On February 4, Senator Jack Reed issued the text of the Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC) Improvement Act of 2009, an amendment to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Economic Stimulus Bill). The amendment to the Economic Stimulus Bill would allow REMICs to dispose of loans under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) without endangering the REMIC status of the trust and would require existing REMICs to meet certain eligibility criteria related to loan modification or risk losing their REMIC status. Unless the servicer of a REMIC securitization seeks and obtains a waiver from the Secretary of the Treasury, governing documents would need to be amended to satisfy the eligibility criteria within 3 months of the amendment's enactment or the securitization would risk REMIC status disqualification. The amendment provides that if a REMIC, which is defined by section 860D(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, modifies or disposes of a troubled asset under TARP, such action will not be treated as prohibited under section 860F(a)(2) and that any proceeds from the modification or disposition will be treated as amounts received under qualified mortgages. The amendment also requires the establishment of a home mortgage loan relief program under TARP and related authorities established under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.  

http://www.kattenlaw.com/files/upload/REMIC_Legislation.pdf