PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 577.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 13, 2008
Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) authorize use of the proceeds of a qualified mortgage bond issue to refinance a mortgage on a residence originally financed through a qualified subprime loan; (2) raise the ceiling and volume cap imposed upon certain state housing bonds; and (3) exclude from the meaning of tax preference item private activity bonds, for purposes of the alternative minimum tax, qualified mortgage bonds or veterans' mortgage bonds issued after enactment of this Act and before January 1, 2011.
Makes FY2008 appropriations for: (1) emergency needs of states and local governmental units to redevelop certain abandoned and foreclosed homes; and (2) the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation for foreclosure mitigation activities, including grants for housing counseling.
Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2008 - Authorizes a bankruptcy plan for individuals with regular income to: (1) modify an allowed secured claim secured by the debtor's principal residence if the debtor's income is insufficient to retain possession of the residence by curing a default and maintaining payments while the case is pending; (2) provide for payment of such claim for a period of up to 30 years; (3) set conditions for the addition of certain fees, costs, or charges to secured debt; and (4) waive any prepayment penalty on a claim secured by a debtor's principal residence.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Waives the counseling requirement upon certification that a debtor's principal residence is scheduled for a foreclosure sale.
Permits the debtor, in lieu of the trustee, to proceed as the real party in interest in certain state or federal actions respecting a claim or defense.
Authorizes the bankruptcy court, in core proceedings involving an individual debtor with primarily consumer debts, to conduct the proceeding and enter orders and judgments in lieu of arbitration.
Creates a principal residence homestead exemption for debtors over 55 years of age.
Directs the bankruptcy court to disallow claims or interests subject to any remedy for damages or rescission due to noncompliance with state or federal consumer protection law, notwithstanding a prior foreclosure judgment.
Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act of 2008 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to set forth additional disclosure requirements governing any extensions of credit (not only mortgages) secured by the dwelling of a consumer.
Increases the actual damages for which a creditor is liable for noncompliance with such Act in the case of an individual action relating to a credit transaction not under an open end credit plan that is secured by real property or a dwelling. Replaces the current range of damages from $200 to $2,000 with a flat damages amount of $5,000, adjusted annually for inflation.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) set forth carryback rules for net operating losses for specified taxable years; and (2) suspend through taxable year 2008 the 90% of alternative minimum taxable income limit for certain adjustments to the alternative (minimum) tax net operating loss deduction.
People & committees
Sen. Reid, Harry [D-NV] · D–NV
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 577.
Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.2636 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.2636 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.2636 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.2636 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.