Cummings Fights To Keep Americans In Their Homes

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Event Date:	Event Title:	Event Description:
12/21/2010	Requests OGR To Examine Foreclosure Fraud	(Washington, DC) – Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member-designee for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote today to the incoming Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) to request that the first hearing in the 112th Congress examine recent and continuing reports of widespread flawed and fraudulent foreclosure practices by the nation’s largest banks.
02/02/2011	Hosts Foreclosure Field Hearing in Baltimore	(Washington, DC) – Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (OGR), today joined Committee Democrats in the beginning stages of an investigation into foreclosure fraud, robosigning and other errors committed by the private mortgage servicer industry.
02/25/2011	Launches Investigation of Mortgage Servicer Abuses	Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, today launched a wide-ranging investigation into increasingly widespread allegations of foreclosure fraud and abuse, seeking documents, audits, and investigations to provide the Committee with a more comprehensive understanding of these allegations and the national foreclosure picture.
02/25/2011	Requests Mortgage Servicer Conduct Audit	On February 25, 2011 Ranking Member Cummings writes to Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Neil Barofsky requested a more detailed audit of allegations of series misconduct by the mortgage service industry that he referenced in his January 26, 2011 testimony.
04/13/2011	Calls On OCC To Postpone Consent Agreement	Washington, D.C. – Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to John Walsh, Acting Comptroller at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) yesterday. The letter called on Walsh to consider postponing action to finalize a consent agreement with mortgage servicers, and demanded greater transparency from the OCC regarding the agreement, including a briefing for Congress on the foreclosure abuses the agency found i
04/13/2011	Introduces Legislation To Address Foreclosure Crisis	(Washington, DC) - Congressman Elijah E. Cummings today was joined by more than 20 original co-sponsors in introducing H.R. 1477, the Preserving Homes and Communities Act of 2011. The Preserving Homes Act is designed to stop mortgage servicer activities that are harming America’s economic recovery, and to help keep Americans in their homes by ensuring a fair playing field for consumers and banks.
05/17/2011	Requests Action On Allegations of Housing Program Waste	Washington, DC – Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings sent a letter to Chairman Issa today requesting that the Committee examine allegations that hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds may have been squandered in the nation’s largest low-income housing construction program, according to the first of a series of articles by the Washington Post. The article reports that nearly 700 projects nationwide – some of which date back to 2001 – have been stalled as developers abandoned their effort
05/24/2011	Asks Issa To Subpoena Mortgage Servicers	Washington, DC — Today Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings sent a letter to Chairman Darrell Issa requesting that the Committee issue subpoenas to six mortgage servicing companies that have refused to provide documents relating to illegal foreclosures, inflated fees, and other abuses relating to millions of families losing their homes.
05/31/2011	Seeks “Engagement Letters” Due Today Between Mortgage Banks and Private Consultants	Washington, DC – Today, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings wrote to federal banking regulators to request copies of “engagement letters” between 14 mortgage servicing companies and the private consultants they hired to review their widespread foreclosure abuses. The deadline for federal regulators to approve these engagement letters is today.
06/21/2011	6 Months Later: Calls On Issa To Subpoena Banks	Washington, DC – Describing new evidence of illegal foreclosures, inflated fees, and other widespread abuses, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings wrote to Chairman Darrell Issa today to request that the Committee issue subpoenas to require mortgage servicing companies to produce previously-requested documents. “You have not hesitated—in other investigations—to issue subpoenas in a matter of days when your deadlines were missed, so it is unclear why a different standard applies to this investig
07/12/2011	Holds Forum On Illegal Military Foreclosures	(Washington, D.C.)—On Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 2:30 p.m., Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will convene a forum to examine illegal foreclosures against U.S. service members and their families.
07/18/2011	Lays Out Joint Mortgage Subpoena Requests	Ranking Member Cummings writes to Chairman Issa confirming their agreement on the next steps in the Committee's investigation into "wrongful foreclosures and other abuses by mortgage servicing companies." Cummings agreed to withdraw his motion for subpeonas at a July 14th hearing because Issa agreed to obtain the information covered through joint document requests. To date the documents covered by the subpeonas were neither requested nor obtained.
08/01/2011	Urges Extension: Unemployed Homeowner Forebearance Period	On August 1, 2011 Cummings leads effort in writing to the Members of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Oversight Board to ask to extend the foreberance period for unemployed homeowners with mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
09/09/2011	Requests Meeting with FHFA On President's Mortgage Plan	Washington, DC) – Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Congressman Dennis Cardoza, Co-Chair of the Housing Stabilization Task Force, today sent a letter to Edward DeMarco, Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, requesting a meeting with Members of Congress to discuss the President’s proposal to help more Americans refinance their mortgages at lower rates.
09/13/2011	Renews Call For Meeting With Housing Regulator	(Washington, DC) – Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Congressman Dennis Cardoza, Co-Chair of the Housing Stabilization Task Force, today were joined by 27 Members of Congress in sending a letter to Edward DeMarco , Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), renewing their request for a meeting to begin discussing a plan to allow more American families to refinance their mortgages at historically low in
09/15/2011	Demands Answers from FHFA On President's Mortgage Plan	Washington, DC - After a disappointing meeting with officials from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today, more than two dozen Members of Congress sent a letter to FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco requesting a meeting to discuss ways to implement President Obama’s proposal to help the greatest number of American families avoid foreclosures.
09/29/2011	Lauds Forebearance Extension	Washington, DC – Today, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings issues a statement in response to a decision by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to extend from three months to six months the forbearance period for unemployed homeowners with mortgages owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac. FHFA’s decision comes in response to an August 1 letter sent from Cummings to FHFA Oversight Board members proposing a twelve month forbearance period for unemployed homeowners....
10/04/2011	Raises Series Concerns With FHFA On IG Report	Washington, DC -- Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings wrote to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward DeMarco today raising serious concerns after a report by FHFA’s Inspector General revealed a prolonged failure to effectively oversee law firms processing foreclosures as part of Fannie Mae’s Retained Attorney Network.
10/06/2011	Meets With DeMarco On Mortgaging Refinancing	Washington, D.C. -- Today, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings, Housing Stabilization Task Force Co-Chair Congressman Dennis Cardoza, and other Members will hold a meeting with Edward DeMarco, Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to discuss how the agency plans to implement President Obama’s proposal to help responsible homeowners to refinance their mortgages at historically low rates.
10/07/2011	Requests Administration Mtg On Foreclosure Crisis	Washington, DC (Oct. 7, 2011)—Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings, Housing Stabilization Task Force Co-Chair Congressman Dennis Cardoza, and 25 other Members of Congress wrote to President Obama today requesting a meeting with the highest ranking Administration officials that coordinate housing and foreclosure policy to discuss the President’s mortgage refinancing proposal.
10/13/2011	Releases Super Committee Recommendations	Washington, D.C. (Oct. 13, 2011)—Today, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings released a report on behalf of Democratic Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform with recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. Cummings also released a letter to the Joint Select Committee directing particular attention to the report’s crucial recommendation to address the housing crisis.
10/18/2011	Commends Decision to Terminate Foreclosure Attorney Networks	Washington, DC (Oct. 18, 2011) – Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, responded to an announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that it has instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin “transitioning away” from their use of designated foreclosure attorney networks to a system under which “mortgage servicers select qualified law firms that meet certain minimum, uniform criteria.”
10/21/2011	Calls For Follow-Up DeMarco Meeting	Washington, DC (Oct. 21, 2011) – After a disappointing meeting with Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward DeMarco on October 6, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings and Housing Stabilization Task Force Co-Chair Congressman Dennis Cardoza requested today that DeMarco return to Congress with a more aggressive approach to the housing crisis.
10/24/2011	Applauds Changes To Home Affordable Refinance Program	Washington, DC (Oct. 24, 2011) – Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings released a statement in response to changes announced today by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The changes are aimed at helping “underwater” homeowners take advantage of today’s record-low interest rates.
10/25/2011	Moves to Subpeona Mortgage servicing Companies	With the support of all Democratic Members in attendance, Ranking Member Cummings made the case for a thorough, comprehensive review of these problems. After suspending the hearing and consulting with staff, Chairman Darrell Issa offered to join Cummings in sending official document requests on behalf of the Committee to ten of the nation’s largest mortgage servicing companies, seeking internal audits, reports, communications, and emails relating to abuses affecting U.S. servicemembers.
10/26/2011	Meets wth FHFA On Next Steps To Address Housing Crisis	WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 26, 2011)— Today, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings and other Members will meet with Edward DeMarco, Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to discuss additional actions the agency can take to address the foreclosure crisis following changes announced Monday to its Home Affordable Refinance Progra
10/27/2011	Cummings Calls on Issa to Subpoena Federal Regulators for “Engagement Letters	(Washington, DC) – Today, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings requested that Chairman Darrell Issa issue so-called “friendly” subpoenas to federal financial regulators to obtain copies of “engagement letters” they have approved between mortgage servicing companies and independent firms hired to review past foreclosure abuses. Cummings asked that the issue be added to the Committee’s business meeting scheduled for next week if Issa decides against issuing the subpoenas.
10/27/2011	Recognized As "Federal Chamption of the Year" for work on Housing	Washington, DC – Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, was honored as the “Federal Champion of the Year” by the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition. Video here.
11/01/2011	Cummings Encourages Homeowners to Report Mortgage Servicer Abuses	Washington, DC (Nov. 1, 2011) – Representative Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, today alerted homeowners who have been the victims of illegal or improper foreclosure related actions to a new online claims process announced today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
11/01/2011	Letter to AG on Mortgage Fraud Proposed Settlement	On November 1, 2011 Cummings joins with other Members in writing to Attorney General Eric Holder expressing his concern regarding the ongoing settlement talks between state attorneys general, federal regulators, and large mortgage servicers blanket immunity for potential wrongdoing related to illegal mortgage and foreclosure practices.
11/04/2011	Requests Documents from Law Firm after Allegations of Foreclosure Abuse	Washington, DC (Nov. 4, 2011) – Today, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings sent a letter to the law firm of Steven J. Baum requesting records, documents, and communications relating to allegations of improper and potentially illegal actions in the processing of foreclosures. “Given that your firm represents some of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers,” Cummings wrote...
11/07/2011	Writes letter to Lask regarding Baum inquiry	On November 7, 2011 Ranking Member Elijah Cummings writes to Susan Chana Lask, Esq. thanking her for her willingness to cooperate with his ongoing investigation into allegations of “abusive, improper, and illegal actions committed by the law firm of Stephen J. Baum, P.C.”
11/07/2011	Politico publishes profile of housing work	Cummings, the Homeowner Crusader -- Politico For President Barack Obama, fixing the collapsed housing market may be a part of political calculus, a key factor in winning a second term. For Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the fight to keep people in their homes and out of foreclosure is a personal mission.
11/16/2011	Sends Letter to FHFA on Fannie & Freddie Foreclosure Fees	Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward DeMarco requesting information about $150 million in fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac imposed on mortgage servicing companies last year for failing to conduct foreclosures fast enough. “I am concerned that these penalties, at least some of which were ordered by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), may have contributed to widespread abuses by mortgage servicing companies and
11/22/2011	Seeks Unredacted Copies of “Engagement Letters” Between Mortgage Servicing Companies & Private Consultants	Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings released a statement today regarding the public release of highly redacted “engagement letters” between mortgage servicing companies and independent consultants they hired to review past foreclosure abuses: “Although I am encouraged that some information is being made public today, our Committee should issue subpoenas to obtain full, unredacted copies of these documents so we can ensure that homeowners are being fully and appropriately compensated.
11/28/2011	Requests Hearing on Secret Government Loans to Rescue Banks	Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Chairman Darrell Issa requesting that the Committee hold a hearing with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and officials from the nation’s largest financial institutions that benefitted from trillions of dollars in previously undisclosed government loans provided at below-market rates.
11/30/2011	Urges FHFA Director to Produce Documents on Principal Reduction	Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and all Democratic Members of the Committee sent a letter to Edward DeMarco, the Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, seeking documents he promised to produce to the Committee regarding his analysis of programs to reduce mortgage principal and why such programs never serve the long-term interests of taxpayers when compared to foreclosure.
01/05/2012	Request Hearing in Chicago to Examine Banks’ Failure to Maintain Abandoned Properties	Washington, DC (Jan. 5, 2012) – Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Danny K. Davis, sent a letter to Chairman Darrell Issa requesting a hearing in Chicago to examine the failure of mortgage servicing companies to maintain the growing number of abandoned properties nationwide and the impact of this failure on state and municipal budgets.
01/12/2012	Welcomes Fannie and Freddie Decision to Extend Forbearance	Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued a statement today commending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for extending to 12 months the period during which unemployed Americans with mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac may defer payments while they continue to look for employment.
01/18/2012	Urge Subpoena of Documents from FHFA on Principal Reduction	Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Committee Member John F. Tierney sent a letter today to Chairman Darrell Issa requesting that he issue a subpoena to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) compelling the production of all documents associated with its analyses of whether mortgage loan modifications with principal reductions should be offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
01/18/2012	Urge Subpoena of Documents from FHFA on Principal Reduction	Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Committee Member John F. Tierney sent a letter today to Chairman Darrell Issa requesting that he issue a subpoena to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) compelling the production of all documents associated with its analyses of whether mortgage loan modifications with principal reductions should be offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
01/23/2012	Calls for Testimony and Documents from Mortgage Bank CEOs	Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Chairman Darrell Issa renewing his requests to call top executives from the nation’s biggest mortgage banks to testify and issue subpoenas for documents relating to widespread foreclosure abuses.
02/08/2012	Demands Answers from FHFA on Principal Reductions	Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Committee Member John F. Tierney sent a letter to Edward DeMarco, the Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), raising serious questions about his recent response to Congress arguing that principal reduction programs do not serve the interests of American taxpayers.
03/23/2012	Call on DeMarco to Comply with Congressional Request for Information on Principal Reduction	Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Committee Member John F. Tierney called on Edward DeMarco, the Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA), to comply with previous requests for information about his refusal to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to utilize principal reductions to address the nation’s housing crisis, even though his own data show they could save U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars.
04/10/2012	Statement on DeMarco Speech on the Housing Market	Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released a statement in response to a speech today by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward DeMarco at the Brookings Institution on the housing market.
05/01/2012	Cummings to DeMarco: Docs Show Fannie Believed Principal Reduction Would Save Taxpayers Money	Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Committee Member John F. Tierney sent a letter to Edward DeMarco, the Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), regarding internal documents showing that Fannie Mae officials concluded as far back as 2009 that reducing principal on mortgages backed by Fannie Mae could save U.S. taxpayers money by avoiding foreclosures, directly contradicting DeMarco’s testimony to Congress.