What ever happened to the FHA reform bill that all the politicians on Capitol Hill said was so urgently needed to help with the housing crisis? Could someone please mount a search mission because it seems to have gotten lost somewhere.

On Sept. 19, the Senate banking committee reported out what it called the "FHA Modernization Act of 2007." The vote was 20-1, with the sole negative vote cast by Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.). Banking committee chairman Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said the bill -- which would raise FHA's loan limits, lower minimum downpayment amounts and authorize risk-based pricing among other changes -- "is vitally important to helping working families find safe, fair and affordable mortgages It is not enough to pay lip-service to the ideal of homeownership," he added, "while millions of families struggle to keep their home. This legislation can help generate quality mortgage credit for working families and help them avoid the wave of foreclosures that is expected to sweep through the communities and neighborhoods of our country in the coming 18 months."

Dodd, who is running for the Democratic nomination for President and co-sponsored the bill, promised to "continue to fight for (the bill's) swift passage so that homeowners can get the relief they deserve."

On Oct. 2, Sen. Dodd appeared with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a Capitol Hill press conference calling for an emergency appointment of a "mortgage czar" by President Bush to help relieve the housing crisis.

Earlier in September, the House passed its companion version of the FHA modernization bill (H.R. 1852). Following the bipartisan approval of the Senate bill in the banking committee, and Sen. Dodd's and Sen. Reid's concerns about helping homeowners facing mortgage difficulties, the FHA legislation appeared to have strong momentum to come before the full Senate for a floor vote in short order.

But since then, a cloud has descended on the Senate bill. Oddly, no one seems to know whether the bill even has a number-never a good omen if you're looking for floor action. Online searches for the bill and its status on the authoritative Library of Congress "Thomas.gov" system turn up no bill by that name, and no number. Only an FHA bill introduced earlier in the year (S-947) by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) pops up on Thomas.gov searches.

Inquiries to Sen. Dodd's staff produced no comments or explanations. One staffer referred the matter to Sen. Reid's office. As Senate Majority Leader, his office schedules all floor debate and receives bills directly from the committee chairmen. But Reid's staff initially said it was unable to confirm that such a bill exists because there was no number attached to it, and no record of it arriving from the banking committee. Reid's communications advisor, Jim Manley, later said, "I thought (the bill) was still being discussed between the banking committee and some other committee," which he did not identify.

But he confirmed that as of Friday, the Majority Leader had not received the FHA bill passed by Dodd's committee and that it is not scheduled for floor debate. However, he said "it is on a list of things to do."

Telephone requests for comment or clarification from Sen. Dodd's office were not returned by press time.

So back to the question: Where is the FHA bill that politicians say is so urgent to meet the country's ongoing housing crisis?

If anyone finds out, please get in touch.

Published: October 15, 2007

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Kenneth R. Harney writes an award-winning, nationally-syndicated column on housing and real estate from Washington, D.C. He is also managing director of the National Real Estate Development Center, a professional education company. He is a past member of the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council, a committee that by federal statute reviews all Fed actions on home mortgage, consmer credit and banking industry regulation. He served as a member of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Working Group on Computerized Loan Origination (CLO) systems, and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Fannie Mae Foundation's journal, Housing Policy Debate. He is the author of two books on mortgage finance and real estate.