I must say, I am very impressed with our Congressman, Greg Walden. One of the promises I made to myself when moving to Southern Oregon was to take the extra time I now found I had on my hands after sticking to one business, the real estate finance business, and get more involved in the community of our new home/businesses. I read our daily newspapers, the Mail Tribune/Ashland Tidings, make a concerted effort to attend community meetings, read the results of our elected officials' votes on State and Federal Bills, and write letters to my Congresspersons and Senators so they hear from their constituency. I've actually received responses from some of my letters, which I really did NOT expect! Even with my very busy life, I manage to find the few minutes it takes to do my civic duty.
When I heard about H.R. 3915, I immediately shot a letter off to Congressman Greg Walden, sharing my thoughts and positions on the MANY flaws in this bill. I contacted all my clients, forwarding the link to the House and the details of this potential landmine of a bill so they could find their own elected officials and contact them. This weekend, I received a response from Congressman Greg Walden:
I don't always agree with the votes of my elected officials, but I DO respect their efforts here in Oregon. Having come away very jaded from my experiences in California, this is almost a complete turnaround for me. But, I am committed to doing my part while trying to make a difference in my world. If I'm going to have heated discussions on the issues surrounding me and mine, such as Affordable Housing or Education or Government Funding or the War on Terror, I believe I've earned the right.
Have you contacted your elected officials lately?
http://www.house.gov/writerep/ (US Congress)
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm (US Senate)
Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com
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Thank you for contacting me about H.R. 3915, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act. I welcome this opportunity to discuss this legislation with you.
H.R. 3915, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007 is a bi-partisan bill introduced by Chairman Barney Frank to make reforms in the mortgage lending market to address the current foreclosure crisis. Several of the bill's provisions ignited heated debate, including the prohibition of broker compensation that varies based on the consumer's loan choice, expanding loans that qualify under HOEPA, establishing assignee liability for investors that package poorly underwritten loans into securities, and the fact that the bill does not widely preempt state regulations.
Please know, as a member of the Financial Services Committee, your concerns with H.R. 3915 are important to me. I advocated for a common sense approach to mortgage reform that would not further upset the existing crisis. Moreover, I supported more narrowly tailoring the prohibition against broker compensation tied to the features of the loan so it only applies to the subprime mortgage market. In addition, I opposed amendments that I felt would hamper the availability of credit or undermine the ability of the mortgage market to rebound from the current foreclosure crisis.
H.R. 3915 passed the House and awaits action in the Senate. I will work to ensure that your concerns are addressed as Congress continues to refine mortgage reform legislation.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts with me on this important issue. I appreciate hearing from you and can assure you that I will always do my best to represent the views of my constituents in Congress. In the future, please do not hesitate to call at (202) 225-4476 or contact me through my website at http://www.chrismurphy.house.gov/, where you can sign up to receive updates through MurphMail, my electronic newsletter.
Every Best Wish,
Christopher S. Murphy
Member of Congress