(e) PRIORITY.—In providing reimbursements under 
this section, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment shall provide priority to independent third parties 
serving mortgagors under covered mortgages in areas ex-
periencing a mortgage foreclosure rate and unemployment 
rate higher than the national average for the most recent 
12-month period for which satisfactory data are available. 
(f) DEFINITION OF COVERED MORTGAGE.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘‘covered mortgage’’ means 
a mortgage on a 1- to 4-family residence insured under 
the provisions of subsection (b) or (k) of section 203, sec-
tion 234(c), or 251 of the National Housing Act (12 
U.S.C. 1709, 1715y, 1715z–16). 
SEC. 16. GAO REPORT ON FHA. 
Not later than the expiration of the 12-month period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 
the Congress a report on the single family mortgage insur-
ance programs of the Secretary of Housing and Urban De-
velopment and the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund es-
tablished under section 202(a) of the National Housing 
Act (12 U.S.C. 1708(a)) that— 
(1) analyzes such Fund, the economic net 
worth, capital ratio, and unamortized insurance-in- 
force (as such terms are defined in section 205(f)(4)
of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1711(f)(4))) of such Fund, 
the risks to the Fund, how the capital ratio of the 
Fund affects the mortgage insurance programs 
under the Fund and the broader housing market, 
the extent to which the housing markets are more 
dependent on mortgage insurance provided through 
the Fund since the financial crisis began in 2008, 
and the exposure of the taxpayers for obligations of 
the Fund; 
(2) analyzes the methodology for determining 
the Fund’s capital ratio under section 205(f) of such 
Act and examines alternative methods for assessing 
the Fund’s financial condition and their potential 
impacts on the Fund’s ability to meet the oper-
ational goals under section 202(a)(7) of such Act; 
(3) analyzes the potential effects of the in-
creases in the limits on the maximum principal obli-
gation of mortgages made by the FHA Moderniza-
tion Act of 2008 (title I of division B of Public Law 
110–289), section 202 of the Economic Stimulus 
Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–185; 122 Stat. 620), 
section 1202 of division A of the American Recovery 
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5; 
123 Stat. 225), and section 166 of the Continuing 
Appropriations Resolution, 2010 (as added by sec-
tion 104 of division B of Public Law 111–88; 123 
Stat. 29723) on— 
(A) the risks to and safety and soundness 
of the Fund; 
(B) the impact on the affordability and 
availability of mortgage credit for borrowers for 
loans authorized under such higher loan limits; 
(C) the private market for residential 
mortgage loans that are not insured by the Sec-
retary of Housing and Urban Development; and 
(D) the Federal National Mortgage Asso-
ciation and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage 
Corporation; and 
(4) analyzes the impact on affordability to FHA 
borrowers, and the impact to the Fund, of seller 
concessions or contributions to a borrower pur-
chasing a residence using a mortgage that is insured 
by the Secretary. 
SEC. 17. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH HIGHER MINIMUM 
CASH INVESTMENT REQUIREMENT. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—Paragraph (9) of section 203(b) of 
the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1709(b)(9)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subpara-
graph:
‘‘(D) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH HIGHER 
MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary may 
establish a higher minimum cash investment re-
quirement than the minimum requirement 
under subsection (a), for all mortgagors or a 
certain class or classes of mortgagors, which 
may be based on criteria related to borrowers’ 
credit scores or other industry standards re-
lated to borrowers’ financial soundness. In es-
tablishing such a higher minimum cash invest-
ment requirement, the Secretary shall take into 
consideration the findings of the most recent 
annual report to the Congress on minimum 
cash investments pursuant to section 16(b) of 
the FHA Reform Act of 2010.’’. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than the expiration of the 
12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Hous-
ing and Urban Development shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs of the Senate a report detailing the implementa-
tion of the minimum cash investment requirements under 
section 203(b)(9) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
1709(b)(9)) and discussing and analyzing options for pro-