It has mostly fallen under the radar, but President Barack Obama was looking out for homeowners last week when he decided to use a pocket veto to stop a bill that might have paved the way for more home foreclosures. Obama has only used the pocket veto — when a president refuses to sign a bill while Congress is out of session — one other time in his presidency. Dectractors of the bill, which would regulate notarization on financial documents, say the bill could make it harder for homeowners who have been targeted with improper foreclosures to protect themselves. Many states have frozen foreclosures altogether until the paperwork can be reviewed more thoroughly. (The Obama administration said today that it opposes a nationwide freeze on foreclosures out of concern over what it would do to the housing recovery.)
"President Obama is doing the correct thing by vetoing this bill," Ellen Bloom, the director of federal policy for Consumers Union in Washington, D.C., told ABC News. "With the flood of apparent improper foreclosures, this is no time to change the rules to weaken the safeguards of the notary process. This bill would make a bad situation worse when it comes to foreclosure fraud."
Read more at ABC News.
Lauren is a former Deputy Editor of The Root.