The House Financial Services Committee passed a mortgage reform bill 49 to 21 on Wednesday, sending it to the full House for consideration next week.
After two days of debate in which GOP efforts to weaken or narrow the bill mostly failed and eight of the panel's Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the bill, Committee Chairman Barney Frank hailed its passage, saying he had higher hopes for the bill's enactment than he did when the House passed similar reform in 2007.
The bill would require federal regulators to issue regulations that ensure borrowers have the ability to repay their mortgage and, when refinancing, that the loan provides a net tangible benefit.
