House Committee Markup Includes Affordability Bills
June 27, 2022
On June 23, the House Financial Services Committee advanced 10 bills during a markup session, including several housing-related bills. The partisan legislation is unlikely to advance in the closely divided Senate. Legislation of interest to CREFC members is highlighted below:
- H.R. 4495, the Down Payment toward Equity Act
- A bill offered by Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) that would authorize $100 billion for a new HUD grant program to provide financial assistance to first-time, first-generation homebuyers to put toward a down payment and other upfront costs to purchase a home. This funding would help address multigenerational inequities in access to homeownership and help close the racial wealth and homeownership gaps in the United States.
- Passed the Committee by a vote of 28-23.
- H.R. 68, the Housing Fairness Act of 2021
- A bill offered by Representative Al Green (D-TX) that would authorize increased funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) and make a number of reforms to FHIP. It would also establish a new competitive grant program at HUD to support comprehensive studies of the causes and effects of ongoing discrimination and segregation, and the implementation of pilot projects to test solutions.
- Passed the Committee by a vote of 28-24.
- H.R. 3111, the Grandfamily Housing Act of 2021
- A bill offered by Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) that would authorize $100 million to establish a pilot program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support the housing needs of intergenerational families through supportive services.
- Passed the Committee by a vote of 29-24.
- H.R. 6841, the Small Business Fair Debt Collection Protection Act
- A bill offered by Representative Al Lawson (D-FL) that would amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to extend protections that are currently in place for consumers to guard against certain predatory debt practices, to also apply to small business borrowers. Specifically, it would expand the definition of debt to include debt incurred from small business loans, restrict the means and methods by which collectors can contact small business debtors, and limit actions of third-party debt collectors who attempt to collect debts on behalf of another person or entity.
- Passed the Committee by a vote of 29-24.
- H.R. 4586, the Risk-Based Credit Examination Act
- A bill offered by Representative Ann Wagner (R-MO) that would provide discretion to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to prioritize its examination process of credit rating agencies as it deems appropriate, which means the SEC would only examine agencies if it determines there is a reason to do so. The bill does not remove the requirement that the SEC examine credit rating agencies annually.
- Passed the Committee by a voice vote.