Just a quick update on the Advocacy efforts of our Arizona Mortgage Professionals whose involvement and dedication make a difference to all of us….
AMLA’s 2014 President, Kelly Powers, attended both the State and Local MBA Annual Conference and the National Advocacy Conference in Washington, and spent April 10th day on Capitol Hill meeting with members of the House and Senate. There were a total of nine participants representing Arizona on the Hill, including Piero Aviles, Ashley Kendrick, Rich Flanagan, PJ Harrigan, Jamie Korus, Julie Messina, Cody Pearce, and Amy Swaney.The hot topic was of course, GSE reform and specifically the elements of the Johnson-Crapo Bill and HR 2767, otherwise known as the PATH Act. The Arizona delegation spent time with our Legislators and their staff discussing the many issues facing the industry today, in particular the need to maintain access to credit.
Jamie Korus, AMLA member, was among 15 people representing all segments of the lending community that attended the following meetings: Mel Watts, Director of the FHFA at the FHFA, Senate Banking Committee (Johnson and Crapo staff), Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), Richard Cordray, Director of the CFPB at the CFPB, Obama’s Administration in the West Wing of the White House. The issues they addressed were diverse; they included GSE reform; the Johnson-Crapo Bill; compensatory fees; GSE Representation and Warranties; GSE loan limits; ATR/QM Rule clarity; cures and expansion of credit; supporting FHA’s mission to provide credit to underserved markets; and QRM alignment with QM. Jamie’s comments follow:
“The experience as a whole was exceptional. The opportunity to speak directly with policy makers and regulators was unmatched by any other advocacy event I have previously attended. It was also very reassuring to see the warm reception given and obvious relationship that the MBA staff has with all of the people that we met with. It allowed me to see first-hand exactly how well the MBA lobbies and advocates on behalf of all of us, our industry and the consumer.”
Amy Swaney, Mortgage Acton Alliance Chair, presented at at the National Advocacy Conference Town Hall Meeting on April 9 in Washington DC. There were over 400 in attendance representing 39 States. Amy stressed the need for all of us to become involved in order to make our voices heard and our challenges addressed. She cited the sobering statistic that the National Association of Realtors had over 4000 people participate in their day on the Hill while we had less than 275 represent the Mortgage Industry. There were eleven States that did not even attend the conference, nor have they ever! As an FYI, Arizona has 504 registered Mortgage Action Alliance Members, representing 48 member firms that employee 1315 people. Moral of the story- GET INVOLVED!!! Your career depends on it!
As always, AMLA encourages participation among all of our members on both the local and Federal level. Please contact Kelly Powers at 602-332-3282 if you are interested in taking on this rewarding challenge .
