Investigation of Housing and Foreclosure Crisis

Ranking Member Cummings is regarded as one of the foremost national leaders fighting for the rights of homeowners and taxpayers alike. Ranking Member Cummings' wide ranging investigation examined illegal foreclosures, inflated fees, and other abuses against U.S. servicemembers and their families.

He has also worked with housing regulators to implement reforms that have allowed hundreds of thousands of Americans to stay in their homes. In part due to Ranking Member Cummings' work, more homeowners can refinance their loans to record-low interest rates, more unemployed homeowners can extend their forbearance periods, and more of our men and women in uniform can apply for foreclosure prevention programs when forced to relocate for work.

Ranking Member Cummings continues to press the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to implement principal reduction mortgage modification programs for homeowners facing foreclosure. Follow the links below to learn more about the investigation.

Five Things You Should Know:

1. The housing and foreclosure crisis continues to threaten our nation's economic recovery and millions of families across the country.

4. The House overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) introduced by Cummings that significantly expands foreclosure protections for servicemembers, their families, and disabled veterans. A similar measure was approved by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Ranking Member Cummings introduced this proposal previously as H.R. 5747, the Military Family Home Protection Act.

2. Ranking Member Cummings pressed the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to implement a number of reforms to help keep Americans in their homes. These included efforts to help "underwater" homeowners take advantage of record-low interest rates; an extension of the forbearance period for unemployed homeowners; and a transition away from the use of designated foreclosure attorney networks which were found to be plagued with problems including improper foreclosure and billing practices.

5. Ranking Member Cummings has held several foreclosure prevention seminars matching homeowners on the brink of foreclosure with their lenders to help hundreds stay in their homes. Last year, Ranking Member Cummings was honored as "Federal Champion of the Year" by the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition for his efforts to address the foreclosure crisis and promote the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Ranking Member Cummings spearheaded congressional efforts to help military families avoid foreclosure. His work resulted in changes to the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program to help servicememers forced to relocate for work and a change to FHFA's guidance that would make military relocation a hardship under Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's borrower assistance programs. He also convened a forum with Senator Jay Rockefeller on military foreclosure and released a Democratic staff report, "Fighting on the Home Front," that chronicled the growing problem.  

Ranking Member Cummings' Work in the 112th Congress:

Quick Links:

Press Clips

  • Read "Rep. Cummings Becoming Voice for Distressed Homeowners," a Washington Post profile.
  • Read "Elijah Cummings Gets Help in Edward DeMarco Fight" from Politico
  • Read "Elijah Cummings, the Homeowner Crusader," a Politico profile
  • Watch Cummings on NBC's Meet the Press Press Pass
  • Watch Cummings on MSNBC's Morning Joe talking about the housing and foreclosure crisis
  • Watch Cummings talk about keeping Servicemembers in their Homes on MSNBC
  • Read Lawmakers Seek to Protect Troops from Foreclosure from the Washington Post
  • Read Cummings Presses Issa To Subpoena Banks Over Foreclosure Crisis from The Hill.

Press Releases

  • Read Cummings and Tierney Call on DeMarco to Comply with Congressional Request for Information on Principal Reduction
  • Read Internal Documents Show Fannie Mae Believed Principal Reduction Would Save Taxpayers Money
  • Read Cummings and Tierney Demand Answers from FHFA
  • Watch Tierney and DeMarco on Principal Reduction
  • Read Cummings, Tierney Urge Issa to Subpoena Documents from FHFA on Principal Reduction
  • Read Top Fed Official Makes Strong Pitch for More Aggressive Housing Policies Including Targeted Principal Reduction Program
  • Watch Cummings Address the National Association of Real Estate Brokers on the Housing and Foreclosure Crisis.
  • Read Cummings Honored As "Federal Champion of the Year
  • Read Cummings Launches Major Investigation of Mortgage Servicer Abuses
  • Read Cummings Seeks Bank Subpoenas on Foreclosure Crisis

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