[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2588 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2588

To prevent foreclosure of home mortgages and increase the availability 
  of affordable new mortgages and affordable refinancing of mortgages 
                  held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2009

Mr. Cardoza (for himself and Mr. Costa) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prevent foreclosure of home mortgages and increase the availability 
  of affordable new mortgages and affordable refinancing of mortgages 
                  held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

    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 ``Housing Opportunity and Mortgage 
Equity Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. AFFORDABLE NEW MORTGAGES.

    (a) Authority.--The Federal National Mortgage Association and the 
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation shall each carry out a program 
under this section to purchase and securitize qualified new mortgages 
on single-family housing, in accordance with this section and policies 
and procedures that the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency 
shall establish.
    (b) Requirement To Purchase Qualified New Mortgages.--If a lender 
proffers to an enterprise, in accordance with requirements established 
by the Director, a mortgage or mortgages for purchase under this 
section, the enterprise shall make a determination of whether such 
mortgage or mortgages are qualified new mortgages. Subject to 
subsection (e), if the enterprise determines that such mortgage or 
mortgages meet the requirements for qualified new mortgages, the 
enterprise shall make a commitment to purchase, and shall purchase, the 
mortgage or mortgages.
    (c) Qualified New Mortgages.--For purposes of this section, the 
term ``qualified new mortgage'' means a mortgage that meets the 
following requirements:
            (1) Single-family housing.--The property subject to the 
        mortgage shall be a one- to four-family dwelling, including a 
        condominium or a share in a cooperative ownership housing 
        association.
            (2) Principal residence.--The mortgagor under the mortgage 
        shall occupy the property subject to the mortgage as his or her 
        principal residence.
            (3) Interest rate; term to maturity.--The mortgage shall--
                    (A) bear interest at a single rate that is fixed 
                for the entire term of the mortgage, which shall not 
                exceed an annual rate that is 1.6 percentage points 
                higher than the average annual rate of interest paid on 
                obligations of the United States most recently issued 
                by the Secretary of the Treasury and having 10-year 
                maturities; and
                    (B) have a term to maturity of not less than 30 
                years and not more than 40 years from the date of the 
                beginning of the amortization of the mortgage.
            (4) Underwriting standards.--The mortgage shall meet such 
        underwriting standards as the Director shall require.
            (5) Home purchase.--The principal loan amount repayment of 
        which is secured by the mortgage shall be used to purchase the 
        property that is subject to the qualified new mortgage.
            (6) New mortgages.--The mortgage was originated on or after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Securitization.--
            (1) Requirement.--Each enterprise shall, upon such terms 
        and conditions as it may prescribe, set aside any qualified new 
        mortgages purchased by it under this section and, upon approval 
        of the Secretary of the Treasury, issue and sell securities 
        based upon such mortgages set aside.
            (2) Form.--Securities issued under this subsection may be 
        in the form of debt obligations or trust certificates of 
        beneficial interest, or both.
            (3) Terms.--Securities issued under this subsection shall 
        have such maturities and bear such rate or rates of interest as 
        may be determined by the enterprise with the approval of the 
        Secretary.
            (4) Exemption.--Securities issued by an enterprise under 
        this subsection shall, to the same extent as securities which 
        are direct obligations of or obligations guaranteed as to 
        principal and interest by the United States, be deemed to be 
        exempt securities within the meaning of laws administered by 
        the Securities and Exchange Commission.
            (5) Principal and interest payments.--Mortgages set aside 
        pursuant to this subsection shall at all times be adequate to 
        enable the issuing enterprise to make timely principal and 
        interest payments on the securities issued and sold pursuant to 
        this subsection.
            (6) Required disclosure.--Each enterprise shall insert 
        appropriate language in all of the securities issued under this 
        subsection clearly indicating that such securities, together 
        with the interest thereon, are not guaranteed by the United 
        States and do not constitute a debt or obligation of the United 
        States or any agency or instrumentality thereof other than the 
        enterprise.
    (e) Termination.--The requirement under subsection (b) for the 
enterprises to purchase mortgages shall not apply to any mortgage 
proferred to an enterprise after the expiration of the two-year period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. AFFORDABLE REFINANCING OF MORTGAGES HELD BY FANNIE MAE AND 
              FREDDIE MAC.

    (a) Authority.--The Federal National Mortgage Association and the 
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation shall each carry out a program 
under this section to provide for the refinancing of qualified 
mortgages on single-family housing owned by such enterprise and for the 
purchase of and securitization of such refinancing mortgages, in 
accordance with this section and policies and procedures that the 
Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency shall establish. Such 
program shall require such refinancing of a qualified mortgage upon the 
request of the mortgagor made to the applicable enterprise and a 
determination by the enterprise that the mortgage is a qualified 
mortgage.
    (b) Qualified Refinancing Mortgage.--For purposes of this section, 
the term ``qualified mortgage'' means a mortgage that meets the 
following requirements:
            (1) Single-family housing.--The property subject to the 
        mortgage shall be a one- to four-family dwelling, including a 
        condominium or a share in a cooperative ownership housing 
        association.
            (2) Refinancing of gse-owned mortgages.--The principal loan 
        amount repayment of which is secured by the mortgage shall be 
        used to satisfy all indebtedness under an existing first 
        mortgage that--
                    (A) was made for purchase of, or refinancing 
                another first mortgage on, the same property that is 
                subject to the qualified refinancing mortgage;
                    (B) is owned by the Federal National Mortgage 
                Association or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage 
                Corporation; and
                    (C) was originated on or before January 1, 2008.
            (3) Interest rate.--The mortgage shall bear interest at a 
        single rate that is fixed for the entire term of the mortgage, 
        which shall not exceed an annual rate that is 1.6 percentage 
        points higher than the average annual rate of interest paid on 
        obligations of the United States most recently issued by the 
        Secretary of the Treasury and having 10-year maturities.
            (4) Waiver of prepayment penalties.--All penalties for 
        prepayment or refinancing of the underlying mortgage refinanced 
        by the mortgage, and all fees and penalties related to the 
        default or delinquency on such mortgage, shall have been waived 
        or forgiven.
    (c) Termination.--The requirement under subsection (a) for the 
enterprises to refinance qualified mortgages shall not apply to any 
request for refinancing made after the expiration of the two-year 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. TREASURY FINANCING.

    (a) Authority.--Subject to subsection (e), the Secretary may 
purchase securities issued by the enterprises pursuant to the programs 
under this Act and such other obligations as may be issued by the 
enterprises for purposes of carrying out the programs under this Act.
    (b) Public Debt Transaction.--For the purpose of purchasing any 
such securities and obligations, the Secretary may use as a public debt 
transaction the proceeds from the sale of any securities issued under 
chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, and the purposes for which 
securities are issued under such chapter are hereby extended to include 
any purchase by the Secretary of such obligations under this section.
    (c) Characteristics of Obligations.--Obligations issued and 
purchased pursuant to this section shall be in such forms and 
denominations, bear such maturities, bear interest at such rate, and be 
subject to such other terms and conditions, as the Secretary shall 
determine. In determining the term to maturity of such obligations, the 
Secretary shall take into consideration the terms to maturity of the 
various securities issued by the enterprises pursuant to the programs 
under this Act and the terms to maturity and possibility of prepayment 
of mortgages purchased and securitized under such programs.
    (d) Treatment.--All redemptions, purchases, and sales by the 
Secretary of obligations under this section shall be treated as public 
debt transactions of the United States.
    (e) Limitation on Amount.--The aggregate principal amount of 
outstanding obligations and securities purchased under subsection (a) 
by the Secretary and held at any one time may not exceed 
$10,000,000,000.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
            (2) Enterprise.--The term ``enterprise'' means the Federal 
        National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan 
        Mortgage Corporation.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Treasury.
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