Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. press release, June 24, 1997

1407 York Rood, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 MEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 1997 CONTACT: Richard Cross 202-225-3061 EHRLICH NAMED “ LEGISLATOR OF THE YEAR” BY NATION’S MORTGAGE BROKERS Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. (R-2nd., MD) has been named the 1997 Legislator of the Year by the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), an organization consisting of 5,000 mortgage brokers in all 50 states. NAMB presented this award to the Congressman because of his strong support of issues important to the mortgage broker industry, as evidenced by his sponsorship of H. R. 1283, the RESPA Class Action Relief Act of 1997. “I am pleased and honored that NAMB has selected me for this prestigious award,” Congressman Ehrlich stated. “Mortgage brokers account for over half of all residential mortgage. They play an important role in fulfilling the American dream. They should be rewarded for the valuable service they perform for homebuyers — not jeopardized by bureaucratic inaction.” H. R. 1283 will preserve access to competitive loans for many first-time and low-income homebuyers by freezing class-action lawsuits which threaten the mortgage broker industry. The lawsuits stem from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) unwillingness to issue a clarification regarding the legality of certain lender-paid fees. The bill has 70 bipartisan cosponsors. Nationally there are approximately 20,000 mortgage brokers, most of whom are small business owners with fewer than 10 employees. In 1996, $450 billion of home loans were underwritten by mortgage brokers.