The People’s Place

Answers Over Questions. Facts Over Opinions. Moving Forward Over Standing Still.

Principal Forgiveness: Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)

Have you heard of the Home Affordable Modification Program? The HAMP is a program, administered by the Department of the Treasury, that has facilitated lower payments on some mortgages by providing incentives for mortgage holders and servicers to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. The target of the program is 7 to 8 million struggling homeowners at [...]

Immigration Reform: Current Hurdle, Senate Judiciary Committe

Is the immigration reform bill a “congressional must do”? For many, this bill represents a real opportunity to improve the lives of all Americans. Next, it must make it through the Senate Judiciary Committee. Any bill that is brought to committee may face two fates, the committee may reject the bill and “table” it, meaning [...]

A Prayer for Peace. A Prayer for Healing.

Evil visited yet another American community this week when two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon. Nails and gun powder in booby-trapped bags strategically placed and designed to injure and kill innocents. Wow. Now that’s an act that is really the opposite of courage –the antithesis. Really. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the [...]

Failing Our Future: Insights on Sequestration by Dr. Beverly Tatum

Did you catch the recent guest blog post by President of Spelman College, Dr. Beverly Tatum? While the effects of the sequestration are still not clearly pronounced, many have weighed in with key insights on the subject. In the recent HuffPost editorial, Dr. Tatum speaks to the effects of sequestration on the education of people [...]

Effect of Sequestration on Education Dr. Beverly Tatum

The Senate’s Budget

Were you surprised to hear that the Senate passed a budget for the first time in 4 years? Do you believe as many do, that the budget’s passing was largely symbolic? Well, since it is out there, let’s dig in and find out exactly where our state’s Senators believe the money should go. The Senate [...]

Principal Forgiveness: Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)

May 7th, 2013

Administrator

Have you heard of the Home Affordable Modification Program?

The HAMP is a program, administered by the Department of the Treasury, that has facilitated lower payments on some mortgages by providing incentives for mortgage holders and servicers to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. The target of the program is 7 to 8 million struggling homeowners at risk of foreclosure by working with their lenders to lower monthly mortgage payments. Last May, 45 Congressional Representatives asked the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to analyze the impact of allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce principal for underwater homeowners.

According to theHill.com, FHFA acting Director Edward DeMarco has refused to implement the policy, arguing instead that he has not offered principal forgiveness out of concerns about fairness, that the policy could cost taxpayers more money and it could drive some borrowers to become delinquent to have their loan amounts reduced.

The CBO analyzed three options and their potential outcomes.

Option One – Reduce monthly mortgage payments to 31 percent of the borrower’s gross monthly income, primarily by decreasing the outstanding loan balance to as low as 115 percent of a home’s current assessed value. That would lead to an additional 29,000 mortgage modifications, resulting in 18,000 fewer defaults and generating a savings to the government of about $200 million.

Option Two – Reduce the loan balance to 100 percent of a home’s current value, increasing modifications by 26,000, slightly fewer than the first option but lowering defaults by 43,000 and providing $2.8 billion in savings to taxpayers.

Option Three – Reduce loan balances up to 90 percent of a home’s assessed value and would increase modifications by 57,000, leading to 95,000 fewer defaults while providing $2.2 billion in savings. ”Implementing one of the options could spur economic activity by boosting the amounts that households spend because of increases in their disposable income, net wealth and creditworthiness,” the CBO report said.

Potential Benefit

The report further indicated that changing Fannie and Freddie’s existing loan modification policy with principal forgiveness under current eligibility rules for HAMP would likely generate fewer than 60,000 additional modifications and avert fewer than 100,000 defaults, in the CBO’s estimation. According to the report, “when compared with the approximately 3 million borrowers who are at least three months delinquent on their mortgages, the options’ expected positive effects on the housing market nationally and on the economy as a whole would be small”.

For more information on the HAMP program, visit: the Making Home Affordable government website.

For more information on the CBO report, visit the CBO.

Have you or someone you know participated in the HAMP program? What are your feelings on the possible program extension to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? As always, we would love to hear from you!

Immigration Reform: Current Hurdle, Senate Judiciary Committe

May 5th, 2013

Administrator

Is the immigration reform bill a “congressional must do”?

For many, this bill represents a real opportunity to improve the lives of all Americans. Next, it must make it through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Any bill that is brought to committee may face two fates, the committee may reject the bill and “table” it, meaning it is never discussed again. Due to the high profile of this bill, it was almost guaranteed that the Senate Judiciary Committee would hold hearings to listen to facts and opinions as is now underway, make changes to the bill’s text and cast votes. If most committee members vote in favor of the bill, it is sent back to the Senate and the House for debate.

So what exactly is the Senate Judiciary Committee and who comprises the committee?

One of the original standing committees of the U.S. Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary was first authorized on December 10, 1816. The broad jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee continues to evolve with each new Congress. Today, the scope of the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction has broadened to include terrorism, human rights, immigration law, intellectual property rights, antitrust law, and Internet privacy. The Committee is also tasked with considering the President’s nominees for federal judgeships, including Supreme Court justices. One of the most important functions of the Committee is to provide oversight of the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

What is your view on immigration reform? Use the tools in our sidebar to contact your state’s lawmakers. As always, we want to hear from you as well.

A Prayer for Peace. A Prayer for Healing.

April 18th, 2013

Administrator

Evil visited yet another American community this week when two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon. Nails and gun powder in booby-trapped bags strategically placed and designed to injure and kill innocents. Wow. Now that’s an act that is really the opposite of courage –the antithesis. Really. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the injured and families and friends who lost loved ones as a result of this cowardly act, and to all those lost souls who have no respect for life. We pray for peace. We pray for healing.

Grow Our Economy AND Shrink Our Deficit: VIDEO

April 15th, 2013

Administrator

Is it really possible?

Yes, it absolutely is, asserts President Obama. He also asserts that his recently proposed FY ’14 budget proposal is a blueprint for achieving both goals in concert. Republicans in Congress however, do not agree and have said the budget is a non-starter.

In a speech delivered in the Rose Garden, President Obama lays out the details of his budget, including entitlement reforms, increased revenue and tax adjustments.

The $3.77 trillion proposal would reduce the deficit by $1.8 trillion over 10 years and add $580 billion in new taxes on the wealthy. The President asserts the central tenants of the budget include:

- Making America a magnet for new jobs
- Ensuring American has a skilled workforce to meet these new jobs
- Ensuring that hard work leads to a comfortable life for all Americans

To take a look at the budget here.

Is it really all possible? You tell us. What do you think?

Failing Our Future: Insights on Sequestration by Dr. Beverly Tatum

April 13th, 2013

Administrator

Did you catch the recent guest blog post by President of Spelman College, Dr. Beverly Tatum?

While the effects of the sequestration are still not clearly pronounced, many have weighed in with key insights on the subject. In the recent HuffPost editorial, Dr. Tatum speaks to the effects of sequestration on the education of people of color. Take a look below.

The Republican Party recently announced it would spend $10 million in outreach to communities of color. In my view, any political party that wants the support of young voters of color should focus its attention on the need to improve access to higher education, as post-secondary education is still the best route to upward mobility for those who do not have a history of college education in their families. Despite our national rhetoric about the importance of a college-educated workforce, recent action (or inaction) at the federal level makes it harder every day for students to achieve that goal.

More and more of today’s African American and Hispanic students in college are first-generation college students from families that simply cannot provide the financial assistance they need. Recent Department of Education changes in the assessment of credit-worthiness in the Parent Plus loan program have made it more difficult for parents to help finance their children’s education. According to data provided by UNCF, African American families experienced the highest denial rates on PLUS loans in 2010, 65 percent as compared to 28 percent for white applicants. In 2012, the denial rates increased, causing havoc in student enrollment at historically Black colleges and universities as well as other institutions serving low-income students of color. While the Pell grant program has been spared from the five percent sequestration cuts in FY 2014, the Department of Education estimates that 330,000 students will lose their work-study employment.

Of even greater concern are the numbers of federal employees who will be furloughed or laid off as a result of sequestration. Historically, the federal government (including the military) has been a major source of employment for people of color, representing approximately one-third of the federal workforce. Sequestration means that federal employees will be subject to salary reductions through furloughs and/or loss of employment due to budget reductions. Those who work for companies that receive government contracts will also be negatively impacted. For example, according to a state-by-state analysis released Feb. 25 by the White House, my state– Georgia–will lose about $485.8 million, including $428.1 million in salaries for civilian employees of the U.S. Defense Department and Army and Air Force base operations. For families trying to send their children to college, this is all bad news.

As a college president, I know the importance of containing costs and we have done that, offering an excellent education at a fraction of the cost of most selective colleges. Our graduation rate – nearly 80 percent — is well above the national average. Our students and families recognize the value of the investment they are making in a college education, and we deliver an excellent return. But, when families in need of help cannot find it, we all suffer the loss. The stock market may be rising, but the future of our most available capital – talented young people who were not born into families of wealth – is looking dim. Anyone who can change that will almost certainly have the votes of young people of color – and mine, too. It is time to make an investment in the future of America.

Do you agree with Dr. Tatum’s stance? How has or will your family be affected by the sequestration? We want to hear from you!

The Senate’s Budget

March 26th, 2013

Administrator

Were you surprised to hear that the Senate passed a budget for the first time in 4 years?

Do you believe as many do, that the budget’s passing was largely symbolic? Well, since it is out there, let’s dig in and find out exactly where our state’s Senators believe the money should go.

The Senate Budget Plan would restore all $960 billion in sequestration and budget caps required under the Budget Control Act of 2011. The plan cuts $240 billion in domestic spending and $240 billion in defense spending over a decade.

The plan also includes $100 billion in infrastructure spending over 10 years. Of that money, $50 billion would go to repairing roads, $10 billion would go to fixing dams and dredging and $20 billion would go to fixing technology infrastructure like broadband in schools.

Tax reform is a major part of the Senate budget plan. The bill calls for an across the board limit on tax deductions claimed by the top 2 percent of income earners. The limits could come in several ways, according to the Senate plan. There could be a limit on the rate at which itemized deductions can reduce tax liability. Another way would be to cap the amount of allowable deductions.

For more: Download the Senate FY2014 budget resolution.

Supreme Court Spotlight

March 26th, 2013

Administrator

Have you kept up with the high profile cases recently heard or to soon be heard by the court?

If you’ve heard some of the headlines but are looking for more information on each of the recent high profile cases, the SCOTUS blog is a great source of information.

Take a look at the excerpts below from SCOTUS blog relating to each case.

- Affirmative Action Ban

In a surprise development, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether a state may constitutionally ban the use of race in deciding who gets admitted to public colleges or universities. The Court chose not to await the outcome of an already pending case on the constitutionality of an admissions plan at the University of Texas that makes some use of race. The new case is significantly broader.

At issue in the new case — which will be decided by an eight-member Court because Justice Elena Kagan is not taking part — is the validity of Michigan’s Proposal 2, adopted by the state’s voters in 2006, by a fifty-eight- to forty-two-percent margin. The Sixth Circuit Court, sitting en banc, struck that down by an eight-to-seven vote. The new case is an appeal by the Michigan attorney general, Schuette v. Michigan Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (docket 12-682).

- Same Sex Marriage

This morning, the Justices will hear one hour of oral arguments on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which amended that state’s constitution to prohibit same-sex marriages. The Court will return on Wednesday morning to hear nearly two hours of arguments on the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal laws and programs – including things like income taxes, estate taxes, and Social Security survivors’ benefits – as a union between a man and a woman only.

Under any circumstances, the same-sex marriage cases would shine a spotlight squarely on the Court, but that spotlight will be even brighter given the recent coverage of the dramatic growth in public support for same-sex marriage.

For more info and history on the case visit…

http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/03/court-to-tackle-californias-ban-on-same-sex-marriage-in-plain-english/

- Voting Rights Act

Shelby County v. Holder, one tiny Alabama county’s monumental challenge to the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act’s “preclearance” requirement, forces the Court to grapple directly with some fundamental questions about the scope of Congress’s authority to enforce by “appropriate legislation” the constitutional guarantees in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. What exactly counts as “appropriate” legislation to combat violations of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments? What degree of “fit” is necessary between Congress’s legislative methods and the constitutional evils it is attempting to combat? How much deference is Congress entitled in determining that a problem exists? And does Congress’s power ebb and flow such that the legislative protections it decides to impose, even if justified at the outset to combat real constitutional violations, may become excessively burdensome when a once-recalcitrant jurisdiction truly changes its ways?

For more info and history on the case, visit…

http://www.scotusblog.com/?p=160452

Where do you stand on these issues? Do you believe same sex couples should be allowed to marry, or that public institutions of higher learning should be required to factor race into admissions? How about Shelby v. Holder?

As always, we would love to hear from you.

WOW Revisted: Continuing Resolution

March 18th, 2013

Administrator

Word of the Week - Continuing Resolution

Have you heard the phrase continuing resolution this week?

We are sure you have. In fact, with the sequestration in effect, all eyes have turned to the “continuing resolution” scheduled to expire on March 27th. So what exactly is it? This term was actually profiled in a past Word of the Week post,

Also our friends over at NPR have done a nice job of breaking it down…

Exactly what is a “continuing resolution”?

The continuing resolution, or CR for short, is legislation that basically allows Congress to just carry over the previous fiscal year’s budget into the next one. In other words, it permits Congress to maintain roughly the same budget priorities and budget levels over the subsequent year. A CR can last for any length of time, whatever Congress wants — a few weeks, six months, a year, anything.

Why would Congress want to pass a CR in the first place?

Let’s back up a little bit. Every year, Congress has to set funding levels for agencies and departments. According to the Constitution, Congress is supposed to do this through appropriations bills. But when Congress can’t agree on what those appropriations should look like, they punt, by passing a continuing resolution. Or, they can pass individual appropriations bills for some departments and use a CR for the rest of the departments if they can’t hammer out those particular budgets. Often Congress just passes a CR to buy itself more time.

And if lawmakers can’t even pass a CR before government funding runs out, the government could simply shut down.

Is there a real threat of a government shutdown in this case?

Both House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama seem to agree — they’re not interested in that particular game of chicken. The last time the government shut down was in 1995 and 1996, during the Clinton presidency. Republicans paid a political price for that.

Actually, lawmakers in Washington are used to passing continuing resolutions. Over the past 40 years, the CR has been the standard way of doing business on Capitol Hill. Going through the full, traditional appropriations process is a now very rare event in Washington.

So how does the continuing resolution interact with the sequester?

Oh, right, there’s the sequester. Because a sequester is in effect, figuring out what a budget will look like under a continuing resolution is going to be messier. As budget expert Stan Collender of Qorvis Communications put it, “What’s going to happen in March is a new definition of the phrase ‘March Madness.’ It will have less to do with college basketball and a lot to do with craziness in Washington on budget-related issues.”

Collender says because the continuing resolution is legislation that’s coming after the sequester, it could theoretically cancel or modify the sequester — if Congress and the White House can agree on something. Because a CR is “must-pass” legislation, it offers Congress and the White House another opportunity to take a look at funding for fiscal year 2013, which ends Sept. 30, and possibly figure out a way to replace the sequester.

The House has just taken the first stab at a CR. The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee has introduced a bill that keeps the sequester in place but reallocates funding within the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, to help cushion the impact of the cuts. It’s a way for Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., to determine budget priorities rather than letting the White House do it.

But actually reversing the sequester will take a lot more than letting some departments reallocate money. It will likely include a mix of tax overhaul and cuts to entitlements, such as Medicare and Social Security. That fight could take a long time.

What do you think of this strategy for budgeting? What are some common sense approaches that you would recommend to Congress and the President? Use the tools in our sidebar to contact your lawmakers!

The Cost of Cutting Programs for Low-Income People

March 17th, 2013

Administrator

Did you know that women and their families are the groups most hurt by cutting programs for low-income people?

A recent article by the National Women’s Law Center sheds light on this subject. An excerpt can be found below:

As Congress debates spending priorities and deficit reduction measures, it must protect programs for low-income families and individuals and ensure that deficit reduction does not increase poverty.

This principle has been honored consistently in the major bipartisan deficit reduction packages of recent decades. It is particularly important to women, who are more likely than men to be poor at all stages of their lives because of ongoing employment discrimination and greater responsibilities for unpaid caregiving. As a result, women and their families disproportionately rely on federal programs to protect their health, obtain quality child care and higher education, and help them meet their basic needs during difficult times and as they age.

Women and their families should not bear the brunt of deficit reduction. Increased revenues from those with the greatest ability to pay must be a major part of any deficit reduction plan. Maintaining and strengthening programs like those listed below protects the most vulnerable today and expands opportunity for a stronger shared future.

Have members of your family or community been affected by budget cuts to the programs they rely on? Do you believe that cuts across the board are necessary? Let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

Violence Against Women Act

March 16th, 2013

Administrator

Obama Violence Against Women Tribes.JPEG-0fad7

Last week, President Obama signed into law the Violence Against Women Act. It was a great day for men, women and children across America.

‘‘This is your day. This is the day of the advocates, the day of the survivors,” President Barack Obama said as he signed an expanded Violence Against Women Act.

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were joined by Attorney General Eric Holder and members of the House and Senate from both parties. Biden, who wrote and sponsored the original law in 1994, credited survivors who brought attention to the issue by speaking out despite the pain of reliving the attacks they endured.

Here are a few pictures of congratulations and celebration.