House takes up housing program termination Wednesday, postpones another housing vote

The House will meet at noon today to begin consideration of H.R. 861, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Termination Act, which would end a federal program in which the government helps buy and develop foreclosed homes.

But the House has decided to postpone a planned vote on H.R. 839, the Home Affordable Modification Program Termination Act. That bill would end a Treasury program aimed at helping 3 to 4 million people by modifying at-risk mortgage loans. A vote on this bill is expected the week of March 28.

On Tuesday, the White House said it would veto both bills if they were approved by Congress and sent to the president.

In two prior authorizations, Congress gave $6 billion in funds to NSP, which has been obligated already. Last year's Wall Street reform bill authorized a third wave of funding, for $1 billion, but this has not yet been obligated and would be saved if H.R. 861 became law.

House Republicans have made 10 amendments in order and scheduled 90 minutes of debate on these amendments Wednesday. The amendments would:

Require a listing of NSP funding allocations that would not be made if the bill became law, from Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.);

Ensure unobligated funds go toward deficit reduction, from Rep. Robert Hurt (R-Va.);

Include in the findings section of the bill that the NSP has helped homeowners, from Ellison;

Include in the findings section that Congress could have helped rebuild neighborhoods with the unused funds, from Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.);

Delay implementation of the termination of the NSP for five years or until the level of underwater mortgages falls, from Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.);

Require the secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to notify potential grantees that NSP has been terminated, from Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.);

Require HUD to assess the number of homes that would not be helped in each congressional district as a result of the termination, from Waters;

List the number of homes in each state that would have been eligible for NSP but for the termination of the program, from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.); and

Require the Government Accountability Office to study the impact of the first and second rounds of NSP funding, and the impact that the third round of funding for $1 billion would have had on communities around the country, from Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.).