Manzullo Warns HUD on RESPA

The chairman of the House Small Business Committee is warning the Department of Housing and Urban Development not to move ahead with its RESPA rule.Rep. Donald Manzullo said he finds reports that HUD is pressing forward to finalize its Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule "very disturbing and dangerous." The committee chairman has been very critical of HUD Secretary Mel Martinez's RESPA reform effort and HUD's failure to produce an adequate economic study that shows how the rule will affect small businesses that provide settlement services. "I am requesting that final regulation be delayed," Rep. Manzullo says in a Nov. 26 letter to the HUD secretary. "There is virtually no industry or congressional support for a final rule at this time and I fail to understand why HUD believes it would be prudent to move to finalize the regulation." The Ohio congressman also complained that HUD did not respond to his July 30 letter. Meanwhile, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is waiting for a response to its Oct. 17 letter to HUD outlining their concerns about the RESPA rule. "We are going to follow up," a caucus spokeswoman said.