I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1285 

To establish the Commission on the Foreclosure and Mortgage Lending Crisis. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 3, 2009 

Mr. TURNER (for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. LATOURETTE, 

Mrs. SCHMIDT, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, and Mr. CAO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To establish the Commission on the Foreclosure and 

Mortgage Lending Crisis. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission on the 

5 Foreclosure and Mortgage Lending Crisis Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

7 There is established in the legislative branch a com8 mission to be known as the ‘‘Commission on the Fore9 closure and Mortgage Lending Crisis’’ (in this Act re10 ferred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 


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1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The United States is experiencing a steady 

4 increase in foreclosures and mortgage lending prob5 lems that have impacted homeowners, families, com6 munities, the United States economy and the global 

7 credit markets. 

8 (2) In 2006, there were an estimated 1,300,000 

9 foreclosures in the United States. 

10 (3) This number increased by 79 percent in 

11 2007, bringing the estimated number of foreclosures 

12 nationwide to 2,200,000. 

13 (4) In 2008, an estimated 3,200,000 fore14 closures were reported nationwide. 

15 (5) Estimates suggest that this trend is likely 

16 to continue with millions more Americans potentially 

17 losing their homes to foreclosure in the next 4 years. 

18 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab19 lish a commission to undertake a comprehensive analysis 

20 and review of the causes of the current foreclosure and 

21 mortgage lending crisis and to submit a report of its find22 ings to the Congress. The Commission shall also rec23 ommend legislative and regulatory changes that will pro24 hibit the kinds of lending practices that contributed to the 

25 increased foreclosure rate and the current mortgage lend26 ing crisis. 


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1 SEC. 4. COMPOSITION. 

2 (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be composed 

3 of 10 members as follows: 

4 (1) 2 members shall be appointed by the Speak5 er of the House of Representatives. 

6 (2) 2 members shall be appointed by the minor7 ity leader of the House of Representatives. 

8 (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the major9 ity leader of the Senate. 

10 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the minor11 ity leader of the Senate. 

12 (5) The Secretary of the Treasury or his des13 ignee. 

14 (6) The Chairman of the Board of Governors of 

15 the Federal Reserve System or his designee. 

16 (b) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All members of 

17 the Commission shall be appointed not later than 30 days 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 (c) CO-CHAIRMEN.—Of the members appointed to 

20 the Commission under paragraphs (1) through (4) of sub21 section (a), 2 shall be designated as the Co-Chairmen of 

22 the Commission. One Co-Chairman shall be designated by 

23 the Speaker of the House of Representatives in consulta24 tion with the majority leader of the Senate and the other 

25 Co-Chairman shall be designated by the minority leader 


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1 of the House of Representatives in consultation with the 

2 minority leader of the Senate. 

3 (d) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commission 

4 shall not affect its powers and shall be filled in the same 

5 manner in which the original appointment was made. 

6 (e) COMPENSATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Commission 

8 shall serve without pay. 

9 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 

10 their homes or regular places of business in the per11 formance of services for the Commission, members 

12 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, 

13 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 

14 same manner as persons employed intermittently in 

15 the Government service are allowed expenses under 

16 section 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

17 (f) INITIAL MEETING; RULES OF PROCEDURE; 

18 QUORUM.— 

19 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

20 meet and begin the operations of the Commission 

21 not later than 60 days after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act. 

23 (2) MEETINGS.—After its initial meeting, the 

24 Commission shall meet upon the call of a majority 

25 of its members. 


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1 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

2 the Commission shall constitute a quorum. 

3 (4) RULES OF PROCEDURE.—The Commission 

4 may establish rules for the conduct of the Commis5 sion’s business, if such rules are consistent with this 

6 Act and other applicable law. 

7 SEC. 5. DUTIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 

9 (1) study and assess the current legal and regu10 latory framework governing the housing mortgage 

11 lending markets and investigate how such framework 

12 contributed to the increased foreclosure rate, includ13 ing— 

14 (A) refinancing practices; 

15 (B) loan-to-value ratios; and 

16 (C) the prevalence of fraudulent industry 

17 practices; 

18 (2) recommend changes to the current legal and 

19 regulatory framework to prohibit lending practices 

20 that have contributed to the mortgage lending crisis; 

21 (3) review the impact of subprime abuses and 

22 predatory lending practices; 

23 (4) assess the role of States in enacting policies 

24 to reduce predatory lending practices and abuses in 

25 the subprime markets; 


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1 (5) assess the impact of mortgage-backed secu2 rities and the Federal National Mortgage Corpora3 tion (‘‘Fannie Mae’’) and the Federal Home Loan 

4 Mortgage Corporation (‘‘Freddie Mac’’) on the mort5 gage lending crisis; and 

6 (6) assess the impact of the Community Rein7 vestment Act of 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.) on 

8 the mortgage lending crisis. 

9 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

11 submit to the Congress a final report containing such find12 ings, conclusions, and recommendations as have been 

13 agreed to by a majority of Commission members. If, at 

14 the conclusion of such 12-month period, a majority of the 

15 Commission determines it necessary, the Commission may 

16 be granted a 6-month extension for submission of its final 

17 report upon written notification to the Congress. 

18 SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

19 (a) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission 

20 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act— 

21 (1) hold such hearings and sit and act at such 

22 times and places, take such testimony, receive such 

23 evidence, administer such oaths; and 

24 (2) subject to subsection (b)(1), subpoena or 

25 otherwise require the attendance and testimony of 


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1 such witnesses and the production of such books, 

2 records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and 

3 documents as the Commission may determine advis4 able. 

5 (b) SUBPOENAS.— 

6 (1) ISSUANCE.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 

8 issued under this section only by the affirmative 

9 vote of a majority of the members of the Com10 mission. 

11 (B) SIGNATURE.—Subject to subparagraph 

12 (A), subpoenas issued under this section may be 

13 issued under the signature of the Co-Chairmen 

14 or any member designated by a majority of the 

15 Commission, may be served by any person des16 ignated by the Co-Chairmen or by a member 

17 designated by a majority of the Commission. 

18 (2) ENFORCEMENT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of contu20 macy or failure to obey a subpoena issued 

21 under paragraph (1), the United States district 

22 court for the judicial district in which the sub23 poenaed person resides, is served, or may be 

24 found, or where the subpoena is returnable, 

25 may issue an order requiring such person to apVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:17 Mar 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1285.IH H1285

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1 pear at any designated place to testify or to 

2 produce documentary or other evidence. Any 

3 failure to obey the order of the court may be 

4 punished by the court as a contempt of that 

5 court. 

6 (B) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—In the 

7 case of any failure of any witness to comply 

8 with any subpoena or to testify when sum9 moned under authority of this section, the Com10 mission may, by majority vote, certify a state11 ment of fact constituting such failure to the ap12 propriate United States attorney, who may 

13 bring the matter before the grand jury for its 

14 action, under the same statutory authority and 

15 procedures as if the United States attorney had 

16 received as certification under section 102 

17 through 104 of the Revised Statutes of the 

18 United States (2 U.S.C. 192 through 194). 

19 (c) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Commission may, 

20 to such extent and in such amounts as are provided in 

21 appropriation Acts, enter into contracts to enable the 

22 Commission to carry out its duties under this Act. 

23 (d) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission is author25 ized to secure directly from any executive departVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:17 Mar 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1285.IH H1285

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1 ment, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, 

2 independent establishment, or instrumentality of the 

3 Government, information, suggestions, estimates, 

4 and statistics to carry out its duties under this Act. 

5 Each department, bureau, agency, board, commis6 sion, office, independent establishment, or instru7 mentality shall, to the extent authorized by law, fur8 nish such information, suggestions, estimates, and 

9 statistics directly to the Commission, upon request 

10 made by a majority of the members of the Commis11 sion. 

12 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS13 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 

14 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 

15 the Commission and its staff consistent with all ap16 plicable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 

17 (e) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

18 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

19 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

20 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis adminis21 trative support and other services to assist the Com22 mission in carrying out its duties. 

23 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

24 addition to the assistance described in paragraph 

25 (1), departments and agencies of the United States 


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1 may provide to the Commission such services, funds, 

2 facilities, staff, and other support services as they 

3 may determine advisable and as may be authorized 

4 by law. 

5 (f) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

6 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

7 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

8 United States. 

9 (g) STAFF.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (A) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

12 The Co-Chairmen, in accordance with rules 

13 agreed upon by the Commission, may appoint 

14 and fix the compensation of a staff director and 

15 such other personnel as may be necessary to en16 able the Commission to carry out its duties, 

17 without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

18 United States Code, governing appointments in 

19 the competitive service, and without regard to 

20 the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 

21 of chapter 53 of such title relating to classifica22 tion and General Schedule pay rates, except 

23 that no rate of pay fixed under this subsection 

24 may exceed the equivalent of that payable for a 

25 position at level IV of the Executive Schedule 


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1 under section 5316 of title 5, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (B) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOY4 EES.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—The staff director 

6 and any personnel of the Commission who 

7 are employees shall be employees under 

8 section 2105 of title 5, United States 

9 Code, for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 

10 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title. 

11 (ii) MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

12 Clause (i) shall not apply to members of 

13 the Commission. 

14 (2) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government em15 ployee may be detailed to the Commission without 

16 reimbursement from the Commission, and such 

17 detailee shall retain the rights, status, and privileges 

18 of his or her regular employment without interrup19 tion. 

20 (3) EXPERT AND CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The 

21 Commission is authorized to procure the services of 

22 experts and consultants in accordance with section 

23 3109 of title 5, United States Code, but at rates not 

24 to exceed the daily rate paid to a person occupying 


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1 a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule 

2 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (4) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding 

4 section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the 

5 Commission may accept and use voluntary and un6 compensated services as the Commission determines 

7 necessary. 

8 SEC. 7. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM9 MITTEE ACT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

11 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 

12 (b) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC

13 VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 

14 (1) hold public hearings and meetings to the ex15 tent appropriate; and 

16 (2) release public versions of the report re17 quired under section 5(b). 

18 (c) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public hearings of the 

19 Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent 

20 with the protection of information provided to or developed 

21 for or by the Commission as required by any applicable 

22 statute, regulations, or Executive order. 

23 SEC. 8. TERMINATION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission and all the au25 thorities of this Act, shall terminate not later than 60 days 


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1 after the date on which the final report is submitted under 

2 section 5(b). 

3 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TERMI4 NATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day period re5 ferred to in subsection (a) for the purpose of concluding 

6 its activities, including providing testimony to committees 

7 of Congress concerning its report and disseminating the 

8 final report. 

9 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.—There are 

10 authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary to 

11 carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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