National Figerprint Registry

[msduncan]

Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) authored a bill (with 11 co-sponsors, including Sen. Barack Obama) that was incorporated into a housing bill passed by the Senate Banking Committee 19-2 before the Memorial Day recess — a bill that creates a national fingerprint registry.

According to a Martinez press release, the language merely “creates national licensing and oversight standards for residential mortgage originators.”

One of the standards, John Berlau of the Competitive Enterprise Institute says, may “require thousands of individuals working even tangentially in the mortgage and real estate industries — and not suspected of anything — to send their prints to the feds.”

The Fingerprint Registry would not be limited in use in the future to the mortgage industry.

[Moliere]

The Fingerprint Registry would not be limited in use in the future to the mortgage industry.

Of course it would. What reason do you have for mistrusting your government? I think someone needs their fingerprints taken.

[Biyobi]

If the Homeland Security Act so beloved by the current administration has taught me anything, it's that if you aren't guilty, you have nothing to fear.

[Scraper]

Does anyone know if Obama or McCain openly support this measure of the bill? If so my vote is now officially gone for either one of them (not that they had much of a chance for my vote in the first place).

[Brendan]

This is not news - the SEC requires the fingerprinting of anyone involved in securities brokering under rule 17f-2.  This essentially extends that same system to mortgage brokers.  They want to do criminal background checks.

I have no opinion on whether it's desireable; it's just not a deviation from existing federal policy.

I would like a citation from msduncan on his other claim - that they "would not be limited in use to the mortage industry."  The fingerprints, according to the text of the bill are to be provided to the "Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry."

[Pyperkub]

msd - linky please.

[Doopri]

Of course it would. What reason do you have for mistrusting your government? I think someone needs their fingerprints taken.

L...O...L

and yea thats a bit ridiculous.  isnt it possible to run a bci without collecting a fingerprint? and even if it isnt, its certainly possible to do it without maintaining a permanent register of them

[msduncan]

msd - linky please.

cnet

[msduncan]

Does anyone know if Obama or McCain openly support this measure of the bill? If so my vote is now officially gone for either one of them (not that they had much of a chance for my vote in the first place).

Senator Obama is a co-sponsor of the bill.

[Dan_Theman]

This is not news - the SEC requires the fingerprinting of anyone involved in securities brokering under rule 17f-2.  This essentially extends that same system to mortgage brokers.  They want to do criminal background checks.

I have no opinion on whether it's desireable; it's just not a deviation from existing federal policy.

I would just like to emphasize this one particular point.  I've had to get fingerprinted as part of a background check, as have people in many professions.  I personally know of only one person at my company who was ever "caught" by the fingerprint check, and as it turns out it was merely due to a clerical error that was quickly (if embarassingly) corrected.

[Brendan]

I see now why msduncan didn't provide a link to his quotation - it's from the heritage foundation.  Ha.  Surprisingly, there's actually a few sane people posting on their site, but they're being shouted down by the black helicopter crowd.

The heritage foundation's take is maximally misleading, of course.  The purpose of the bill is to create a national licensing system for mortgage brokers (to combat the rampant fraud seen during the mortgage bubble).   There is no national "fingerprint registry."

As part of the background check, and "in connection with an application to any State for licensing and registration as a State-licensed loan originator," an applicant submits their fingerprints to the mortgage licensing system for an FBI background check, they submit a credit report, and they take 20 hours of educational classes on ethics, federal law, and mortgage lending standards.  Oh, and pass a hundred question test.

There are 12 co-sponsors, plus Feinstein:

Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 2/14/2008
Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] - 4/10/2008
Sen Carper, Thomas R. [DE] - 5/20/2008
Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY] - 4/10/2008
Sen Dole, Elizabeth [NC] - 4/10/2008
Sen Klobuchar, Amy [MN] - 4/10/2008
Sen Kohl, Herb [WI] - 5/6/2008
Sen Martinez, Mel [FL] - 2/6/2008
Sen Mikulski, Barbara A. [MD] - 4/10/2008
Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] - 5/6/2008
Sen Obama, Barack [IL] - 4/10/2008
Sen Salazar, Ken [CO] - 2/25/2008

msd - linky please.

cnet

Where's the citation for "The Fingerprint Registry would not be limited in use in the future to the mortgage industry"?

There isn't one in your link to the news.com article - instead, it reads:

"In the proposed federal system, what remains unclear is what happens to the fingerprints once submitted. The legislation talks about a "background check"--which would imply a one-time use--but also creates a Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry that "provides increased accountability and tracking of loan originators.""

And then the article mentions that they hadn't yet talked with Martinez or Feinstein's people.

Nothing to see here, folks.  Much ado about nothing.

[Canuck]

I see now why msduncan didn't provide a link to his quotation - it's from the heritage foundation.  Ha.  Surprisingly, there's actually a few sane people posting on their site, but they're being shouted down by the black helicopter crowd.

The heritage foundation's take is maximally misleading, of course.  The purpose of the bill is to create a national licensing system for mortgage brokers (to combat the rampant fraud seen during the mortgage bubble).   There is no national "fingerprint registry."

As part of the background check, and "in connection with an application to any State for licensing and registration as a State-licensed loan originator," an applicant submits their fingerprints to the mortgage licensing system for an FBI background check, they submit a credit report, and they take 20 hours of educational classes on ethics, federal law, and mortgage lending standards.  Oh, and pass a hundred question test.

There are 12 co-sponsors, plus Feinstein:

Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 2/14/2008
Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] - 4/10/2008
Sen Carper, Thomas R. [DE] - 5/20/2008
Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY] - 4/10/2008
Sen Dole, Elizabeth [NC] - 4/10/2008
Sen Klobuchar, Amy [MN] - 4/10/2008
Sen Kohl, Herb [WI] - 5/6/2008
Sen Martinez, Mel [FL] - 2/6/2008
Sen Mikulski, Barbara A. [MD] - 4/10/2008
Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] - 5/6/2008
Sen Obama, Barack [IL] - 4/10/2008
Sen Salazar, Ken [CO] - 2/25/2008

msd - linky please.

cnet

Where's the citation for "The Fingerprint Registry would not be limited in use in the future to the mortgage industry"?

There isn't one in your link to the news.com article - instead, it reads:

"In the proposed federal system, what remains unclear is what happens to the fingerprints once submitted. The legislation talks about a "background check"--which would imply a one-time use--but also creates a Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry that "provides increased accountability and tracking of loan originators.""

And then the article mentions that they hadn't yet talked with Martinez or Feinstein's people.

Nothing to see here, folks.  Much ado about nothing.

PWNT!

[gellar]

I see now why msduncan didn't provide a link to his quotation - it's from the heritage foundation.  Ha.  Surprisingly, there's actually a few sane people posting on their site, but they're being shouted down by the black helicopter crowd.

The heritage foundation's take is maximally misleading, of course.  The purpose of the bill is to create a national licensing system for mortgage brokers (to combat the rampant fraud seen during the mortgage bubble).   There is no national "fingerprint registry."

As part of the background check, and "in connection with an application to any State for licensing and registration as a State-licensed loan originator," an applicant submits their fingerprints to the mortgage licensing system for an FBI background check, they submit a credit report, and they take 20 hours of educational classes on ethics, federal law, and mortgage lending standards.  Oh, and pass a hundred question test.

There are 12 co-sponsors, plus Feinstein:

Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 2/14/2008
Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] - 4/10/2008
Sen Carper, Thomas R. [DE] - 5/20/2008
Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY] - 4/10/2008
Sen Dole, Elizabeth [NC] - 4/10/2008
Sen Klobuchar, Amy [MN] - 4/10/2008
Sen Kohl, Herb [WI] - 5/6/2008
Sen Martinez, Mel [FL] - 2/6/2008
Sen Mikulski, Barbara A. [MD] - 4/10/2008
Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] - 5/6/2008
Sen Obama, Barack [IL] - 4/10/2008
Sen Salazar, Ken [CO] - 2/25/2008

msd - linky please.

cnet

Where's the citation for "The Fingerprint Registry would not be limited in use in the future to the mortgage industry"?

There isn't one in your link to the news.com article - instead, it reads:

"In the proposed federal system, what remains unclear is what happens to the fingerprints once submitted. The legislation talks about a "background check"--which would imply a one-time use--but also creates a Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry that "provides increased accountability and tracking of loan originators.""

And then the article mentions that they hadn't yet talked with Martinez or Feinstein's people.

Nothing to see here, folks.  Much ado about nothing.

PWNT!

LOL.  Seriously.

gellar