Lerner Sampson & Rothfuss, LPA; Cincinnati
On Jan. 27, 2009, the House Judiciary Committee approved the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2009 by a vote of 21-15, and reported it to the full House. The bill is expected to be folded into the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, slated for imminent consideration in the House. Introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), H.R. 200 delegates authority to bankruptcy judges to rewrite first mortgage terms by lowering the value of a mortgage to the current market value of the property, reducing interest rates and extending loan maturity.
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Click here to view an updated archive of hearings that have been held in the 111th Congress on issues and legislation pertinent to bankruptcy or insolvency law. The matrix has hearings on several timely topics including TARP accountability and the promotion of bank liquidity and lending.
Note that the chart lists the date of the hearing, the committee where it was held and the hearing title. The hearing title is linked to the committee pages to provide access to written testimony, congressional member statements and any additional materials or proposals made available by the committee for the hearing.
The 27th Annual Spring Meeting: Washington, DC like you have never seen it before! Located a few minutes from Capitol Hill, on the historic Potomac River, the Gaylord National Resort & Spa offers the most deluxe meeting and event space in the area. This year’s conference will be held April 1-4 and will have a special focus on the tough policy choices facing the new administration and Congress. The Legislation Committee will hold a session on Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. entitled “Washington Update.” Hon. Jeffery P. Hopkins of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (S.D. Ohio) in Cincinnati will moderate a discussion with Robert J. Portman of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP in Cincinnati. Mr. Portman previously served on the White House staff of the first Bush Administration, as the U.S. Congressman from Southwest Ohio for 12 years and in two Cabinet-level positions in the second Bush Administration. In 2005, Mr. Portman left Congress when he was asked to serve as U.S. Trade Representative and subsequently served as director of the Office of Management and Budget. This session promises to provide great insight into Washington today.
The plenary session, "Protecting Consumers in Financial Markets: New Developments in BAPCPA Reform, Credit Cards and Unsafe Credit Products," is also of interest to the committee. John Rao of the National Consumer Law Center in Boston will give an update on the mortgage modification bankruptcy bills. Other panelists will include Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) of Memphis, Tenn., Oliver I. Ireland of Morrison Foerster in Washington, D.C. and Travis B. Plunkett of the Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C. Brady C. Williamson of Godfrey & Kahn SC in Madison, Wis. will moderate. The complete materials for the Annual Spring Meeting will be posted a week before the conference, but please click the link below to view Mr. Rao's paper. Click here to register now!
Questions and Answers about the Mortgage Modification Bankruptcy Bills (H.R. 200 and S. 61)
Please submit articles for publication in future editions of the Legislation Committee Newsletter to Jon Lieberman at jjl@lsrlaw.com.
