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58 | TH E M R EP O RT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST GOVERNMENT Congress Hitting the Ground Running There was a full list of to-dos to get done when congressional members showed up for their first day of duty. T he 115th Congress recon- vened last month after the summer recess and had to hit the ground running to accomplish all items on the agenda, according to the National Association of Federally- Insured Credit Unions. The end of September brought a number of deadlines: first, funding for the fiscal year, which begins this month, needed to be approved. With that, the debt ceiling will need to be raised in order to allow the Treasury Department to borrow money for Hurricane Harvey relief. Although it is not yet drafted, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a recent interview that he would like to see legislation for hurricane relief funds be tied to an increase in the debt ceiling. The National Flood Insurance Program will also needed to be reauthorized before September's close. There has been talk of the Senate invoking the Congressional Review Act to remove the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's arbitration clause, which allows consumers to file class action lawsuits, although no action has been taken. Various committees also gathered for hearings that could have implications for the mortgage and finance industries. The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investments met to discuss the oversight of the financial industry's regulatory authority, and the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer credit reviewed proposals for "a more efficient federal financial regulatory regime." Confirmation hearings also took place: the Senate Banking Committee voted on Joseph Otting, President Trump's nominee to be Comptroller of the Currency, and Randal Quarles, the president's nominee as Federal Reserve governor. Additionally, Pam Patenaude, who was nominated to be the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Deputy Secretary in June, was voted in to her new post. Mortgage Options for Veterans If it moves from bill to law, an emerging act would require that veterans receive information about VA loans when shopping for a mortgage. A new bill could change requirements in the National Housing Act if it succeeds the long road to becoming law. House Resolution 2777, Give Veterans Home Loan Choices Act of 2017, aims to require that a Federal Housing Administra - tion (FHA) mortgage notice to a veteran include information that compares Veteran Affairs (VA) loan information along with information about conventional loans and FHA loans. Currently, it is not a require - ment under the Informed Con- sumer Choice disclosure to include information about VA loans. Originally introduced by Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) in June, the goal is to help veterans make an informed decision when deciding which route to take when buying a home. "Homeownership is a pillar of the American dream and a goal that should not be out of reach for our nation's veterans," Congressman Veasey said. "That is why I am committed to ensuring that the brave men and women who serve our country have access to the benefits they've earned and are provided the information they need to make an informed decision when purchasing a home." The bill currently has 13 co-sponsors, including Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii); Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas); Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.); Sandord Bishop Jr. (D-Georgia); Mark Takano (D-California); Dwight Evans (D-Pennsylvania); Donald Norcross (D-New Jersey); Gene Greene (D-Texas); Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona); Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona); Daniel Lipinski (D-Illinois); Norma Torres (D-California); and Eric Swalwell (D-California) and is sponsored by a handful of organizations, such as the Association of the United States Navy, National Military Family Association, Association of the United States Army, Reserve Officer Association, and the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals (VAREP). As of August, the bill was referred to the House Armed Services Committee. According to G-II Varrato, the AZ State Director for VAREP and the Chairman of VAREP National Legislative Committee, this bill has been in the works for four years and is a "multi-pronged effort." The first hurdle the bill had to overcome was to require the loan application to ask the potential borrower if he/she has ever served. According to Varrato, that piece of information has been missing from the application since 1944 when the loan was created. "Because of that," Varrato said, "over 65 percent of the veteran community are disenfranchised— missed out on this loan product." VAREP succeeded in altering the loan application in 2016; the new application will go live in December 2018. The second piece of the puzzle, which Veasey's bill is currently trying to do, would be to require the side-by-side comparison.