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The fate of a new mortgage law championed by Rep. Brad Miller is now in the hands of the Senate, but it's unclear how much help the Raleigh Democrat will get from his Tar Heel colleagues.

HR 1106, aka the "Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009," passed the House last week on a 234-191 vote. It contained a provision, championed by Miller, that would allow federal bankruptcy court judges to rewrite the terms of first mortgages - those that most of us have on the homes we live in.

Under a last-minute change made to win over moderate Democrats, a judge would have to find that the bank had not made a reasonable offer to rewrite the homeowner's mortgage before employing the new power.

Along with Miller, fellow N.C. Democrat Mel Watt voted for the bill. Republican Reps. Howard Coble and Virginia Foxx voted against it.

The Senate this week is finishing its work on the omnibus spending bill meant to keep the federal government operating through September, but it could take up the housing measure as soon as next week.

North Carolina's two senators, Democrat Kay Hagan of Greensboro and Republican Richard Burr of Winston-Salem, have not said how they will vote on the bill. But neither gave it a warm welcome as it crossed over.

"Sen. Hagan will be reviewing the measure the Senate will be taking up," spokesman Dave Hoffman wrote in an e-mail. "Right now, she has some concerns, including allowing modifications on future mortgages."

Hagan used to work for NationsBank (what is now Bank of America), so she has some professional sympathies about the bill.

But Miller said Monday that Hagan need not worry about the House version of the legislation giving judges carte blanche in perpetuity.

"By the time it becomes law, if it does become law ... it will apply only to existing mortgages," Miller said. That limitation was put in the House bill to assuage fears of moderate Democrats that mortgages could become more expensive going forward.

For his part, Burr was cautious.

"Housing is the root of the current economic crisis, and we must fix it if we want to get our economy back on track," Burr wrote in an e-mail.

"In trying to help troubled home­owners, however, we must be careful not to create a situation that leads to responsible borrowers having to pay higher mortgage rates."

Miller said he agreed with Burr on the need to be careful but said there was little evidence that allowing bankruptcy courts to rewrite mortgages would make borrowing more expensive.

Although Miller maintains an interest in the bill, its main proponent in the Senate will be Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, the chamber's No. 2 ranking member.

Tobacco

Hagan has been getting ink over her opposition to giving the FDA regulatory authority over the tobacco industry. She was featured in a U.S. News & World Report piece that said she "plans to give the effort a thumbs-down."

No surprise here. Hagan has been against the effort since she was on the campaign trail and reiterated her opposition just after taking office.

"The FDA has their hands full with so many other things having to do with regulation affecting the American public," Hagan said in January.

It's a position she shares with Burr, who filed a bill Monday to create an alternative regulatory scheme. The pair split on the SCHIP bill, which taxes tobacco sales to fund health care for children. Hagan protested that the tobacco tax hike was too high but voted for the measure; Burr voted against it.

Healthy

In case you missed it last week, President Barack Obama - or at least his administration - is bringing his health care reform road show to Greensboro at the end of the month.

Gov. Bev Perdue plans to host a health care reform roundtable in the Gate City on March 31, although the exact location, time, participants and anything else you'd want to know haven't been settled.

What is clear is that Obama wants to follow up on his health care summit in Washington this month. He has chosen five locations, including California, Iowa, Michigan and Vermont.

A news release from the White House says that "senior Obama administration officials" will attend and that Perdue is scheduled to moderate the Greensboro forum. No word on whether the president himself will make an appearance.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com