IIB 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 830 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 14, 2011 Recevied; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs AN ACT To rescind the unobligated funding for the FHA Refinance Program and to terminate the program.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the FHA Refinance Program Termination Act.

2.

Rescission of funding for FHA Refinance Program

Effective on the date of the enactment of this Act, there are rescinded and permanently canceled all unexpended balances remaining available as of such date of enactment of the amounts made available under title I of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (Public Law 110–343; 12 U.S.C. 5211 et seq.) that have been allocated for use under the FHA Refinance Program (pursuant to Mortgagee Letter 2010–23 of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development) of the Making Home Affordable initiative of the Secretary of the Treasury. All such unexpended balances so rescinded and permanently canceled shall be retained in the general fund of the Treasury for reducing the debt of the Federal Government.

3.

Termination of FHA Refinance Program

(a)

Termination of Mortgagee Letter

The Mortgagee Letter referred to in section 2 shall be void and have no effect and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may not issue any regulation, order, notice, or mortgagee letter based on or substantially similar to such Mortgagee Letter. (b)

Treatment of remaining funds

Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, any amounts made available for use under the Program referred to in section 2 of this Act and expended before the date of the enactment of this Act shall continue to be governed by the Mortgagee Letter specified in subsection (a) of this section, and any other provisions of law, regulations, orders, and notices, applicable to such amounts, as in effect immediately before such date of enactment. (c)

Termination

After the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may not newly insure any mortgage under the FHA Refinance Program referred to in section 2 of this Act except pursuant to a commitment to insure made before such enactment, and upon the completion of all activities with respect to such commitments under the provisions of law, regulations, orders, notices, and mortgagee letters referred to in subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall terminate the FHA Refinance Program referred to in section 2. (d)

Study of use of program by members of the Armed Forces, veterans, Gold Star recipients, and members and veterans with service-connected disabilities and their families

(1)

Study

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall conduct a study to determine the extent of usage of the FHA Refinance Program referred to in section 2 by, and the impact of such program on, covered homeowners. (2)

Report

Not later than the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report setting forth the results of the study under paragraph (1) and identifying best practices, with respect to covered homeowners, that could be applied to the FHA Refinance Program. (3)

Covered homeowner

For purposes of this subsection, the term covered homeowner means a homeowner who is— (A)a member of the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty or the spouse or parent of such a member; (B)a veteran, as such term is defined in section 101 of title 38, United States Code; (C)eligible to receive a Gold Star lapel pin under section 1126 of title 10, United States Code, as a widow, parent, or next of kin of a member of the Armed Forces person who died in a manner described in subsection (a) of such section; and (D)such members and veterans of the Armed Forces who have service-connected injuries, and survivors and dependents of such members and veterans of the Armed Forces with such injuries.

4.

Publication of Member Availability for Assistance

Not later than 5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall publish to its Website on the World Wide Web in a prominent location, large point font, and boldface type the following statement: The FHA Short Refinance Program, which was intended to provide borrowers with refinance opportunities, has been terminated. If you are having trouble paying your mortgage and need help contacting your lender or servicer for purposes of negotiating or acquiring a loan modification, please contact your Member of Congress to assist you in contacting your lender or servicer for the purpose of negotiating or acquiring a loan modification..

Passed the House of Representatives March 10, 2011. Karen L. Haas, Clerk.