Happy Holidays! After much hard work, we wish you a  restful and joyful holiday season.

Omnibus: A bill that packages together several measures into one or combines diverse subjects into a single bill. Omnibus bills are designed to compel the executive to approve provisions that they would otherwise reject but that they sign into law to prevent the defeat of the entire bill. Laws governing the Federal Budget are typically omnibus bills.

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Call For Action Update

You should all give yourselves a HUGE pat on the back for your efforts toward our two recent Calls for Action. After 100% participation by FPCs on Mortgage Debt Forgiveness, the House passed a tax package (H.R. 5771) including the measure. When we work together to carry out our advocacy duties, it is clear that Congress takes notice. While we were not able to get to 100% participation from every FPC on the TRIA Call for Action, enough of you reached out and the House also passed TRIA (S.2244) by a significant margin – 417-7. The bill will now be sent to the Senate for consideration. Our work is not done – please continue to push your Senators on this important measure to our industry.

4^th Quarter Reports Due

This is a friendly reminder that your 4^th quarter field reports are due at the end of the month. That’s in just two weeks and we have the holidays coming up, so do them now. You can file your field report here. Even if your Member is not returning to Congress next year and perhaps has become lackadaisical in his or her duties as they look forward to retirement, please reach out anyway. It is important to thank your Member of Congress for their public service. You may ask them what they have planned after they leave Capitol Hill and offer to stay in touch. You always want to leave a strong impression with your outgoing legislator because you never know if you may need their help in the future or visa versa. Keep in mind, many members of Congress come back to Congress after taking some time away. Whatever the case may be, there is no reason to leave your 4^th quarter report incomplete.

 As we finish out the year, you should all very proud of the work you have done for the 113^th Congress. With your efforts, REALTORS saw legislative victories on issues including:

• Maintaining current GSE loan limits;
• Preserving homeownership tax policies;
• Property tax relief;
• NAR language in the final RESPA/TILA rule;
• Safeguarding consumer data privacy; and
• Rural housing reform.

Great work team. I look forward to all of the work many of us will continue to do together in the next Congressional cycle.

NAR Testifies at Senate Banking Hearing

On December 9, 2014 NAR Conventional Finance and Lending Committee Chair Mabel Guzman, testified before the Senate Banking Committee. Guzman is a broker for AT-Properties in Chicago. During the hearing she said Congress and the administration must address key policy issues in order to facilitate a healthy real estate market that serves current and future homeowners and drives the national economy forward. She said explained that tight credit, high fees and low inventory have combined to make it prohibitively expensive for millions of responsible, creditworthy prospective buyers to own a home.

NAR estimates that in 2013, nearly 400,000 creditworthy borrowers were priced out of the housing market because of high FHA insurance premiums. By lowering its fees, FHA could provide greater access to homeownership for historically underserved groups. Guzman called on Congress to pass the Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act. You can view her full testimony here.

FHA Releases 2015 Loan Limits

On Dec. 5, 2014, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) released its 2015 Loan Limits.  FHA's calculation for maximum loan limits in high cost metropolitan areas of the country will remain at the 2014 level of $625,500. The standard loan limit for lower cost metropolitan areas will remain unchanged at $271,050. For more information on the loan limits and appeals process, you can visit this link.

FPC Spotlight

FPCs continue to get accolades and impress us. A big congrats to Robert Pahlke, FPC for Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-49), was recently honored as Realtor of the Year by NSDCAR (North San Diego County Assoc. of Realtors). In other news, Dan O’Neil, FPC for Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5), was installed as the 2015 President of the Kansas City Regional Assn of Realtors. Great work gentlemen. Keep it up!

**FPC Weekly Newsletters are now online!