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Senate Bill 2131
117th Congress(2021-2022)
Improving FHA Support for Small-Dollar Mortgages Act of 2021
Introduced
Introduced
Introduced in Senate on Jun 17, 2021
Overview
Text
Introduced in Senate 
Jun 17, 2021
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Introduced in Senate(Jun 17, 2021)
Jun 17, 2021
About Linkage
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Bill Sponsor regularly scans bill texts to find sections that are contained in other bill texts. When a matching section is found, the bills containing that section can be viewed by clicking "View Bills" within the bill text section.
Bill Sponsor is currently only finding exact word-for-word section matches. In a future release, partial matches will be included.
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S. 2131 (Introduced-in-Senate)


117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2131


To require a review of the effects of FHA mortgage insurance policies, practices, and products on small-dollar mortgage lending, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 17, 2021

Mr. Tester (for himself and Ms. Lummis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To require a review of the effects of FHA mortgage insurance policies, practices, and products on small-dollar mortgage lending, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. Short title.

This Act may be cited as the “Improving FHA Support for Small-Dollar Mortgages Act of 2021”.

SEC. 2. Review of FHA small-dollar mortgage practices.

(a) Congressional findings.—The Congress finds that—

(1) affordable homeownership opportunities are being hindered due to the lack of financing available for home purchases under $100,000;

(2) according to the Urban Institute, small-dollar mortgage loan applications in 2019 were significantly more likely to be denied by lenders than large mortgage loans, and this difference in denial rates cannot be fully explained by differences in the applicants’ credit profiles;

(3) according to data compiled by Attom Data solutions, mortgage originations for loans of $70,000 or less have decreased 38 percent since 2009, while there has been a 65-percent increase in origination of mortgages for more than $150,000;

(4) the mission of the Federal Housing Administration (referred to in this section as the “FHA”) is to serve creditworthy borrowers who are underserved and disproportionately serve borrowers with lower incomes, but, according to the Urban Institute, the FHA serves a smaller share of borrowers seeking small-dollar mortgage loans than borrowers seeking larger loans at every income level; and

(5) the causes behind these variations are not fully understood but merit study that could assist in furthering the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s mission, including meeting the housing needs of borrowers the program is designed to serve and reducing barriers to homeownership, while protecting the solvency of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.

(b) Review.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) shall conduct a review of its FHA single-family mortgage insurance policies, practices, and products to identify any barriers or impediments to supporting, facilitating, and making available mortgage insurance for mortgages having an original principal obligation of $100,000 or less. Not later than the expiration of the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress describing the findings of such review and the actions that the Secretary will take, without adversely affecting the solvency of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.