The Homebuyers Assistance Act, H.R. 3192, which passed the House in October by a vote of 303-121, failed to make it into the year-end spending bill that was announced late Tuesday.
In order to move the bill along, at the beginning of December, Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., 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.
The Homebuyers Assistance Act, which was sponsored by Hill, 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.
However, the bill didn't make it into the year-end spending legislation, leaving Hill's office to look for a plan B to move it along.
Mike Siegel, communications director for Congressman French Hill, said, “We are disappointed the language wasn’t included in the bill. We are going to continue to explore options to get it moved at the beginning of the year, including pressing CFPB to rectify this situation on their own.”
Hill's office wanted to add the bill to any year-end spending legislation in order to give it 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 a previous release.
“If the President were presented with H.R. 3192, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill,” the statement said.
