Senator Boxer supports legislation and policy that promotes affordable housing, keeps families in their homes, and ensures responsible lending practices as well as greater disclosure and transparency. 

That is why she is an original co-sponsor of the Homeownership Preservation and Protection Act of 2007 S. 2452, which bans some of the most abusive practices by the mortgage industry and requires that a borrower's reasonable ability to repay a loan and associated costs be verified before the loan is made.  The legislation will:

• Realign the interests of the mortgage industry with borrowers to insure the availability of mortgage capital on fair terms both for the creation and sustainability of homeownership;


• Establish new lending standards to ensure that loans are affordable and fair, and provide for adequate remedies to make sure the standards are met;


• Create a transparent set of rules for the mortgage industry so that capital can safely return to the market without bad lending practices driving out the good. 

As part of her efforts to help families currently at risk of losing their home, Senator Boxer has co-sponsored S. 1386, the Homeownership Protection and Enhancement Act of 2007, which requires mortgage originators to engage in loss mitigation activities that provide an alternative to foreclosure.  It also calls on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to award grants for the establishment of State Homeownership Protection Centers, which will provide both information and/or one-time emergency grants or subsidized home preservation loans to at-risk homeowners. 

In addition, Senator Boxer supported the inclusion of $200 million for loss mitigation activities in the HUD appropriations bill that passed the Senate in September.

Senator Boxer also supports legislation that would reform and expand the ability of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to refinance troubled loans as well as provide a more viable alternative to the more risky loans that borrowers have been steered toward in recent years.  Of particular importance is that the loan limits, both for the FHA along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, be increased so that Californians and the residents of other high cost areas can benefit from these programs.