ACORN

Intimidating to nearly everyone, the home buying process can seem impossible to millions of low- and moderate-income Americans.  

Beginning in 1986, ACORN Housing’s mortgage counseling program started a program to help first time homebuyers learn about and be better prepared for the process of buying a home. In their first 15 years, they helped over 50,000 families achieve their dreams of homeownership.  

ACORN Housing also helped thousands of existing homeowners avoid foreclosure and preserve their homes by helping them negotiate with lenders. They frequently worked with victims of predatory lending as well as those who were facing serious and unexpected financial hardships.

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Seila Law was under investigation by the CFPB for violations of telemarketing laws. The CFPB requested documents pertaining to call from Seila, but the firm refused, arguing that the structure of the CPB is unconstitutional because the head of the CFPB can only be removed by the President “for cause”. (Meaning there can’t be change due to political whims; the director must have done something actually wrong.)

The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit determined that such a restriction does not  “impede the President’s ability to perform his constitutional duty to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed.”

Seila appealed to the US Supreme Court in June 2019, and the court has agreed to take the case.  At first glance, this is an issue of whether the head of an agency designed to be apolitical and not subject to the whims of the moment can be protected from being removed without cause. Also at stake, however, is the entirety of the Dodd-Frank Act. If the court decides that one portion of the Act is unconstitutional, can that one part be separated from the rest of the Act, or does that wipe out the whole of Dodd-Frank?