H.R. 1859: Housing Finance Reform Act of 2011

112th Congress · introduced 2011-05-12 · Housing and Community Development · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2011-05-12 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Campbell, John [R-CA-48] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Housing Finance Reform Act of 2011

Plain summary

Housing Finance Reform Act of 2011 - Amends the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to authorize the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to: (1) provide for the organization, incorporation, examination, operation, and regulation of housing finance guaranty associations (which may be corporations, mutual associations, partnerships, limited liability corporations, cooperatives, or other appropriate organizational forms); and (2) issue charters for them. Authorizes the Director, upon an organizer's application, to issue a special purpose charter if the operations of the proposed association would be limited to serving a particular mortgage market, such as multifamily housing, or a particular category of mortgage lenders, such as community banks. Authorizes national banks, state banks, trust companies, federal or state credit unions, or other banking organizations, including bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies, to acquire an interest in an association, and hold or dispose of it, subject to the approval by the appropriate federal banking agency. Authorizes associations to purchase, hold, sell, and otherwise deal in conventional mortgages only for the purpose of: (1) creating a secondary market for them, including new conventional mortgage products; (2) facilitating their securitization; and (3) supporting mutlifamily housing. Prohibits an association from originating or servicing a mortgage or performing other specified actions. Directs the Director to establish an Office of Securitization within the FHFA to facilitate the securitization of conventional mortgages. Requires the Office to create, label, administer, and service FHFA securities issued by associations. Requires the Comptroller General to determine the market value of the catastrophic guarantee of FHFA securities, and the Director to establish a pricing structure for guarantee fees by associations, based on the market value study, that provides for a reasonable rate of return to associations. Exempts FHFA securities from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 and the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Requires the Director to require each association to disclose publicly information about the composition of each pool of mortgages backing any FHFA security it issues. Requires the Director to guarantee the timely payment of the principal and interest of FHFA securities (the catastrophic federal guarantee), pledged by the full faith and credit of the United States. States that a guarantee shall apply only if: (1) the issuing association has been placed into conservatorship or recievership by the Director, and (2) the Reserve Fund (established by this Act) lacks sufficient funds to make the required principal and interest payments. Requires the Director to: (1) establish an annual fee to be paid by associations for a guarantee issued in connection with FHFA securities issued by them, (2) impose and collect such fees through the Office of Securitization, (3) establish a Reserve Fund which shall be credited with all such fees, (4) impose a special assessment on associations to recoup all costs associated with any guarantee payments made, and (5) supervise all associations. Directs the Director to establish: (1) risk-based and leverage capital standards for associations, (2) standards for the management and operations of associations, and (3) underwriting standards for conventional mortgages purchased by an association. Requires the Director to prohibit any association from purchasing any conventional mortgage for which the maximum original principal obligation exceeds 150% of a figure determined according to a specified formula. Repeals affordable housing goals. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to subject the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (government-sponsored enterprises or GSEs ) to state and local taxes. Directs the Director to issue regulations that require each GSE to: (1) reduce its total mortgage assets to not more than $250 billion within five years, and (2) increase guarantee fees. Requires the Director to place the GSEs into receivership no later than one year after five or more associations, two of which are not special purpose associations, have been chartered. Pledges the full faith and credit of the United States to the payment of all debt obligations of the enterprises and all mortgage-backed securities issued by the GSEs until they mature or are redeemed.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Housing Finance Reform Act of 2011

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Campbell, John [R-CA-48] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Gary C. Peters (D-MI)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (5)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Obligation: A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112hr1859.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/hr>

Record fed-us-cong112-hr1859 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112