Congressional Update
From the office of Congressman Gary Miller

Last week (beginning March 7):

FHA Refinance Program Termination: On March 10, the House approved H.R. 830, the FHA Refinance Program Termination Act, by a vote of 256-171. The bill would rescind and permanently cancel all unexpended balances, currently $8 billion, made available under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (aka “TARP”) that have been allocated for the program. According to Treasury’s TARP Progress Report, only $50 million of this $8 billion had been disbursed as of Feb. 3. While the Administration originally estimated this program would help between 500,000 and 1.5 million homeowners, only 44 loans have been refinanced as of mid-February and only 245 applicants have been submitted. The FHA Refinance Program is yet another example of the Administration using TARP dollars in questionable, ineffective ways.

Emergency Homeowner Relief Program Termination: On March 11, the House approved H.R. 836, the Emergency Homeowner Relief Program Termination Act, by a vote of 242–177. The bill would rescind and permanently cancel all unobligated balances made available under section 1496(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, reducing federal budget deficits by $840 million over the FY2011-2021 period according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The Obama administration, in its FY 2012 budget proposal, estimates the program to have a 98 percent subsidy rate. This means for every $1 spent on this federal program, the taxpayers will lose 98 cents. The program was initially authorized in 1975 and was never funded during its 35-year history.

Other Items

Financial Services Committee Passes Congressman Miller’s Bill to End Ineffective Government Spending Program: This week, the House Financial Services Committee held a markup of H.R. 861, a bill Congressman Miller introduced to prevent an additional $1 billion in taxpayer funds from being spent to continue the troubled Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). The program, which has allocated nearly $6 billion in funds to state and local governments to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed and abandoned properties, does nothing to help struggling homeowners stay in their homes. Instead, it allows lenders to off-load their foreclosed properties onto taxpayers. The program has failed to target resources to areas with the most need. In fact, the Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has identified multiple cases of misuse of NSP funds, while the Government Accountability Office has said HUD does not have the proper tools in place to ensure proper use of funds. Even worse, there is no requirement for repayment of the allocated funds. H.R. 861 will terminate this ineffective and unaccountable program, saving taxpayers $1 billion in funds that have yet to be allocated. Congressman Miller firmly believes that the government must stop wasting taxpayer dollars on ineffective and unaccountable programs and work to get our economy back on track.

Next Week (beginning March 14):

Ending Wasteful Housing Funds: Next week the House is expected to consider legislation to end two costly and ineffective foreclosure mitigation programs to save taxpayers money. H.R. 839 would terminate the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and rescind all unspent TARP funds obligated for the initiative, saving $30 billion. H.R. 861 would end the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and prevent $1 billion from being spent on a program for which the Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has identified multiple cases of misused funds while the GAO has detailed HUD’s inadequate tracking of the program’s funds.

Continuing Resolution: Next week the House is expected to consider a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to provide funding for discretionary government programs beyond March 18, 2011, when the current CR expires. The CR will provide three weeks of discretionary funding, through April 8th, and cut approximately $6 billion from the FY 2010 spending levels. On March 1, 2011, the House passed a short term CR which provide discretionary funding from March 4th through March 18th and cut $4 billion. The reported $6 billion in savings over three weeks would be in line with the savings from H.R. 1, the full year CR which the House passed on February 19th and would save $61 billion from FY 2010 spending and extend discretionary government spending through September 30, 2011.

Powers Resolution: Next week the House is expected to consider a resolution offered by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), under the requirements of expedited procedures, to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution provides that any time U.S. Armed Forces are engaged in hostilities outside the U.S. without a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization, the President must remove those forces if Congress adopts a concurrent resolution directing the President to do so. While the constitutionality of such a resolution is in question in light of the INS v. Chada decision (prohibiting “legislative vetoes”), it has been used several times in the past to force a debate on a particular conflict.

Job Creation and Cutting Government Spending

• The solution for reviving our economy is straightforward: cut job-destroying spending to help the economy grow and empower employers to create jobs.
• Historic debt leads to historic tax increases, which will lead to historic unemployment. We must address this spending-driven debt crisis now.
• It is not a coincidence that the national debt, federal spending, bureaucratic regulatory costs, and unemployment all climbed to record highs at the same time.
• To create jobs and save our children from national bankruptcy, we have to stop spending money we don’t have.
• It’s time to shrink the federal budget so that we don’t shrink the family budget.

Putting an End to Expensive and Ineffective Government Programs

• The best way to help homeowners prevent foreclosures is with a job.
• Last week the House passed legislation that will terminate two costly and ineffective government foreclosure mitigation programs that will save taxpayers money and help create an environment for job-creators to hire more workers.
• The lack of jobs—not unsustainable mortgage terms—is now the driving force behind foreclosures and mortgage defaults. That is why job creation—not government spending—is the most effective tool to prevent further foreclosures.
   
• The unemployment rate has now hovered around or above 9 percent for the past 22 months, topping 8 percent for the last 25 months. To restore certainty to the economy and foster job growth, we must stop spending money that we don’t have. Historic debt leads to historic tax increases, which stifles job growth.
• In order to grow the economy and provide an environment in which Americans can prosper, we need to end expensive and ineffective government programs and remove the barriers of uncertainty that prevents employers from hiring.