 President Obama stepped into a growing political furor over the nation's troubled foreclosure system Thursday by vetoing a little-known bill that critics say would have made it easier to evict homeowners who missed their payments. And calls have increased for a nationwide moratorium - a move that could deal a blow to the earnings of big banks and grind to a halt the sale of millions of properties in foreclosure. In December, Mr. Obama declined to sign a spending bill the White House said was "unnecessary" because Congress had passed superseding legislation. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called Thursday for the national freeze, and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D) demanded that big lenders stop foreclosures in his home state of Nevada. The vetoed bill, which is two pages, would have required local courts to accept notarizations, including those made electronically, from across state lines. Lawmakers saw no problems when the House approved it in April by a voice vote, which leaves no record of votes. "There is absolutely no connection whatsoever between [this bill] and the recent foreclosure-documentation problems," Mr. Aderholt said, adding that "the fears about this bill have resulted from misunderstanding."
– President Obama is refusing to sign a bill that critics say would make it easier for banks to rush foreclosures on homeowners, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bill zipped through both the House and Senate when it was deemed an uncontroversial measure on interstate commerce—it centers on out-of-state notarizations—but the national scandal over thousands of rushed foreclosures has changed things. Obama has never vetoed a bill outright, and won't start with this one—he'll use the "pocket veto" process to send it back to Congress, though it's not clear what changes the president will require. A spokesman for Robert Aderholt, who sponsored the bill, said "there is absolutely no connection whatsoever between Congressman Aderholt's legislation and the recent foreclosure documentation problems." But opponents complained it would allow banks to cut even more corners in the foreclosure process, notes the Washington Post.