STOP FRAUD Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Stopping Transactions which Operate to Promote Fraud, Risk, and Underdevelopment Act or the STOP FRAUD Act - Amends federal criminal law to make it unlawful for any mortgage professional (as defined by this Act) to execute, or attempt to execute, a scheme or artifice to: (1) defraud any natural person or financial institution in connection with the offer of consumer credit secured by an interest in real property, or in personal property used or expected to be used as a principal dwelling; or (2) falsely obtain any money or property from a natural person in connection with an extension of consumer credit secured by an interest in real property, or in personal property used or expected to be used as the principal dwelling of such natural person.
Provides for: (1) fines and/or imprisonment for violations of such provisions; and (2) a private right of action.
Includes within the definition of "financial institution" for specified federal monetary transaction provisions the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), mortgage appraisers, real estate accountants, real estate attorneys, real estate brokers, mortgage underwriters, mortgage processors, mortgage settlement and title companies, mortgage brokers, mortgage loan originators, and any other mortgage professional engaged in the mortgage industry.
Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide tenants, homeowners, and other consumers with mortgage fraud counseling.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 14, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 14, 2006: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Barack Obama (D-IL) introduced it on February 14, 2006, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 14, 2006, 7513 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7513 days ago, on February 14, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers