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H.R. 3841: Principal Reduction Act of 2012

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H.R. 3841: Principal Reduction Act of 2012

112th Congress · introduced 2012-01-31 · Housing and Community Development · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2012-01-31 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-35] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. 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

Principal Reduction Act of 2012

Plain summary

Principal Reduction Act of 2012 - Directs the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (government sponsored enterprises or GSEs) each to carry out a program to reduce the outstanding principal balances on qualified mortgages on single-family housing they own or guarantee. Directs a GSE, under its program, to: (1) reduce the principal of a mortgage to an amount resulting in a mortgage loan-to-value ratio of not more than 90%; (2) require a mortgagor, if the dwelling for which the mortgage principal has been reduced is sold by any process other than a foreclosure sale or short sale, to pay the GSE at least one-third of any appreciation in value; and (3) recover from the mortgagor, if a mortgage whose principal has been reduced subsequently enters foreclosure, the difference between the foreclosure sales price and the outstanding principal balance on the mortgage immediately before the principal reduction. Prohibits the charging of borrowers fees by either a GSE or a servicer conducting a principal reduction on behalf of a GSE. Requires a GSE to pay any servicer a fee of up to $1,000 for reducing a mortgage principal under the program. Directs the Director of Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to encourage the modification of second liens on dwellings on which the mortgage principal is reduced under this Act. Prohibits the Director from approving bonus compensation that exceeds the base compensation that exceeds the base compensation for any GSE executive or senior executive unless the aggregate number of qualified mortgages for which principal reductions have been taken pursuant to the program under this Act exceeds 1 million.

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.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Principal Reduction Act of 2012

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-35] · 13 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Gwen Moore (D-WI), André Carson (D-IN), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-35] reported raising $1.1 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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 (1)
Sponsor and cosponsor
The sponsor is the member who introduces a bill and leads it. Cosponsors are other members who sign on to show support.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong112-hr3841 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112