Bill to make it more difficult to challenge foreclosure reaches Obama's desk

[Eric J in MN]

http://www.balloon-juice.com/2010/10/06/how-come-no-one-has-ever-heard-of-this/

A bill that homeowners advocates warn will make it more difficult to challenge improper foreclosure attempts by big mortgage processors is awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature after it quietly zoomed through the Senate last week.

The bill, passed without public debate in a way that even surprised its main sponsor, Republican Representative Robert Aderholt, requires courts to accept as valid document notarizations made out of state, making it harder to challenge the authenticity of foreclosure and other legal documents.

The timing raised eyebrows, coming during a rising furor over improper affidavits and other filings in foreclosure actions by large mortgage processors such as GMAC, JPMorgan and Bank of America.

Questions about improper notarizations have figured prominently in challenges to the validity of these court documents, and led to widespread halts of foreclosure proceedings.

A bank can get a document notarized out-of-state electronically & state & federal courts need to accept the document.

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner told Reuters in an interview that the law would weaken protection of homeowners by requiring many states to accept lower standards for notarizations.

[Gold Metal Flake]

1. Will he sign it or veto it?

????

[Eric J in MN]

2. I don't know.

"The White House said it is reviewing the legislation."

For people who want to contact the White House against, it's "H.R.3808—Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010."

[JonLP24]

12. Thanks

I'm very interested in whether he signs it or not so I'll have to keep a close eye on this. Thanks for the bill title, that should help tracking this.

[txaslftist]

25. He will sign it.

[treestar]

3. Just recognizing another state's notaries is not a big deal

And unlikely to allow a foreclosure that was unjustified.

[Eric J in MN]

6. The banks can send documents out-of-state to get them notarized without due diligence.

"Some states have adopted 'electronic notarization' laws that ignore the requirement of a signer's personal appearance before a notary. A notary's signature is that of a trusted, impartial third party, whose notarization bolsters the integrity of the document. Many of these policies for electronic notarization are driven by technology rather than by principle, and they are dangerous to consumers."

http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2010/10/secretary-brunner-please-tell-president-obama-not-to-sign-the-interstate-recognition-of-notarization.html

[pnorman]

16. "A notary's signature is that of a trusted, impartial third party,,

whose notarization bolsters the integrity of the document."

Thanks for stating that point so clearly!

[Better Today]

7. It's more than just other state's notaries. Read the entire article.

[depakid]

21. It's blanket computerized authorizations

as well as outright fraud (where the signator has never appeared before the notary).

[Eric J in MN]

4. Jennifer Brunner

"President Obama was presented with HR. 3808 on Thursday, September 30, 2010. As of today, he has not signed the bill. Please join me in urging him not to sign the bill by sending an email or calling the White House at 202-456-1111."

http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2010/10/secretary-brunner-please-tell-president-obama-not-to-sign-the-interstate-recognition-of-notarization.html

[Better Today]

8. Excellent, thanks for the link.

[Eric J in MN]

15. Start of my email to the White House

Please veto H.R. 3808 Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act.

This bill could increase foreclosures.

I share the concerns of Ohio Secretary of State Jennnifer Brunner.

===
sent to
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

[the redcoat]

5. Wow

Republicans are sponsoring bills to help people get screwed over by already shady bank practices, and a democrat controlled congress is letting it through?

Fuck all politicians.

[Better Today]

Letting it through, they passed it unanimously without a rollcall.

They f'ing embraced it.

[JVS]

9. Vetoing this in a very public manner would probably play well.

[Better Today]

11. Nope, never going to happen. I predict he will hang on to it and use

it as leverage to get his middle class tax cuts. He'll be able to tell the Repubs, "I'll trade you tax cuts for the working middle class for the complete destruction of the un- and under-employed middle and lower class, okay?" That's my prediction. Mark it.

[Marr]

18. With the base, yeah. Who gives a shit about them?

Signing it without comment would play well with Wall Street fatcats.

I'd be willing to put cash money on which party Obama will choose to play well with.

[flyarm]

10. funny how that could Fly right through the senste with no worry of votes!

amd we are told around these parts why we MUST stand up for dems in this election..what a fucking joke!

[Better Today]

13. Exactly right. Can't pass middle class tax cuts without letting the rich get richer, but

no problem screwing the unemployed, the underemployed, and the underwater-ers.

[BuelahWitch]

14. +1

[LiberalAndProud]

17. From Senator Brunner's blog:

Banks demand we follow every letter of their contracts. We must demand they follow the law. It's that simple. Please join me in urging President Obama not to sign the bill by sending an email http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact or calling 202-456-1111.

]

DUers, let's get busy, no?

[Eric J in MN]

23. Exactly. NT

NT

[Greyhound]

19. If he vetoes this I'll be shocked.

While it is not essential to keeping the illusion of an economy going, anything that conceals or obfuscates the fact that nobody has any idea who owns these notes will be used.

The Zombie Banks are still buried under a mountain of false valuations and the tacit agreement to pretend that there is value in these frauds is all that's allowing them to pretend they are making money (and thereby able to grab a few more years of loot before it all falls apart).

[McCamy Taylor]

20. A veto of this would be very good for the Democrats. I can not see him signing it---

not before the election.

Maybe Dems let it through Congress on purpose? They are finally getting their act together. They should let a few more atrocious GOP bills slip through, so that Obama can proclaim "Look at what the GOP is trying to do to our country!"

[flyarm]

22. we don't know if it is Veto-proof..because it was all done in a roll call vote!

in secret.

And we don't know if this was wanted and pushed by the democrats..because it was done secretly with a roll call vote! Nothing public about it..so my bet would be..it was done by Dems because they wanted it..they rule how the voting took place!

Funny they didn't use this tactic to get a public option..which was already a sell out of our health care!

[Eric J in MN]

24. Update: a White House official says they have concerns

"We are reviewing the legislation, but do have concerns," a White House official told HuffPost.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/7/908461/-White-House-has-concerns-about-notarization-bill

Call the White House or send a short email asking Obama to veto HR. 3808, Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act.

White House phone number: 202-456-1111
email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

[Eric J in MN]

26. Update: Victory

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/10/07/why-president-obama-not-signing-hr-3808

Why President Obama is Not Signing H.R. 3808

Posted by Dan Pfeiffer on October 07, 2010 at 01:15 PM EDT

Today, the White House announced that President Obama will not sign H.R. 3808, the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010, and will return the bill to the House of Representatives. The Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010 was designed to remove impediments to interstate commerce. While we share this goal, we believe it is necessary to have further deliberations about the intended and unintended impact of this bill on consumer protections, including those for mortgages, before this bill can be finalized.

Notarizations are important for a large range of documents, including financial documents. As the President has made clear, consumer financial protections are incredibly important, and he has made this one of his top priorities, including signing into law the strongest consumer protections in history in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. That is why we need to think through the intended and unintended consequences of this bill on consumer protections, especially in light of the recent developments with mortgage processors.

The authors of this bill no doubt had the best intentions in mind when trying to remove impediments to interstate commerce. We will work with them and other leaders in Congress to explore the best ways to achieve this goal going forward.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director