Robert Menendez

In our great nation, every family should be able to afford a safe place to live and raise their children. The global economic crisis that has devastated so many families was rooted in the tsunami of foreclosures, resulting from millions of unmanageable mortgages. We are now in a position in which we have to stop the wave of foreclosures while ensuring that families continue to have access to quality housing options.

As Chairman of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development, I have worked on landmark legislation to address the housing crisis by giving responsible homeowners an avenue by which they can hold on to their homes. I have also championed legislation to give homebuyers and homeowners the education and tools necessary to make fully informed decisions about their mortgages.

At the same time, we have to continue to encourage responsible homeownership and to make affordable housing options available for those who are struggling to find them. I have worked to make housing more affordable for all by providing tools to assist responsible families in financing a home and paying their mortgage.

I have also supported funding for revitalizing public housing in need of repair and adequate funding for community development. I remain committed to promoting affordable housing, protecting consumers and their rights, and providing adequate funding and equal access for federal housing assistance.

Highlights

• Financial literacy -- Authored financial literacy law, enacted as part of the landmark Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The provision fosters better financial education among prospective homeowners and help identify the most successful methods for delivering counseling services.  The amendment  allows states to use their administrative expenses to improve their financial education and housing counseling services and authorizes pilot projects to help determine the most effective methods for providing housing counseling and financial education.

• Property tax relief -- Authored property tax relief legislation in 2006, which eventually was enacted into law in 2008. This benefits homeowners who do not itemize on their Federal tax returns. Under the law, single-filing property taxpayers will be able to take an additional standard deduction of $500 and joint filers will be able to deduct $1,000 for state and local property taxes paid. According to the New Jersey Department of Taxation, nearly 600,000 New Jersey residents benefit from the initiative.

• Housing for the disabled -- Author of the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act to help ensuring that low-income disabled Americans have access to affordable housing options. The legislation would bolster the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s program that increases the availability of affordable housing for persons with disabilities and helps provide them with rental assistance.

• Schoolchildren affected by foreclosures -- As part of the 2009 economic recovery package, secured $70 million in federal funding for a program to help schoolchildren uprooted by foreclosures to remain in their schools and receive educational assistance. As a result of the nationwide foreclosure crisis, potentially millions of students, including 50,000 in New Jersey, could see their families lose their homes, finding themselves floating from school to school.