faith effort to comply with a very complex rule.
We respectfully request that the financial regulatory relief language, such as that included in the FY 2016 Senate Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, be modified to reflect the provisions of H.R. 3192 and included in any year-end legislation to provide certainty to the real estate industry and help prevent further costly market disruptions and delays for American homebuyers.”
Check here for the full letter.
By adding it to any year-end spending legislation, it gives the bill a greater chance of passing since the White House already said that it would veto the Homebuyers Assistance Act.
"The CFPB has already clearly stated that initial examinations will evaluate good faith efforts by lenders. The Administration strongly opposes [the bill], as it would unnecessarily delay implementation of important consumer protections designed to eradicate opaque lending practices that contribute to risky mortgages, hurt homeowners by removing the private right of action for violations, and undercut the nation's financial stability," the White House said in its release.
“If the President were presented with H.R. 3192, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill,” the statement says.
