I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5830 
To create a voluntary FHA program that provides mortgage refinancing 
assistance to allow families to stay in their homes, protect neighborhoods, 
and help stabilize the housing market. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 17, 2008 
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts (for himself, Ms. WATERS, Mrs. MALONEY of 
New York, Mr. WATT, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. 
CLAY, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, 
Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. HODES, Mr. WILSON of Ohio, Mr. 
PERLMUTTER, Mr. MURPHY
of Connecticut, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. 
WEXLER, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. DIN-
GELL, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. 
JACKSON of Illinois, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. LEE, Mr. WU, Ms. MCCOL-
LUM
of Minnesota, Mr. VAN
HOLLEN, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. 
COURTNEY, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. SIRES, and Ms. TSONGAS) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To create a voluntary FHA program that provides mortgage 
refinancing assistance to allow families to stay in their 
homes, protect neighborhoods, and help stabilize the 
housing market. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FHA Housing Sta-
bilization and Homeownership Retention Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to create an FHA program, which is vol-
untary on the part of borrowers and existing mort-
gage loan holders, to insure refinance loans for sub-
stantial numbers of borrowers at risk of foreclosure, 
at levels which are reasonably likely to be sustain-
able through enhanced affordability of debt service; 
(2) to provide flexible underwriting for FHA-in-
sured loans under such a program to provide refi-
nancing opportunities under fiscally responsible 
terms, including higher fees commensurate with 
higher risk levels, a seasoning requirement for high-
er debt to income loans, and additional program con-
trols to limit and control risk; 
(3) to bar speculators and second home owners 
from participation in such program; 
(4) to require existing mortgage loan holders to 
take substantial loan writedowns in exchange for 
having the Federal Government and the borrower 
assume the ongoing risk of the refinanced loan; 
(5) to set a loan-to-value limit on such loans 
that provides the FHA with an equity buffer against 
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potential loan losses, provides protections against 
the risk of future home price declines, and creates 
incentives for borrowers to maintain payments on 
the loan; 
(6) to protect the FHA against losses which 
may exceed normal FHA loss levels by establishing 
higher fee levels, including an exit fee and profit 
sharing during the first five years of the loan, with 
such higher fee levels effectively being funded 
through the required lender writedown; 
(7) to provide a fair level of incentives for jun-
ior lien holders to provide the necessary releases of 
their lien interests, in order to meet program re-
quirements that all outstanding liens must be extin-
guished, and thereby permit the refinancing to be 
completed; 
(8) to enhance the administrative capacity of 
the FHA to carry out its expanded role under the 
program through establishment of an Oversight 
Board which adds expertise from the Federal Re-
serve and the Department of the Treasury, through 
additional funding to contract out for the provision 
of any needed expertise in designing program re-
quirements and oversight, and through additional 
funding to increase FHA personnel resources as 
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