H. R. 4173—797 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new para-
graphs: 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT UNDER HUD PROGRAMS.—Any homeown-
ership counseling or rental housing counseling (as such terms 
are defined in subsection (g)(1)) required under, or provided 
in connection with, any program administered by the Depart-
ment of Housing and Urban Development shall be provided 
only by organizations or counselors certified by the Secretary 
under this subsection as competent to provide such counseling. 
‘‘(4) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall take such actions as 
the Secretary considers appropriate to ensure that individuals 
and organizations providing homeownership or rental housing 
counseling are aware of the certification requirements and 
standards of this subsection and of the training and certification 
programs under subsection (f).’’. 
SEC. 1446. STUDY OF DEFAULTS AND FORECLOSURES. 
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall conduct 
an extensive study of the root causes of default and foreclosure 
of home loans, using as much empirical data as are available. 
The study shall also examine the role of escrow accounts in helping 
prime and nonprime borrowers to avoid defaults and foreclosures, 
and the role of computer registries of mortgages, including those 
used for trading mortgage loans. Not later than 12 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Congress a preliminary report regarding the study. Not 
later than 24 months after such date of enactment, the Secretary 
shall submit a final report regarding the results of the study, 
which shall include any recommended legislation relating to the 
study, and recommendations for best practices and for a process 
to identify populations that need counseling the most. 
SEC. 1447. DEFAULT AND FORECLOSURE DATABASE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development and the Director of the Bureau, in consultation with 
the Federal agencies responsible for regulation of banking and 
financial institutions involved in residential mortgage lending and 
servicing, shall establish and maintain a database of information 
on foreclosures and defaults on mortgage loans for one- to four- 
unit residential properties and shall make such information publicly 
available, subject to subsection (e). 
(b) CENSUS TRACT DATA.—Information in the database may 
be collected, aggregated, and made available on a census tract 
basis. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.—Information collected and made available 
through the database shall include— 
(1) the number and percentage of such mortgage loans 
that are delinquent by more than 30 days; 
(2) the number and percentage of such mortgage loans 
that are delinquent by more than 90 days; 
(3) the number and percentage of such properties that 
are real estate-owned; 
(4) number and percentage of such mortgage loans that 
are in the foreclosure process; 
(5) the number and percentage of such mortgage loans 
that have an outstanding principal obligation amount that is 
greater than the value of the property for which the loan 
was made; and
H. R. 4173—798 
(6) such other information as the Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development and the Director of the Bureau con-
sider appropriate. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to encourage discriminatory or unsound allocation of 
credit or lending policies or practices. 
(e) PRIVACY
AND
CONFIDENTIALITY.—In establishing and 
maintaining the database described in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of Housing and Urban Development and the Director of the Bureau 
shall— 
(1) be subject to the standards applicable to Federal agen-
cies for the protection of the confidentiality of personally identi-
fiable information and for data security and integrity; 
(2) implement the necessary measures to conform to the 
standards for data integrity and security described in paragraph 
(1); and 
(3) collect and make available information under this sec-
tion, in accordance with paragraphs (5) and (6) of section 
1022(c) and the rules prescribed under such paragraphs, in 
order to protect privacy and confidentiality. 
SEC. 1448. DEFINITIONS FOR COUNSELING-RELATED PROGRAMS. 
Section 106 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 
1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x), as amended by the preceding provisions 
of this subtitle, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) 
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The 
term 
‘nonprofit 
organization’ has the meaning given such term in section 104(5) 
of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 
U.S.C. 12704(5)), except that subparagraph (D) of such section 
shall not apply for purposes of this section. 
‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of the several 
States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of 
Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Trust Terri-
tories of the Pacific, or any other possession of the United 
States. 
‘‘(3) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘unit 
of general local government’ means any city, county, parish, 
town, township, borough, village, or other general purpose polit-
ical subdivision of a State. 
‘‘(4) HUD-APPROVED
COUNSELING
AGENCY.—The term 
‘HUD-approved counseling agency’ means a private or public 
nonprofit organization that is— 
‘‘(A) exempt from taxation under section 501(c) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and 
‘‘(B) certified by the Secretary to provide housing coun-
seling services. 
‘‘(5) STATE
HOUSING
FINANCE
AGENCY.—The term ‘State 
housing finance agency’ means any public body, agency, or 
instrumentality specifically created under State statute that 
is authorised to finance activities designed to provide housing 
and related facilities throughout an entire State through land 
acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation.’’.
H. R. 4173—799 
SEC. 1449. ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY FOR GRANT RECIPI-
ENTS. 
Section 106 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 
1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x), as amended by the preceding provisions 
of this subtitle, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(i) ACCOUNTABILITY
FOR RECIPIENTS
OF COVERED ASSIST-
ANCE.— 
‘‘(1) TRACKING OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) develop and maintain a system to ensure that 
any organization or entity that receives any covered assist-
ance uses all amounts of covered assistance in accordance 
with this section, the regulations issued under this section, 
and any requirements or conditions under which such 
amounts were provided; and 
‘‘(B) require any organization or entity, as a condition 
of receipt of any covered assistance, to agree to comply 
with such requirements regarding covered assistance as 
the Secretary shall establish, which shall include— 
‘‘(i) appropriate periodic financial and grant 
activity reporting, record retention, and audit require-
ments for the duration of the covered assistance to 
the organization or entity to ensure compliance with 
the limitations and requirements of this section, the 
regulations under this section, and any requirements 
or conditions under which such amounts were provided; 
and 
‘‘(ii) any other requirements that the Secretary 
determines are necessary to ensure appropriate 
administration and compliance. 
‘‘(2) MISUSE OF FUNDS.—If any organization or entity that 
receives any covered assistance is determined by the Secretary 
to have used any covered assistance in a manner that is materi-
ally in violation of this section, the regulations issued under 
this section, or any requirements or conditions under which 
such assistance was provided— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary shall require that, within 12 months 
after the determination of such misuse, the organization 
or entity shall reimburse the Secretary for such misused 
amounts and return to the Secretary any such amounts 
that remain unused or uncommitted for use; and 
‘‘(B) such organization or entity shall be ineligible, 
at any time after such determination, to apply for or receive 
any further covered assistance. 
The remedies under this paragraph are in addition to any 
other remedies that may be available under law. 
‘‘(3) COVERED ASSISTANCE.—For purposes of this subsection, 
the term ‘covered assistance’ means any grant or other financial 
assistance provided under this section.’’. 
SEC. 1450. UPDATING AND SIMPLIFICATION OF MORTGAGE INFORMA-
TION BOOKLET. 
Section 5 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 
1974 (12 U.S.C. 2604) is amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘SPECIAL’’ and 
inserting ‘‘HOME BUYING’’; 
(2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 
following new subsections:
H. R. 4173—800 
‘‘(a) PREPARATION
AND DISTRIBUTION.—The Director of the 
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (hereafter in this section 
referred to as the ‘Director’) shall prepare, at least once every 
5 years, a booklet to help consumers applying for federally related 
mortgage loans to understand the nature and costs of real estate 
settlement services. The Director shall prepare the booklet in var-
ious languages and cultural styles, as the Director determines to 
be appropriate, so that the booklet is understandable and accessible 
to homebuyers of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The 
Director shall distribute such booklets to all lenders that make 
federally related mortgage loans. The Director shall also distribute 
to such lenders lists, organized by location, of homeownership coun-
selors certified under section 106(e) of the Housing and Urban 
Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x(e)) for use in complying 
with the requirement under subsection (c) of this section. 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each booklet shall be in such form and detail 
as the Director shall prescribe and, in addition to such other 
information as the Director may provide, shall include in plain 
and understandable language the following information: 
‘‘(1) A description and explanation of the nature and pur-
pose of the costs incident to a real estate settlement or a 
federally related mortgage loan. The description and expla-
nation shall provide general information about the mortgage 
process as well as specific information concerning, at a min-
imum— 
‘‘(A) balloon payments; 
‘‘(B) prepayment penalties; 
‘‘(C) the advantages of prepayment; and 
‘‘(D) the trade-off between closing costs and the interest 
rate over the life of the loan. 
‘‘(2) An explanation and sample of the uniform settlement 
statement required by section 4. 
‘‘(3) A list and explanation of lending practices, including 
those prohibited by the Truth in Lending Act or other applicable 
Federal law, and of other unfair practices and unreasonable 
or unnecessary charges to be avoided by the prospective buyer 
with respect to a real estate settlement. 
‘‘(4) A list and explanation of questions a consumer 
obtaining a federally related mortgage loan should ask 
regarding the loan, including whether the consumer will have 
the ability to repay the loan, whether the consumer sufficiently 
shopped for the loan, whether the loan terms include prepay-
ment penalties or balloon payments, and whether the loan 
will benefit the borrower. 
‘‘(5) An explanation of the right of rescission as to certain 
transactions provided by sections 125 and 129 of the Truth 
in Lending Act. 
‘‘(6) A brief explanation of the nature of a variable rate 
mortgage and a reference to the booklet entitled ‘Consumer 
Handbook on Adjustable Rate Mortgages’, published by the 
Director, or to any suitable substitute of such booklet that 
the Director may subsequently adopt pursuant to such section. 
‘‘(7) A brief explanation of the nature of a home equity 
line of credit and a reference to the pamphlet required to 
be provided under section 127A of the Truth in Lending Act. 
‘‘(8) Information about homeownership counseling services 
made available pursuant to section 106(a)(4) of the Housing