Cummings critical of foreclosure abuses

A ranking House committee Democrat in Washington blasted a federal watchdog agency for its apparent failure to regulate foreclosure abuses. In a statement, Rep. Elija Cummings, D-Md., said he found "the systematic failures by FHFA (the Federal Housing Finance Agency) and Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association) to adequately oversee these foreclosure law firms to be a breach of the public trust and an assault on the integrity of our justice system," The New York Times reported Tuesday. Cummings' remarks came on the heels of an inspector general's report that criticizes the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees two of the nation's largest mortgage brokers. "American homeowners have been struggling with the effects of the housing finance crisis for several years, and they shouldn't have to worry whether they will be victims of foreclosure abuse," said Steve Linick, the inspector general for the agency. The inspector general said that mortgage broker Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, had been aware of foreclosure abuses in 2003. The FHFA, however, did not react to the abuses until mid-2010, and then when it did, its response was ineffective, the report says. In late 2010, for example, the FHFA warned Fannie Mae of the problems, but did not require Fannie Mae to respond to the warning.