Reuters: Obama presses Congress to step up aid for homeowners

 

President Obama holds up a piece of paper he demonstrated as what he would like to see used for future mortgage loans while he talks about the economy at the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church, Virginia, February 1, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing

The story is here

By Margaret Chadbourn

WASHINGTON | Wed Feb 1, 2012 6:48pm EST
 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday proposed a multi-billion-dollar package to help U.S. homeowners refinance and stave off foreclosure, part of an election-year push that is likely to face an uphill battle by the Republican opposition in Congress.

Obama moved to counter Republican criticism that the proposal would use taxpayer money to bail out irresponsible borrowers by stressing that only homeowners current on their payments could benefit. The president had sketched out the plan in his State of the Union address last week.

Home values have dropped 33 percent from their 2006 peak and nearly 11 million Americans now owe more than their homes are worth. Millions more have lost their homes in states that are up for grab in November's presidential election.

The White House is seeking to contrast Obama's stance with that of Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, who has said foreclosures should be allowed to run their course.

"The truth is, it will take more time than any of us would like for the housing market to recover from this crisis," Obama said at a community center in Falls Church, Virginia. "But there are actions we can take, right now, to provide some relief to folks who've been making their payments on time."

The $5 billion to $10 billion program, that would be funded by a tax on the nation's largest banks, would allow homeowners to refinance at record low borrowing costs through government-backed loans. A senior administration official said it could reach 3.5 million Americans whose loans are not government-guaranteed. An additional 11 million homeowners whose loans are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could also be eligible, the official said.

The Federal Housing Administration would run the program -- another sticking point for Republicans, who are worried about the agency's solvency. The FHA has been hard hit by mortgage defaults, and Republican lawmakers have warned it could eventually need a taxpayer bailout.

Republicans also have rejected Obama's call to pay for the program with a bank tax that Congress has turned down twice before.

"Rather than increase the government's stranglehold on our nation's housing finance system, we need to dial it back," said Republican Representative Scott Garrett of New Jersey.

RAMPING UP HOUSING RELIEF EFFORTS

Obama's plan would allow borrowers to refinance even if they owe far more than their homes are worth. Many homeowners have not been able take advantage of current record-low mortgage rates because the value of their homes has fallen and lending standards have tightened.

The White House said the program could save borrowers an average of $3,000 a year. It would be open to homeowners who have been current on their payments for the last six months and who have not missed more than one payment in the prior six months.

Applicants would need to occupy their home and have a credit score of 580 or higher to be eligible for the program. Only loans that fall beneath the FHA lending cap, which reaches as high as $729,750 in some high-cost markets, would be eligible.

"Government certainly can't fix the entire problem on its own. But it is wrong for anyone to suggest that the only option for struggling, responsible homeowners is to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom," Obama said.

The administration also said it intends to ask Congress to broaden a separate refinance program that seeks to help underwater borrowers with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac win new loan terms. It said the regulator that oversees the two government-controlled mortgage firms - the Federal Housing Finance Agency - had not done enough to make the program accessible.

Together, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA own or guarantee nine out of 10 new U.S. home loans.

In addition, the administration called for a single set of federal standards for the mortgage servicing industry that would include simpler loan forms and greater efforts to assist borrowers facing foreclosure. An effort by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is already underway to streamline mortgage paperwork.

Obama also highlighted an effort the administration has undertaken with FHFA to convert foreclosed properties held by the two firms into rental units.

FHFA said on Wednesday that investors could now sign up to prequalify to bid on properties under the program, and said it would kick off a pilot phase soon.

Last week the administration called on FHFA to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce loan principal for struggling homeowners, an effort to widen the reach of its main foreclosure prevention program -- the Home Affordable Modification Program

When it launched the program in 2009, the administration said it would help as many as 4 million Americans. So far, only about 900,000 households have won permanent mortgage relief under the program.
"I'll be honest - it didn't work at the scale we'd hoped," said Obama.

(Additional reporting by Laura MacInnis and Alister Bull; Editing by Tim Ahmann; Andrea Evans; Diane Craft)

ABC/AP: 2 Gays - We Were Jailed in Ohio Without Our Pants

  

The story is here

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN Associated Press 

 

CLEVELAND February 4, 2012 (AP)

Two gay men who say they were punched and pinned to the ground by an off-duty police officer before being called offensive names and jailed without their trousers have sued the city and its police over what they call anti-gay bias.

Steven Ondo and Jonathan Simcox said the off-duty officer, who was a neighbor, complained about a noisy argument on the street and attacked them last April and had them arrested. A week later, they said, they were arrested by SWAT officers and were punched again at their home while lounging in T-shirts and underpants. They said they were denied a chance to get their pants and weren't provided with any in jail for a day.

The men were charged with assaulting the officer but were acquitted Oct. 20 in a non-jury trial.

Ondo, 22, and Simcox, 25, filed the U.S. District Court lawsuit against the city and its police last month and asked for unspecified damages. They said their goal was to deter biased treatment by police.

During the second arrest, the lawsuit says, the officers repeatedly referred to Ondo and Simcox as "faggots" and said "faggots don't get to wear pants to jail" when they were transported to the city lockup. Simcox's brother was at the house and asked if he could get the pants for them, but police refused, although he was allowed to get their shoes, the lawsuit says.

Police usually allow cooperative arrested people to retrieve their clothing.

A top city official said Friday the city wouldn't discuss details of the litigation.

"The city of Cleveland is aware that the lawsuit has been filed and will appropriately address this legal matter in court," interim Law Director Barbara Langhenry said in an email.

Ondo and Simcox could not be reached Friday. No phone was listed for Ondo in court records, and a phone number for Simcox provided by his attorney wasn't accepting calls.

Attorney Dan Chaplin, who represented Ondo in the criminal case, said each man weighs about 120 to 130 pounds and they were tossed around like rag dolls by their 225-pound neighbor.

About a week later, he said, a SWAT team calling them "fags" and "queer" arrested them at their home at about 5:30 a.m. on a warrant accusing them of assaulting a police officer. The team then put them in a police van and drove around for a couple of hours making other arrests, he said.

"They were humiliated and embarrassed. They were shackled to strangers while they were in their underwear and they couldn't leave," Chaplin said. "And the other guys that were arrested were allowed to get clothes on."

At the jail, he said, police mocked them, telling them "fags don't deserve to wear pants" and asked them questions about their sex lives.

"It was just real old-fashioned gay bashing by the Cleveland police department," he said.

Cleveland police and the city's Office of Professional Standards said no complaint had been filed in the case, mayoral spokeswoman Andrea Taylor said.
———
Associated Press writer JoAnne Viviano in Columbus contributed to this report.

Columbus Dispatch: For buyers and sellers, a few good bets

The story is here

On the House: For buyers and sellers, a few good bets 

 Jim Weiker

A colleague becomes irritated every time I write a story based on new real-estate statistics.

Perhaps he’s jealous. After all, the figures give me plenty of material for stories.

But, of course, it’s precisely the abundance of material that annoys him.

Real estate is the baseball of industries: awash in numbers that can be manipulated to demonstrate just about anything.

Want to show that home sales are up? Mention that year-over-year sales rose for five of the past six months in central Ohio.

Want to show they’re down? Note that annual home sales dropped in 2011 for the sixth straight year to the slowest year in more than a decade.

Want to show that foreclosures are up? Point out that central Ohio filings have risen for two straight months.

Want to show that they’re down? Point out that foreclosures have dropped now for two consecutive years in Ohio.

For those weary of keeping daily score, here is the big picture:

Let’s start with foreclosures. The rise in foreclosures is often linked with the housing crisis but predates it by a decade. Foreclosures started rising in Ohio in 1996 and rose steadily until 2010, when they began to taper off slightly.

As for home construction, a key measure of the housing industry, it peaked in central Ohio in 2003 before starting a precipitous five-year decline that has yet to show any signs of improvement.

If you’re a homebuilder or a worker who relies on that industry, you’re still in the dark without a flicker of light.

By two other indicators — home sales and average sale prices — the housing industry started its slide in central Ohio in early 2006 and plummeted sharply during the next three years.

But the past two years show a more complex picture: Since the end of 2009, housing sales and prices have largely leveled out; they haven’t improved but neither have they worsened significantly.

What does this mean if you’re a buyer or seller?

If you’re a buyer . . .

 

The chance that your dream home is going to drop a lot in price is slim.

Prices are still a moving target in some areas, such as certain inner-city neighborhoods that are full of foreclosures. But in most neighborhoods, prices have stabilized and aren’t likely to drop significantly.

Indeed, in some places, prices show signs of rising. The median sales prices of homes in Gahanna, Grandview Heights and Downtown Columbus were up substantially in December compared with a year earlier. (But those are one-month figures only and are based on relatively few sales.)

If you qualify for financing, are ready to buy and have found the right home, you should bite the bullet. Even if the price drops $10,000 on the home you’re eyeing, you’re gambling on three things: that someone else won’t buy the home, that interest rates will stay low and that borrowing won’t get more difficult.

The odds are in your favor on interest rates, which experts think will remain low at least through the year. But Washington is considering several changes that could make borrowing more difficult and perhaps more costly.

In addition, the number of homes for sale in central Ohio is sharply down from a year ago, meaning that there’s going to be more competition for that home you’re considering.

If you’re a seller . . .

 

Forget 2005. Your home probably isn’t worth that now. In fact, I happen to know exactly what it’s worth: No matter what you paid for it, no matter what you owe on it, no matter what it once appraised for, it’s worth precisely what someone will pay for it.

If your home has sat on the market for six months with only a handful of queries and no offers, you need to drop the price if you want to sell it.

If you can’t afford to drop the price, you had better have some cash to bring to the closing or plan to rent it, or start pleading with your bank.

So what does the future hold? Anyone who tells you they know for sure doesn’t know for sure.

But, in housing, there are many more reasons to think the worst is behind us than ahead of us.

Jim Weiker is the home and garden writer. Reach him at 614-461-5513 or by email.
jweiker@dispatch.com

Target of LGBT Bullying in Ohio School Tells His Story

Becky Collins and her gay son Zach describe a pattern of LGBT bullying that lead to a brutal attack. ACLU of Ohio is representing Zach and Becky to protect Zach and other LGBT students from bullying.

The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) would ban discrimination and harassment based on a students sexual orientation or gender in all U.S. public schools.

Tell Congress to pass SNDA. Go to: https://action.aclu.org/snda

Broad Coalition Launched to Repeal Federal So-Called “Defense of Marriage Act”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 2, 2012
Jackie Yodashkin | Freedom to Marry
Paul Guequierre | HRC | 

Broad Coalition Launched to Repeal Federal So-Called “Defense of Marriage Act”

HRC and Freedom to Marry Announce More Than 50 Groups Supporting Respect for Marriage Act

WASHINGTON – A robust coalition made up of civil rights, labor, progressive, faith, student, health, legal, women’s, and LGBT organizations today announced support of the Respect for Marriage Act – the bill to repeal the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that withholds federal protections and respect for legally married gay and lesbian couples.  The Respect for Marriage Act (H.R.1116 and S.598) enjoys broad support with a majority of Americans and has a record number of Congressional cosponsors with 136 in the House and 32 in the Senate.

“Because of the ‘gay exception’ created by DOMA, America’s legally married gay and lesbian couples – including servicemembers risking their lives on the front lines for our safety – are treated as strangers under federal law, rather than provided the respect and protections federal law normally assures to married couples and their loved ones,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry.  “This broad and diverse coalition has come forward to urge members of Congress to end the unfairness.  In America, we don’t have second-class citizens, and shouldn’t have second-class marriages, either.”

“The federal government should not be in the business of picking which marriages it likes and which it does not, but that is exactly what DOMA does,” said Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign president. “The breadth and depth of this coalition shines a bright light on the heart wrenching discrimination against loving, committed families caused by DOMA.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee considered the bill with a hearing in July and subsequently passed the legislation out of committee in November.

DOMA denies legally married gay and lesbian couples any of the over 1,100 federal responsibilities and protections of marriage.  These include Social Security survivor’s benefits, federal employee health benefits for spouses, protections against spouses losing their homes in cases of severe medical emergencies, the right to sponsor a foreign-born spouse for immigration, the guarantee of family and medical leave and the ability to file joint tax returns, among many others.  51 percent of voters oppose DOMA while only 34 percent favor it, according to a March 2011 poll by HRC and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research.

A full list of the coalition members follows: 

Alliance for Justice, American Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, American Federation of Teachers, Americans for Democratic Action, Anti-Defamation League, Association of Flight Attendants, Center for American Progress, Coalition of Labor Union Women, COLAGE, Courage Campaign, Communications Workers of America, Family Equality Council, Feminist Majority, Freedom to Marry, GLAD, Gay & Lesbian Medical Association, Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Human Rights Campaign, Immigration Equality, Interfaith Alliance, International Union, UAW, Lambda Legal, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Log Cabin Republicans, MALDEF, National Black Justice Coalition, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Council of Jewish Women, National Education Association, National Fair Housing Alliance, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, National Organization for Women, National Partnership for Women and Families, National Women’s Law Center, People for the American Way, PFLAG, Pride at Work, AFL-CIO, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), Service Employees International Union, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Stonewall Democrats, Third Way, Unitarian Universalist Association, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, and USAction.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.

# # #

White House LGBT Update: "A Place to Call Home"

 Thursday, February 2, 2012

Today, I am proud to announce that starting later this month, the White House Office of Public Engagement (OPE) will launch a series of conferences around the country specifically focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans.

Held in partnership with key Departments and Agencies, these White House LGBT Conferences will provide the public, including advocates, providers, and community organizations, an opportunity to hear directly from the Administration on our efforts to ensure health, dignity, and justice for LGBT Americans. These conferences will empower participants by connecting them with Federal government information, resources, and opportunities.
Our first conference, the White House LGBT Conference on Health, will be held in Philadelphia on Thursday, February 16th, and will feature remarks by Secretary of Health & Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. Please note that space is limited and registrations will only be accepted until we reach capacity.

Future conferences will be held around the country and will focus on topics including, but not limited to, Housing & Homelessness, Safe Schools & Communities, and HIV/AIDS Prevention. For more information and updates, sign up for White House LGBT Updates. 

Gautam Raghavan
Office of Public Engagement
The White House

HUD Secretary Donovan Announces Equal Access to Housing Rule at Creating Change

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan speaks at Creating Change, January 28, 2012 (Photo by Anna Min for the Task Force).
Last weekend, Secretary for Housing & Urban Development Shaun Donovan spoke before the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, and announced an important new Equal Access to Housing Rule. Secretary Donovan clearly and unequivocally sent the message that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and couples have the right to live where they choose:

I’m here this afternoon, because our President and his Administration believe the LGBT community deserves a place at the table – and also a place to call home.

Each of us here knows that rights most folks take for granted are routinely violated against LGBT people. That’s why I’m proud to stand before you this afternoon and say HUD has been a leader in the fight—your fight and my fight—for equality.

Over the last three years, we have worked to ensure that our housing programs are open. Not to some. Not to most. But open to all.

The need for this rule is clear, particularly when it comes to housing. According to one recent report, not only are 40 percent of homeless youth LGBT, half of them report experiencing homelessness as a result of their gender identity or expression. Even more troubling, this report indicates that the majority of them report harassment, difficulty, or even sexual assault when trying to access homeless shelters.

Learn more about the new HUD rule and read Secretary Donovan’s remarks.

The State of LGBT Health

Since the start of the Obama Administration, President Obama, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and other members of the Obama Administration have taken important steps to promote equal treatment of LGBT Americans, provide enhanced resources for LGBT health issues, and develop better information regarding LGBT health needs.  

Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a summary update - “Better Health and Well-Being: Making Improvements for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender (LGBT) Americans” – outlining the specific actions HHS has taken through 2011 and summarizing how the Affordable Care Act is improving access to health coverage for LGBT Americans.

Also last month, HHS Regional Director (Region VIII) Marguerite Salazar held a “Conversation on LGBT Health” in Denver, Colorado in partnership with the One Colorado Education Fund. One Colorado recently completed a comprehensive study of nearly 1,300 LGBT Coloradans to discover and document the state of LGBT health and wellness in Colorado. Read more about the event here. 

Tweet of the Week

What You May Have Missed  

President Barack Obama participates in an interview with YouTube and Google+ to discuss his State of the Union Address, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Jan. 30, 2012. The interview is held through a Google+ Hangout, making it the first completely virtual interview from the White House. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

• Feb 1: President Obama Talks About Ways to Help Homeowners
• Feb 1: Michelle Obama Talks About Being a Mentor
• Jan 31: In the Showroom of the Washington Auto Show
• Jan 27: Vice President Biden: “America Is Coming Back”
• Jan 27: First Lady Michelle Obama Strikes a Pose for Instagram
• Jan 25: Healthy Changes on the Menu for School Lunches

Get Updates
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27 Things the Obama Administration Has Accomplished for the LGBT Community

Progress for the LGBT Community

Together, we’ve fought hard for equal rights for LGBT Americans, and the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is only one example of the progress we've achieved over the last three years.

Take a look at a timeline of steps President Obama has taken for LGBT equality since taking o ffice, and share it with your friends.


Progress for the LGBT Community 2012