Yesterday, we noted
that the Democratic House leadership looks poised to consider two bills
dealing with workers' rights in the first week of the upcoming
session: the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has his own priorities as well. The American Prospect’s Tim Fernholz got his hands
on a list of 10 bills the Senate hopes to unveil when Congress reconvenes, as
sent by leadership to various staffers. While the memo doesn’t contain specific legislative language, there are some
encouraging details.
Indeed, third on the list is the “Homeowner Protection and Wall Street Accountability Act of 2009, which -- along with a moratorium on foreclosures and new regulations for the financial industry -- includes Sen. Dick Durbin’s plan to aid struggling homeowners by allowing the terms of their mortgages to be revised in bankruptcy court.
This is excellent news. One of the Drum Major Institute’s 10-best public policy ideas of the year, some have estimated that Durbin's proposal would keep 600,000 homeowners from losing their properties.
One thing that's clear from the memo is that Reid is emphasizing President-elect Barack Obama’s stated priorities. The first three bills deal almost exclusively with the financial crisis. Healthcare reform, energy, Iraq/Afghanistan, and education all follow. How much of the agenda Reid and company can expect to pass is unclear. Certainly, different goals will be split up into separate pieces of legislation. Reauthorizing No Child Left Behind, providing funding for early education, and increasing college affordability won’t be tackled in one fell swoop. For a little context, Fernholz looks back at the 110th Senate:
A quick perusal of the 110th Senate’s first ten bills suggests about half of that legislation was passed by Congress (it included ethics reform, the minimum wage increase, stem cell research, the 9/11 Commission reforms and legislation to increase higher ed access) though not all of it was signed by the President. We’ll see if the Dems have better luck this year.
UPDATE (1:59 PM): Right on schedule, Sen. Durbin formally introduced the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act, which will allow at-risk homeowners facing foreclosures to modify the terms of their mortgages in bakruptcy proceedings. From Durbin's press release, sent minutes ago:
“For nearly two years, we’ve heard dire predictions about the housing crisis and its effects on the economy. Sadly, they have not only come true, but have been far worse than anyone imagined,” Durbin said. “The question that faces us now is this: after committing over one trillion dollars in taxpayer money to address the financial crisis, why don’t we take a step that would indisputably reduce foreclosures and that would cost taxpayers nothing?” Durbin asked.
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives today as well.
Dan Morris (not verified) on Tue, 01/06/2009 - 14:00
Adam,
Thanks for mentioning DMI's 2008 best of public policy list--again!
We'll be closely following and analyzing these Senate bills and other new pieces of Congressional legislation over at www.themiddleclass.org, DMI's web-based toolkit for holding Congress accountable.
Dan