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House Bill Amends Truth in Lending Act

The House Financial Services Committee [1] advanced seven bills on Tuesday. Among them was the Mortgage Fairness Act of 2017 [2] (H.R. 2570), that amends the Truth in Lending Act. The new bill clarifies that points and fees in connection with a mortgage loan do not include certain compensation amounts already taken into account in setting the interest rate on such a loan.

The bill was introduced by Representative Bill Posey of Florida and was passed by a vote of 34-22.  The bill aims to ensure that points and fees for mortgage loans do not include certain compensation amounts already taken into account in setting the interest rate on such a loan.

Among the bills passed by the committee today was also the Financial Technology Protection Act (H.R. 5036) that aims to establish an independent Financial Technology Task Force that would improve coordination between the private and public sectors to research and develop legislative and regulatory proposals to decrease terrorist and illicit use of new financial technologies, including digital currencies. This bill was passed unanimously by the committee.

“Today, we meet to consider seven important bills… to help the lives of everyday Americans and help protect our financial system,” said Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) in his opening statement before the committee began deliberations on these bills.

The committee also passed the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act of 2017 (H.R. 2069), which was introduced by Representative Mike Turner and updated the definition of "families" to include minors who are aging out of foster care so that they are eligible to receive Section 8 housing assistance as a distinct group under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. This amendment was passed by a vote of 34-23.

Some of the other important bills passed by the House committee included the Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2017; Bank Service Company Examination Coordination Act of 2017; State Insurance Regulation Preservation Act; and Improving Strategies to Counter Weapons Proliferation Act