To establish the Office of the Homeowner Advocate for purposes of addressing problems with the Home Affordable Modification Program.

SA 4311. Mr. FRANKEN (for himself, Ms. Snowe, and Mrs. Murray)
proposed an amendment to amendment SA 4301 proposed by Mr. Baucus to
the bill H.R. 4213, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
extend certain expiring provisions, and for other purposes; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

TITLE __--OFFICE OF THE HOMEOWNER ADVOCATE

SEC. _01. OFFICE OF THE HOMEOWNER ADVOCATE.

(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department
of the Treasury an office to be known as the ``Office of the
Homeowner Advocate'' (in this title referred to as the
``Office'').
(b) Director.--
(1) In general.--The Director of the Office of the
Homeowner Advocate (in this title referred to as the
``Director'') shall report directly to the Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability, and shall
be entitled to compensation at the same rate as the highest
rate of basic pay established for the Senior Executive
Service under section 5382 of title 5, United States Code.

[[Page S4700]]

(2) Appointment.--The Director shall be appointed by the
Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, and without
regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code,
relating to appointments in the competitive service or the
Senior Executive Service.
(3) Qualifications.--An individual appointed under
paragraph (2) shall have--
(A) experience as an advocate for homeowners; and
(B) experience dealing with mortgage servicers.
(4) Restriction on employment.--An individual may be
appointed as Director only if such individual was not an
officer or employee of either a mortgage servicer or the
Department of the Treasury during the 4-year period preceding
the date of such appointment.
(5) Hiring authority.--The Director shall have the
authority to hire staff, obtain support by contract, and
manage the budget of the Office of the Homeowner Advocate.

SEC. _02. FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE.

(a) In General.--It shall be the function of the Office--
(1) to assist homeowners, housing counselors, and housing
lawyers in resolving problems with the Home Affordable
Modification Program of the Making Home Affordable initiative
of the Secretary, authorized under the Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act of 2008 (in this title referred to as the
``Home Affordable Modification Program'')
(2) to identify areas, both individual and systematic, in
which homeowners, housing counselors, and housing lawyers
have problems in dealings with the Home Affordable
Modification Program;
(3) to the extent possible, to propose changes in the
administrative practices of the Home Affordable Modification
Program, to mitigate problems identified under paragraph (2);
(4) to identify potential legislative changes which may be
appropriate to mitigate such problems; and
(5) to implement other programs and initiatives that the
Director deems important to assisting homeowners, housing
counselors, and housing lawyers in resolving problems with
the Home Affordable Modification Program, which may include--
(A) running a triage hotline for homeowners at risk of
foreclosure;
(B) providing homeowners with access to housing counseling
programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
at no cost to the homeowner;
(C) developing Internet tools related to the Home
Affordable Modification Program; and
(D) developing training and educational materials.
(b) Authority.--
(1) In general.--Staff designated by the Director shall
have the authority to implement servicer remedies, on a case-
by-case basis, subject to the approval of the Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability.
(2) Limitations on foreclosures.--No homeowner may be taken
to a foreclosure sale, until the earlier of the date on which
the Office of the Homeowner Advocate case involving the
homeowner is closed, or 60 days since the opening of the
Office of the Homeowner Advocate case involving the homeowner
have passed, except that nothing in this section may be
construed to relieve any loan servicers from any otherwise
applicable rules, directives, or similar guidance under the
Home Affordable Modification Program relating to the
continuation or completion of foreclosure proceedings.
(3) Resolution of homeowner concerns.--The Office shall, to
the extent possible, resolve all homeowner concerns not later
than 30 days after the opening of a case with such homeowner.
(c) Commencement of Operations.--The Office shall commence
its operations, as required by this title, not later than 3
months after the date of enactment of this Act.
(d) Sunset.--The Office shall cease operations as of the
date on which the Home Affordable Modification Program ceases
to operate.

SEC. _03. RELATIONSHIP WITH EXISTING ENTITIES.

(a) Transfer.--The Office shall coordinate and centralize
all complaint escalations relating to the Home Affordable
Modification Program.
(b) Hotline.--The HOPE hotline (or any successor triage
hotline) shall reroute all complaints relating to the Home
Affordable Modification Program to the Office.
(c) Coordination.--The Office shall coordinate with the
compliance office of the Office of Financial Stability of the
Department of the Treasury and the Homeownership Preservation
Office of the Department of the Treasury.

SEC. _04. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

(a) Testimony.--The Director shall be available to testify
before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives, not less frequently than 4 times a
year, or at any time at the request of the Chairs of either
committee.
(b) Reports.--Once annually, the Director shall provide a
detailed report to Congress on the Home Affordable
Modification Program. Such report shall contain full and
substantive analysis, in addition to statistical information,
including, at a minimum--
(1) data and analysis of the types and volume of complaints
received from homeowners, housing counselors, and housing
lawyers, broken down by category of servicer, except that
servicers may not be identified by name in the report;
(2) a summary of not fewer than 20 of the most serious
problems encountered by Home Affordable Modification Program
participants, including a description of the nature of such
problems;
(3) to the extent known, identification of the 10 most
litigated issues for Home Affordable Modification Program
participants, including recommendations for mitigating such
disputes;
(4) data and analysis on the resolutions of the complaints
received from homeowners, housing counselors, and housing
lawyers;
(5) identification of any programs or initiatives that the
Office has taken to improve the Home Affordable Modification
Program;
(6) recommendations for such administrative and legislative
action as may be appropriate to resolve problems encountered
by Home Affordable Modification Program participants; and
(7) such other information as the Director may deem
advisable.

SEC. _05. FUNDING.

Amounts made available for the costs of administration of
the Home Affordable Modification Program that are not
otherwise obligated shall be available to carry out the
duties of the Office. Funding shall be maintained at levels
adequate to reasonably carry out the functions of the Office.
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